Grand Parade is one of the main streets of
Cork city
Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the city's ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. It runs from
South Mall in the south to
St. Patrick's Street/Daunt Square in the north, with intersections with
Oliver Plunkett Street, Tuckey Street,
Washington Street, Augustine Street and a number of pedestrian-only lanes in between. The Irish name of the street, ''Sráid an Chapaill Bhuí'' ("Yellow Horse Street"), comes from a time when there was a statue of King
George II George II or 2 may refer to:
People
* George II of Antioch (seventh century AD)
* George II of Armenia (late ninth century)
* George II of Abkhazia (916–960)
* Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051)
* George II of Georgia (1072–1089) ...
on horse-back at the junction with South Mall. The location of this statue is now occupied by the national monument.
History
![Grand Parade, Cork City, Co](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Grand_Parade%2C_Cork_City%2C_Co._Cork_%2833330174634%29.jpg)
Grand Parade was originally a channel of the
River Lee
The River Lee (Irish: ''An Laoi'') is a river in Ireland. It rises in the Shehy Mountains on the western border of County Cork and flows eastwards through Cork, where it splits in two for a short distance, creating an island on which Cork's ...
. The original
Hiberno-Norse settlement of Cork grew up on its west bank.
The river channel existed until at least 1690, when it is shown on a map of Cork. At this time, the east bank was still largely undeveloped, with only a
bowling green
A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls.
Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...
shown in the area.
By 1726, buildings had developed on the east bank, but the river channel remained in place. In a 1774 map, the northern portion of the street between Oliver Plunkett Street and Daunt Square had been reclaimed, but the southern portion was still a dock. Finally, by 1801, the river channel had completely disappeared and the street was fully present.
Today
![National Monument, Grand Parade](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/National_Monument%2C_Grand_Parade.jpg)
As of 2010, some members of the
Cork City Council
Cork City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Chorcaí) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Cork in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Prior to the enactment of the 2001 Act, t ...
had "raised concerns about the shabby state of several city centre sites" on Grand Parade - including the former Capitol Cinema site. From 2016, these sites have seen renewed development and investment.
The street retains a number of commercial properties, with retail being most common at the northern end of the street and offices more common at the southern end close to the South Mall. It has an entrance to the
English Market
The English Market ( Irish: ''An Margadh Sasanach'') is a municipal food market in the center of Cork city, Ireland. It stretches from Princes Street to the Grand Parade, and combines Princes Street Market and Grand Parade Market. The market ...
on its eastern side. Other features on the street include Cork's main
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
and
Bishop Lucey Park
Bishop Lucey Park is a public park located between Grand Parade and South Main Street in the centre of Cork in Ireland. It is one of few green spaces in the city centre and among the largest. It is often erroneously known as "The Peace Park" ...
, both of which are on the western side of the street, and the mid-19th century Berwick Fountain - which was originally in the centre of the street, but which was moved to the western side during later refurbishment works. It was commissioned by the popular and respected Judge
Walter Berwick, on the occasion of his departure from Cork, "in rememberance(sic) of the great kindness shown to him by all classes in
ork
Ork or ORK may refer to:
* Ork (folklore), a mountain demon of Tyrol folklore
* ''Ork'' (video game), a 1991 game for the Amiga and Atari ST systems
* Ork (''Warhammer 40,000''), a fictional species in the ''Warhammer 40,000'' universe
* ''Ork!'' ...
.
In December 2015, planning permission was granted for the redevelopment of the former Capitol Cinema site, and demolition began in April 2016. This included the demolition of the Capitol Cinema building and adjacent Central Shoe Store, as well as some stores located behind, allowing for a 100,000sq foot building stretching from Grand Parade to
St Patrick's Street
St Patrick's Street ( ga, Sráid Naomh Pádraig) is the main shopping street of the city of Cork in the south of Ireland. The street was subject to redevelopment in 2004, and has since won two awards as Ireland's best shopping street. St Patrick ...
. It was announced in March 2017 that tenants would include
Lifestyle Sports
Life Style Sports, officially Lifestyle Sports (Ireland) Limited
is Ireland's largest sports retailer, operating 46 outlets spread across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. They stock sporting goods and sport fashions.
History
Lif ...
,
Homesense
HomeSense (stylized as Homesense in Europe and the United States) is a Canadian chain of discount home furnishing stores owned by TJX Companies. It originated in Canada in 2001, and was expanded to Europe in 2008 and the United States in 2017. ...
,
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
,
AlienVault and
Huawei
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...
, the building, named 'The Capitol' opened in June 2017.
Popular culture
''The Grand Parade'' is the name of an album by Cork band
The Frank and Walters
The Frank and Walters are an alternative pop band from Cork city in Ireland. The band was founded in 1989 and named in honour of two eccentric Cork characters.
Members
The original band line-up included Paul Linehan (vocalist and bassist), his ...
.
See also
*
List of public art in Cork
This is a list of public art on permanent public display in Cork (city), Cork city, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The list applies only to works of public art accessible in a public space; it does not include artwork on display inside museums. Pu ...
References
{{Cork City
Roads in County Cork
Streets in Cork (city)