Plan lodged to turn Cork City bookshop into pub with sky-bridge linking to nightclub

The former Uneeda bookshop at 71 Oliver Plunkett Street Cork was acquired in 2022 by Mutual Enterprises. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

A planning application has been lodged to redevelop the former Uneeda bookshop on Cork's Oliver Plunkett Street into a new bar that will be connected to the nearby BarBarossa and Bróg complex.

Mutual Enterprises is seeking permission from Cork City Council to change the use of the business from bookstore to licensed premises. If approved it would see the ground floor unit converted into a bar with an office and store on the first floor with a sky-bridge structure on the second floor crossing Market Avenue to link into the existing complex that also includes the Voodoo Rooms nightclub.

A familiar face to generations of book and music lovers, John Coffey closed the second-hand book and vinyl store in 2020.

John Coffey operated from the location for more than 30 years. Pic; Larry Cummins

In his long career, he traded at various locations on Barrack St, MacCurtain St and for more than 30 years on Oliver Plunkett Street. The compact, 460-sq metre premises went to the open market with a €350,000 guide price and was acquired by Mutual Enterprises in 2022.

That firm has operated in the Cork hospitality market since 1979. Along with Oliver Plunkett Street, they also operate venues on Barrack Street and Washington Street. Its main directors are Don Forde and Neil Cronin.

A planning decision on the application is expected from Cork City Council in early March.