The English Market in Cork.Tourism Ireland
Rooted in the 18th century, Cork’s English Market remains a living link between the city’s past and its food-forward present. Shoppers can still buy traditional fish, meat, and baked goods while finding eco-friendly stalls, fermentation juice bars, and global flavours that have helped the market stay vital for locals and visitors alike.
For more than 600 years, Cork’s English Market has weathered wars, shortages, and shifting tastes; yet it continues to thrive. Today, it balances heritage with innovation, offering everything from fresh fish and artisan bread to zero-waste juice bars and sushi.
Cork City holds tight to the traditions of an English market, while bending them toward the future. It has withstood wars and periods of both scarce resources and plenty. And it has been able to change with the times, remaining a significant tie to both the past and the future to this day.
English Market Cork.
It began as a meat market in the 18th century. It has been able to adapt to political, situational, and social changes for 600 years. Today, it offers a wide range of fresh produce, seafood, poultry, mutton, bread, confections, and even sushi. There are a few restaurants where you can have sweets and coffee or an entire meal. You can get sandwiches on the go. And herbs and flowers as well. They have tailored this market to the times.
And everything here is now focused on offering what locals need for a weekly shop and what tourists want when they stop in, all while prioritizing locally produced, eco-friendly, organic foods from zero-waste companies. There are even juice bars here specializing in fermentation.
In fact, it was that eco-friendly swing that brought Queen Elizabeth II here in 2011. And you can still talk with vendors who were here then, or at least display photos of that event to this day.
This article was submitted to the IrishCentral contributors network by a member of the global Irish community. To become an IrishCentral contributor click here.