All About Cork: Mahon and Marina funding praised, but issues remain

Funding for active travel schemes in Mahon and the Marina have been welcomed locally.

However, calls have been made to prioritise public toilets in the plans for the Marina, given the popularity of the local amenity and the high levels of footfall it attracts.

It was revealed recently that Cork City Council has been allocated €28m for 2025 under the National Transport Authority (NTA) Active Travel Investment grants scheme.

On top of the €28m allocated in active travel grants, the council has also been allocated €6,535,000 in other NTA funding streams, bringing the total allocation to to €34,535,000.

Among the headline figures allocated in the city are €5.6m for street renewal in the Mahon area, €5.2m for the Lehenaghmore Road Improvement Scheme, and €2m for the Marina Promenade Active Travel scheme.

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Green Party councillor Dan Boyle, welcomed the allocation and he thanked recently retired transport minister Eamon Ryan for his help.

Speaking to The Echo, Labour Party councillor Peter Horgan, welcomed the funding, but said that some problems still need to addressed.

In particular, he said that there are still issues to be ironed out in the Mahon cycle scheme. He also highlighted the need for public toilets to be included in the plans for the Marina.

“It’s positive that the funding has been secured to complete the Mahon cycle scheme,” said Mr Horgan.

“Issues still exist on implementing that and I would encourage people with issues to get in touch with the engineers to see if compromises can be found.

“On the Marina, it’s going to be a fantastic amenity not just for Blackrock but for the whole city,” he added.

“But we must also ensure that public toilets are included in the delivery of phase two.

“Toilets are a basic need and if we are attracting the numbers to the Marina like we have seen over the last few weeks, then public toilets must be a priority to be funded.

“I will continue to advocate and push for their inclusion.”

Blackrock hurlers attend Rebel Óg annual awards banquet

Croise Naofa’s robots take over

A primary school was celebrating this week after claiming three awards at a regional robotics competition in Cork.

The VEX V5 Robotics Competition is the largest primary and secondary school robotics programme globally, with more than 20,000 teams from 50 countries competing. Each year, an exciting engineering challenge is presented in the form of a game. Students, with guidance from their teachers and mentors, build innovative robots and compete year-round. Last Wednesday, a team of 10 pupils from sixth class in Scoil na Croise Naofa were among those competing at the regional leg of the competition in MTU. The team claimed three awards on the day — the overall excellence award, robot skills award, and the teamwork award.

In a statement, the local school described the team’s success as “an unbelievable achievement”.

“This means we have qualified for the All-Irelands in February. Lots more work and practice to be done. Well done to the students and teachers involved.”

Road safety learnt by VR

Students from a local secondary school recently learned about road safety using virtual reality.

Transition year students from Ursuline College Blackrock attended a talk on road safety given by Cork City Council’s road safety officer.

As part of this talk, the students were taken through a car crash with the use of VR headsets.

They also learned about the importance of paying attention to your surroundings while driving as well as road safety in general.

A ‘Road Safety Working Together Group’ was formed in Cork to improve road safety across the city and county.

The group published the Cork Road Safety Plan 2022-2030. The aim of this is to work towards the national target of Vision Zero road deaths by 2050

Olympic ambassador ing school bank

Students from a local secondary school recently hosted an Olympian who advised them on their school bank programme.

Bank of Ireland youth ambassador and Cork Olympian, Rob Heffernan, visited Nagle Community College to train of the school bank team.

A team of students are running a school bank as part of Bank of Ireland’s Money Smarts programme for secondary schools across Ireland.

The school bank is set up by students, for students and is run on site in school.

It gives students the chance to interview for one of five roles on the team, adding to their CV.

The team work together managing, operating, and creating positive buzz around the school bank offering and the second level bank . Full training and is provided by a dedicated youth coordinator.

The programme also highlights for teenagers the opportunity they have to take control of their finances. With their own bank , students put their financial literacy learning into practice every day, choosing how they will spend and save.

Plans lodged for 170-unit residential development

An application for a large-scale residential development consisting of more than 170 residential units, at the former Ford Distribution site, has been lodged with Cork City Council.

The plans, submitted by Marina Quarter Limited, seek to construct 176 apartment units, comprising of a mix of one-, two-, and three-bed units in two blocks, ranging in height from seven to 10 storeys over podium level, at a brownfield site fronting on to the Centre Park Rd in Ballintemple.

The application is also seeking to construct a range of amenities to complement the development, including a 35-place creche, a gym, and a retail and cafe unit.

Permission is further being sought for development works, including new vehicular and pedestrian access at the site’s western boundary; footpaths and cycle lanes, landscaping, amenity and open space areas, boundary treatments, bicycle and car parking spaces; bin storage, public lighting and all other ancillary works.

Cork City Council is due to make a decision on the plans by early February.

Vintage Village makes a return to Marina Market

The Vintage Village will return to the Marina Market on the February Bank Holiday weekend.

In a statement, management said: “ us this Bank Holiday weekend, February first and second, for a journey through time. Don’t miss out on some unique and vintage finds.”

Vintage traders can sign up on the Marina Market website or by following the link in the market’s Instagram page bio.

For more information, visit marinamarket.ie or check out their Instagram page.