ST. FINBARRS MARKET WALL [AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE STAR FORT]

It is a pity that someone painted over this plaque. Also,I do not know if the plaque is old or if it was recently installed at this location.

St Finbarr's Market was a market established by the reformed Cork Corporation in the 1840s to cater for the less wealthy people of Cork. Until the Municipal Reform Act of 1840 the members of the corporation were exclusively from the Protestant ascendancy class. The principal market in the city was the Grand Parade Market, later renamed the English Market.

Only Protestants could operate stalls in the English Market and what was on sale was usually too expensive for the poorer classes who made up most of the city's population.

My understanding is that side wall on Barrack Street which once enclosed Saint Finbarrs Market has recently been demolished and has since been replaced by a new wall.

The English Market comprises Princes Street Market and Grand Parade Market, and is a municipal food market in the centre of Cork, Ireland. The market is administered by Cork City Council. The market is well supported locally and has become a tourist attraction - drawing visitors from throughout the world, including a visit by Queen Elizabeth II during her 2011 state visit.

---