Shandon has been recognised as a distinct area for hundreds of years. The name derives from the Irish “sean – dun” – old fort, which is probably a reference to a McCarthy castle which was in the vicinity of the modern North Abbey Square. By 1230, Shandon was a borough and remained so until the sixteenth century, when it was absorbed into the neigbouring city of Cork.

The Butter Market Exchange is located in the Shandon Architectural Conservation Area, as identified in the current Cork City Development Plan. It is identified as one of the ‘monumental historic buildings’ which give the area its unique identity and ‘mark its presence on the city skyline’.

The entrance front to the former butter market, which was designed in 1849 by Sir John Benson, is a monumental addition to the streetscape. This building forms part of an interesting group of related structures with the former butter market buildings including the Firkin Crane, in the Shandon area.

The butter trade originating from Cork City in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was one of the oldest internationally traded commodities, with trade routes that stretched to Great Britain, Europe, North America, the Caribbean and the West Indies.

Under the plans proposed by Recreate Shandon CLG, the building will be reimagined and repurposed for 21st Century use. It will be transformed into a centre of business and enterprise with links that will once again extend internationally. It will provide a unique workspace with its rich vibrant past inspiring new innovations, always with excellence and quality as its goal.

In recent years, Cork’s northside has become home to many large companies including global players such as Apple, Heineken, Teamwork, Blizzard Entertainment, The Irish Examiner and the Revenue Commissioners. There is large emphasis on the rejuvenation of Cork’s northside to position it as an attractive location for FDI while also being a base for the growing number of hugely successful home- grown companies and nurture the innovation and entrepreneurial community culture of Cork.

Cork City is expected to grow significantly over the coming years with strategic initiatives in place such as ‘Cork 2050’. The Cork 2050 strategy envisions densities increasing across Cork City over the next 30+ years and will create the circumstances to deliver an additional 120,000 new jobs and approx. 60% population growth.

Cork is home to a significantly
robust life science sector with
the pharmaceutical cluster
including leading companies
such as Johnson & Johnson,
Pfizer, Novartis, GSK, Merck,
Stryker and Abbott.

Cork City is home to a strong
international technology cluster
with companies involved in
global business services
and manufacturing. These
companies include Apple
(Hollyhill), Amazon (Airport
Business Park), Johnson
Controls (Albert Quay) and Dell
EMC (Mahon and Ballincollig).

Cork Chamber of Commerce
estimates have put the number
of companies operating in Cork
within the financial services
sector at 25, with major firms
such as BNY Mellon and Citco
already located in the city. The
recent location of HedgServ,
Clearstream and Beechbrook
Capital, has signalled the
growing importance of Cork
as a key location post-Brexit
years.

Located between the Wild
Atlantic Way and Ireland’s
Ancient East, Cork City is a
tourist destination and has
made significant steps to
cater to both international and
domestic tourists. Cork is also
the food capital of Ireland with
restaurants and hotels catering
to all tastes. It has a rich historic
architecture including our own
Butter Exchange building,
Shandon Bell Tower, The English
Market and Elizabeth Fort.