The Monday Interview: Vision for the future of Cork City

The new president of the Cork Business Association is brimful of ideas on how to develop Cork, which he believes is on the cusp of great things, writes Pádraig Hoare

The Monday Interview: Vision for the future of Cork City

The new president of the Cork Business Association is brimful of ideas on how to develop Cork, which he believes is on the cusp of great things, writes Pádraig Hoare

He’s a man brimming with ideas, gleaned from more than 30 years of experience working at the heart of business in Cork. Proprietor of the Shelbourne Bar in Cork’s MacCurtain Street, Co Mayo native Philip Gillivan is the new president of the Cork Business Association, taking the reins from fishmonger Pat O’Connell of the English Market.

Mr Gillivan came to Cork in 1987 to work in Silversprings Hotel, bought one of the city centre’s best-known bars in 1996, enjoyed the heady days of the Celtic Tiger, the nadir of the financial crash, and was an integral part of transforming MacCurtain Street into a must-go venue for diners in the past few years.

“I was hotel manager in Fitzpatrick’s Castle in Killiney when the late, great Paddy Fitzpatrick bought Silversprings in 1987. When they sent me down to Cork, it was such a baptism of fire, it was so busy. I remember Paddy walking the fields talking about his plans for a golf course and a convention centre. He had such foresight and vision. He had the hotel in Shannon, he had just bought in New York, and then put a stamp on Silversprings. He was an amazing mentor. Following four years running the convention centre with 90 staff in Silversprings, among the biggest in Ireland at the time, Mr Gillivan bought An Síol Bhroin in 1996, now known as the Shelbourne when he and best friend and business partner Tim McCarthy expanded it in 1999.

Philip Gillivan: An observation deck atop the proposed 40-storey tower at the redeveloped Port of Cork site is among his big ideas for Cork. Picture: Denis Minihane
Philip Gillivan: An observation deck atop the proposed 40-storey tower at the redeveloped Port of Cork site is among his big ideas for Cork. Picture: Denis Minihane

The street has since become one of the best in Ireland for its night-time economy, a feat managed because of “co-operation and competition” among its business owners, said Mr Gillivan.

“Did I think MacCurtain Street was going to be the incredible success it is now from a night-time economy perspective? The fundamentals were always here. Until 2007 we had a great time but survival was the new net profit after the crash. There was no getting out because the pub was valueless.

“All the traders went to CIT, who did market research on MacCurtain Street, on what people wanted to see and do there. There was a co-competition strategy. We were competitors but all working together. Then all these wonderful establishments opened and visitors came flocking. We feel we improve it even more with a properly supported two-way traffic system and public realm, like a Portobello Road in London.”

The imagination and co-operation between all stakeholders can be replicated throughout the city over the next decade, Mr Gillivan said. Retail has struggled, while traffic and parking issues get worse. There is an idea to combat each individual problem, he said.

“There’s no simple answer. It’s a fact that there is a lack of parking in Cork. Workers are taking up much of the spaces in the city because there isn’t sufficient public transport to get to work. Dunkettle, the Northern Ring Road and the Cork-Limerick motorway are all equally important parts of infrastructure. If you get all these cars out of the city, you get your rapid-speed bus corridor in, you will see many more people using public transport in every day,” he said. Getting a new generation of shoppers into the city centre can be done, he said.

“I’m a big fan of North Main Street car park. For €1.70 an hour, I don’t think we have advertised it well enough. Even the promotion of pay by phone could be improved. I want to work with schools on getting 16-year-olds engaged to figure out how we can get them into the city, into areas like North Main Street, what they like, what small shops they like, etc. If we can get the hearts and minds of 2,000 of those teenagers to buy into the city centre, then we get them back in. Telling them simply not to buy online just won’t work,” he said.

Then there are the big ideas. For Mr Gillivan, an observation deck atop the proposed 40-storey tower at the redeveloped Port of Cork site would be the clincher.

The area around the bonded warehouses, after years of dereliction, could be reborn as a tourism destination mixed with offices and apartments along the lines of Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall, a must-see marketplace for visitors.

US-based developer and Kerry native, Kevin O’Sullivan has proposed an iconic tower up to twice the height of the 17-storey Elysian or Liberty Hall, and an overall investment “well north of €100m” for the Port of Cork site he bought for €5m last year.

Mr Gillivan said he would like to see all stakeholders including Cork City Council to work with Mr O’Sullivan to see if such an observation deck could be made a reality.

Mr Gillivan said: “Why not a Fisherman’s Wharf or a Faneuil Hall for Cork? You automatically go to these areas when you go to San Francisco or Boston. Can you imagine a rooftop observation deck on the top of that 40-storey building? You would drag so many visitors down to that side of town. It would be amazing for the area.

“I think we have an incredible 10-20 years coming up but we can’t take things for granted,” he said.

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