The English Market has sold food on the same ground since 1788, which makes it one of the oldest municipal markets anywhere, and it’s still a working market rather than a heritage set-piece – Cork’s restaurants buy here in the morning before the visitors arrive. If you do one thing, come hungry around 11am, get the fish counters at their freshest, then take the stairs to the Farmgate Café and have lunch built from the stalls underneath you. Chef Rick Stein called it ‘the best covered market in the UK and Ireland’, and on a weekday morning it’s hard to argue.
What to taste
This is the place for traditional Cork fare you won’t easily find elsewhere: spiced beef, drisheen (a blood sausage), crubeens (pig’s feet) and tripe at the butchers, fresh catch at the fishmongers, and cheese counters stacked with County Cork dairy. Around them sit newer traders selling olives, spices and bakery.
A few stalls have become institutions in their own right:
- O’Flynn’s Gourmet Sausages – a fourth-generation family business going back to 1921, best known for the Cork Boi sausage of local pork, beef, thyme and Murphy’s stout.
- The Alternative Bread Company – founded 1997, organic sourdough and soda bread plus gluten- and dairy-free loaves; named Friendliest Business in Ireland in 2012.
- Heaven’s Cakes – pastries and cakes from classically trained chefs Joe and Barbara Hegarty.
- The Sandwich Stall – a 2001 newcomer by market standards, with a grilled-cheese that locals queue for.
The building and its history
The market was created in 1788 by the Protestant – or ‘English’ – corporation that then ran the city, opening as a meat shambles called the ‘new markets’. The name came later: when local government reform in 1840 brought the Catholic majority to power, they set up St Peter’s Market nearby, the ‘Irish Market’, and the older market kept its association with its English founders. That’s where ‘English Market’ comes from – not the language spoken or the traders’ nationality.
What you walk through today is largely a Victorian rebuild. John Benson and Robert Walker expanded the market in the mid-1800s, adding the Princes Street front and the ornamental ironwork. It came through the Famine, two world wars and repeated flooding, but its closest call was the fire of June 1980, which gutted the interior and left little but the outer walls and the cast-iron fountain. Cork City Council’s restoration kept the original layout and won a Europa Nostra Gold Medal in 1983. A second, smaller fire in 1986 set things back briefly before the market reopened.
The aisles have drawn some notable visitors: Queen Elizabeth II in May 2011 and Prince Charles and Camilla in June 2018, both served by the fishmonger Pat O’Connell. The market also stood in as a location for the 2016 film The Young Offenders and the TV series that followed.
The Farmgate Café
Upstairs on the mezzanine, the Farmgate Café cooks seasonal dishes from produce bought at the stalls below, with tables overlooking the central court – a member of the GoodFoodIreland network. It fills fast at lunch and on summer weekends, so go early or expect to wait for a table.
Getting there and practical tips
The market is in the centre of Cork, a short walk from Cork Kent station, with step-free entry from both Grand Parade and Princes Street. Entry is free.
One honest warning on payment: many stalls now take cards, but some are still cash-only, so carry a bit of cash. It’s busiest between 10am and 2pm, and the best fish and meat go early – a weekday morning beats a Saturday afternoon for both selection and elbow room.
Parking:
- Q-Park Grand Parade – a two-minute walk from the Grand Parade entrance.
- Paul Street and North Main Street car parks are also close by.
- On-street parking is very limited; Black Ash Park & Ride on the Kinsale Road is the easier option, with a shuttle into the centre.
Pick up spiced beef to cook at home, or just take a sandwich and a coffee and watch the trade go on around you – it’s still the clearest window onto how Cork eats.