I am delighted to be here today to officially open this public park in honour of Joe McHugh, Cork’s former City Manager. I am particularly pleased that Joe’s wife Kay and family were able to join us today.
This park is a fitting tribute to a man of great vision. As City Manager, Joe saw the huge potential of Cork city and in particular the whole Mahon Point peninsula. I have no doubt that were he with us today, Joe would be very proud of what has been achieved in this area.
Over the past number of years, the Mahon Point peninsula has become a major talking point, not just here in Cork but on a national basis as well. The opening of the Mahon Point shopping centre earlier in the year attracted interest far and wide, as has much of the development that has gone on here in recent years. And now this public park will add hugely to one of the most rapidly developing areas in Cork city.
I would like to thank McCarthy Developers for taking the initiative in developing this park. I know that you have already developed some 350 new housing units as part of a 700-unit site here on Jacobs Island. And now through this park you are giving an important piece of the natural landscape back to the people of this city. In conjunction with City Manager Joe Gavin and the Parks Department in City Hall, you have created a wonderful amenity here on the foreshore of Lough Mahon.
The public walkway that was carefully restored by you at a cost of some €1.2million, opens up a whole stretch of the Cork estuary for the people of this city. Starting at Blackrock Castle, it will enable people to enjoy both history and wildlife on an extensive route that goes through Rochestown and Páirc Ui Caoimh.
The most impressive aspect of this development however, is the sensitivity with which all of the work was completed. This area is a prime nature reserve with sloblands and saltwater marshes being home to a huge amount of birds and wildlife. You have taken every care to ensure that the development impacted in the least way possible on that hive of activity. Instead, through the erection of storyboards and prime viewing areas, people will now be able to enjoy and observe all that goes on in the area.
I am also delighted that you decided to renovate some of the Crawford estate that is enclosed in this park. People will now be able to acquaint themselves with the history of a family who have had such a lasting impact both on business and the arts in this city. I had the pleasure in meeting Thomas McCarthy and his family at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork recently. Thomas had very kindly donated a painting to the gallery at the time.
Having the opportunity to open another development like this today just proves to me the huge strides that have been made developing Cork in recent times. Only in June, I had the honour of officially opening the
€279 million Cork Main Drainage Scheme here in the city. This system has opened up Cork’s foreshore and river for enjoyment by all today. And now this new development will add even further to that.
Through the Cork Area Strategic Plan, Cork City and County Councils have a focussed strategy in place to build on Cork’s many assets over the next 20 years. It is clear today that you are poised not only to become a major national growth centre, but also to become a very pleasant city in which to live and work in the years to come.
Once again, I would like to thank McCarthy Developers for their work in opening this valuable amenity for the public. I wish all of you who will use this facility, every enjoyment in these beautiful surroundings.
Thank you.
ENDS