Section of 1545 Cork Map
A section from the 1545 map of Cork showing the location of the old market at the place marked by the letter 'I' on the map. The market was near the south-western end of the present North Main Street. The letter 'A' on the map denotes the location of the North Main Street.
© Cork City Libraries.Section of 1545 Cork Map
© Cork City Libraries.
© Cork City Libraries.
Section of 1545 Cork Map
A section from the 1545 map of Cork showing the location of the old market at the place marked by the letter 'I' on the map. The market was near the south-western end of the present North Main Street. The letter 'A' on the map denotes the location of the North Main Street.
© Cork City Libraries.Cork's Markets - Beginnings
Markets have always existed in Cork. In 1299, The Sheriff of Cork listed thirty-six markets and market towns in and around Cork city. In the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Cork began to boom. Although the city had many shops, markets remained an important factor in Cork life.
At this time, special markets for the sale of meat, fish, corn and other produce were developed. Many tradesmen, including carpenters, bakers and goldsmiths, were organising themselves into societies called 'guilds'. From 1690, all Catholics were excluded from guilds and apprenticeships and were also restricted in trading. Therefore, those who prospered from trade were mainly Protestants.
Cork's Markets - Development
The building of markets in Cork happened partly to secure income for the city's corporation. However, the markets were also important in protecting the health of the population. Before market-places existed, it was common for tradespeople to slaughter animals on the street. This created hygiene problems, leaving the local population vulnerable to disease. Purpose-built meat markets, which became common in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, were called 'shambles' or 'flesh shambles'. In the late seventeenth century, Cork city centre had two shambles. There were two other shambles on the outskirts of the city.
Cornmarket Street, circa 1890
A photo of the open-air market at Cornmarket Street in around 1890. Cornmarket Street is better known in Cork as the Coal Quay, and the market was known as the Coal Quay market. In the foreground of the photo, potatoes can be seen for sale in baskets.
© National Library of Ireland.Cornmarket Street, circa 1890
© National Library of Ireland.
© National Library of Ireland.
Cornmarket Street, circa 1890
A photo of the open-air market at Cornmarket Street in around 1890. Cornmarket Street is better known in Cork as the Coal Quay, and the market was known as the Coal Quay market. In the foreground of the photo, potatoes can be seen for sale in baskets.
© National Library of Ireland.In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, there were also fish markets in Cork. Although milk was sold door to door, there were also at least four milk markets in the city. In the 1700s, potatoes became the main food of the poor in Ireland. There are records of two potato markets in the city on maps of the period.
Maps from the eighteenth-century also show that there was a corn market at the junction of Castle Street and Cornmarket Street. A new corn market was built on Anglesea Street in 1833. There were many other markets, including herb markets, cloth markets, fowl markets and fruit and apple markets. There were also many hawkers and casual street sellers on the streets of Cork. These were often regarded as a nuisance by the authorities, and attempts were made to move them to the marketplaces.
Irish Resisting the Toll, Cork
An illustration by John Fitzgerald of Irish people resisting the toll on goods into the city at Roche's Castle, Cork, in the eighteenth century.
By permission of Diarmuid Ó Drisceoil and Donal Ó Drisceoil.Irish Resisting the Toll, Cork
By permission of Diarmuid Ó Drisceoil and Donal Ó Drisceoil.
By permission of Diarmuid Ó Drisceoil and Donal Ó Drisceoil.
Irish Resisting the Toll, Cork
An illustration by John Fitzgerald of Irish people resisting the toll on goods into the city at Roche's Castle, Cork, in the eighteenth century.
By permission of Diarmuid Ó Drisceoil and Donal Ó Drisceoil.The city authorities built and improved the markets, and in turn made an income from rents on stalls and tolls collected on goods. At that time, there was a type of toll called gateage, which was collected on goods that were carried into the city to be sold. The manner in which these tolls were collected was often regarded as unfair, and the system for doing so was often corrupt. This often resulted in violence in the streets.