URBAN EXPRESSION BY THE URBAN CARTOGRAPHER

AT BISHOP LUCEY PARK IN CORK CITY

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This attention grabbing and larger than life painting by the Ardu Street Art Project depicts a man setting a table of fruit and veg in the style of an 18th century painting – when the English Market was built. There is a doll’s house in the background.

Conor Harrington was born in 1980 in Cork, Ireland. He attended Limerick School of Art and Design and received in 2002 a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

His work draws a fine line between classical and contemporary art, and masterfully creates a world within those boundaries. The Irish-born Harrington, a former graffiti artist, not only still enjoys painting huge outdoor murals but consistently tackles new, inventive forms of art, often in a gallery setting.

Bishop Lucey Park is a public park located between Grand Parade and South Main Street in the centre of Cork. It is one of few green spaces in the city centre and among the largest. It is often erroneously known as “The Peace Park” by locals, although this name actually refers to the area next to the River Lee at the junction of Grand Parade and South Mall where the National Monument, and the memorials to World War I and the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings are located.

Cork’s iconic English market has been trading since 1788. One of the oldest and certainly the best covered market in Europe, it has survived famine, flood, war, fires, and multiple recessions to remain a strong part of Cork’s retail environment.

Significant to the City as a commercial asset, the building is also architecturally significant so is valued as a heritage and tourist attraction.

Renowned as a food market, it is an important part of food culture in Cork, with an emphasis on fresh, local produce with traditional Cork foods as well as an array of international delights.

The stallholders are local and independent food producers or retailers, often with generations of families working in the Market. The traditional serve-over-counter stall trading also ensures that the service to the customer is personal and unique.

The reputation and history of the market has attracted thousands visitors each year – heads of state, celebrities and tourists from across the globe have come to see the market.