Cork council chief denies being 'Scrooge' over pulling plug on public Christmas lights switch-on

Ann Doherty said decision based on concern around crowd safety

Ms Doherty confirmed last month that crowd safety concerns were the driving factor behind the decision to pull the plug on the holding of a large-scale Christmas lights switch-on ceremony in the city centre again this year. File picture: Rory Coomey

The chief executive of Cork City Council has defended the decision not to host a public Christmas lights switch-on event in the city centre for the second year running.

Ann Doherty said she has been called the "Scrooge of Christmas and everything else" since the decision was announced last month but added: “Anything I do is only done with one thing in mind — and that is the safety and welfare of the citizens of the city.

“I’m more Christmassy than anybody else. The decisions were based on safety recommendations.” 

She made her comments at a meeting of the Cork City Joint Policing Committee (JPC) in response to a request from Labour councillor John Maher for a full review of the council’s stated position, and for work to start now on planning an event for next year.

Ms Doherty confirmed last month that crowd safety concerns were the driving factor behind the decision to pull the plug on the holding of a large-scale Christmas lights switch-on ceremony in the city centre again this year.

In a report to councillors in November, she said the numbers attending the event on St Patrick’s Street grew in the decade leading up to the December 2019 event, which she described as “a tipping point” in terms of the council’s ability to run the event safely.

Crowd crushing

She said crowd crushing was observed on access streets during that event, that event managers expressed concerns about difficulty in facilitating emergency access should it have been necessary, and there were concerns the location and event design “simply did not lend itself to this event due to the audience growth”.

Following a review, she said City Hall was “strongly advised” such an event should not go ahead again in that format.

The responsibility to public safety is “of paramount importance” and “the risks cannot be underestimated", she told councillors.

And while officials reviewed options for this year, including the possibility of staging a ticketed event, Ms Doherty said St Patrick’s Street just could not accommodate the crowd numbers safely, that any “alternative and dispersed approach” would have serious capacity concerns, and any future event would need to be in “a controlled environment and likely to be ticketed with limited capacity”.

She also said at the time it was notable Galway City, Limerick City, and Dublin City had not announced plans for a public ‘switch-on’ event either.

What's your view on this issue?

You can tell us here

But at Monday’s JPC, Mr Maher said the city must find a way to host some kind of public event to mark the start of Christmas 2024.

“I would ask now that 12 months out from next year that we all come together and reimagine the event that does celebrate the city, that is safe for everyone, and shows Cork off for all its glory,” he said.

The city is buzzing, and it is safe but we need more people to enjoy that and experience that.

“Let’s learn from what has happened and hopefully we can have an event next Christmas that celebrates the city.” 

Ms Doherty said she had asked the team involved in the staging of large-scale public events to host a workshop for city councillors early in the new year to lay out the issues involved.