Peter Horgan: Cork Luas debate is no tale of two cities. There's just one city — and that's Cork

Irish Examiner

21-04-2025

The kneejerk reaction of any southsider or northsider in Cork when a project is announced is invariably, or so many commentators would have you believe, to narrow the gaze and jab a finger at what 'them over there' got.
They. Them. Norries. Southside snobs.
It betrays what the real issue must be for us all — namely, does Cork City benefit? As a whole?
The rallying cry for many, many years has been that the northside is forgotten while the southside yielded all. But does that really track? Yes, there are announcements and plans and reports and earnest soundbites but is that actually borne out?
Public consultation is now open on the proposed route of the 18km Cork Luas light rail line from Ballincollig to Mahon. See link at the foot of this article to learn more and have your say.
Let's confine ourselves for now to transport and look at what Michael Moynihan, whose writing I am glued to weekly, highlighted in the recent announcement of the proposed Cork Luas light rail route — a 'Cork Luas South' as he deemed it.
The east-west spine proposed by Transport Infrastructure Ireland does stray northside for a short spell along MacCurtain St and that has been picked up as a slight against the northside, with good reason.
East-west is the only game in town
However, if a real gap has emerged in this Luas preferred route it is the widening absence of a significant southern presence.
No spur to Cork Airport to reduce the congestion on Airport Hill and Kinsale Rd.
No vision to see a route barrelling beyond Mahon Point and flexing right into the centre of the Link — Korean style — before shooting out to Carrigaline.
No consideration of looking to alleviate Douglas traffic or Togher traffic.
All this despite in 2023, the All-Island Strategic Rail Review establishing that 'The Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy includes proposals for a tram route between Mahon and Ballincollig, which in the longer term could extend south to Cork Airport and Carrigaline.'
Michael Moynihan highlighted historic northside-southside tram services including Blackpool-Douglas, Tivoli-Blackrock — and, here in March 1931, Summerhill to Sunday's Well. All long gone. East-west is the only game in town now. Irish Examiner Archive
This writer made a submission to that All-Island Strategic Rail Review to say it should be changed from 'could' to 'must' but Monday's launch showed that the only game in town at present is east to west.
That doesn't mean that we shouldn't advocate for the routes to be incorporated in plans. For all the fanfare around the Luas route, it still doesn't have a final budget line and no real timeline.
Those sitting in traffic south and north of the Lee on Monday, hearing the news of the route, will hardly have been overjoyed because it's not happening anytime soon.
Why wait? Why not at least show where a spur could happen?
M28, M20, the airport, and Ringaskiddy
The M28 motorway now has Cabinet approval and yet there are mutterings that, by the time it is built, it will be obsolete for the requirements the port will have in Ringaskiddy.
Why not a mixture of heavy rail linking Cork Airport to the port to continue on to link on to the often talked-about but yet to be realised, M20.
If we were truly southernly blessed with preferential bias on the southside why wasn't the M28 looped across to Cork Airport to allow such a Luas add-on, rather than running a coach and four through the communities of Mount Oval and Maryborough?
Maryborough Hill, which has this lofty vision associated with it, is still, in road terminology, a local tertiary road. Yet we pummel the residents with heavy traffic layered upon rat runs through existing and new housing areas.
Commuter rail will serve the northside
We have no commuter rail on the southside of the city.
In his column last week, Michael Moynihan scrolls back to the old days of Blackpool to Douglas and Blackrock to Tivoli.
AJ Cronin with a simple two-word mission statement as Iarnród Éireann keeps pushing for higher frequency train services on the three lines between Cork and Midleton, Mallow, and Cobh, and all points in between — including new stations. Picture: David Creedon
But the announcement and opening on Monday of the new platform at Kent Station and the continued rollout of the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme doesn't benefit any sort of travel, sustainable, active, or otherwise, in the southside.
Because you are driving to get to the train.
From this southsider, it's right and proper that the Cork commuter rail project is rolled out with speed.
Trains from Blackpool, Blarney, and Monard
The impressive zeal with which AJ Cronin, Iarnród Éireann delivery manager for Cork, has brought forward platform openings and signalised works might not mean much to the casual observer but it allows the provision of the 10-minute frequency between Mallow and Cobh.
That's not the northside, but it includes new stations to support the planned increased services at Blarney, Monard, Blackpool/Kilbarry, Tivoli, Dunkettle, Carrigtwohill West, Water Rock, and Ballynoe, some of which are.
Iarnród Éireann Kent Station manager Ray Foley at the new €23m Platform 6, part of the first phase of heavy rail investment in the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme. Picture: Jason Clarke
We need those stations in Blackpool, Blarney, and Monard in order to open up the population there linking into Kent and dispersing them to major hubs of employment like Mahon Point, Ballincollig, and Ringaskiddy.
'Living in Cobh, working in Ballincollig'
A 10-minute frequency is needed because living in Mallow or Cobh and working in Ballincollig or Mahon Point is a real thing and those people are stuck in Dunkettle every day. What side of the river does Dunkettle fall on, by the way?
On more immediate transport options on the southside, the timelines are still sketchy at best.
Where are our park and rides? One on the southside, and you're practically into town already if you were to utilise it from most places south of the Lee. No park and ride in Shannonpark, none emerging beyond Wilton, none to alleviate any side of the Lee.
As a city councillor, I am responsible for continuing to advocate for them to be built, but one must only look at the traffic daily in the morning and evening at Bloomfield causing the situation of congestion to be so bad that Transport Infrastructure Ireland (remember them from earlier?) are now forced to roll out tow-away services in an attempt to keep traffic moving when collisions occur.
Douglas & Carrigaline wait for Bus Connects
Douglas and Carrigaline, the two towns south of the river ignored by the Luas, are awaiting the rollout of Cork Bus Connects — but not the one you think of. Bus Connects is much more than the sustainable transport corridors tied up in pre-CPO correspondence.
Rather, it is ensuring the frequency infrastructure is put in place to show people the benefits of public transport:
Moving the 207 to an every 20-minute service rather than the current times;
Moving the 223 to every half hour rather than every hour, and double deckering the service, to support harbour towns such as Passage along into Rochestown and Douglas.
The congestion that gnarls up the southside can be reduced if we frontload our public transport options but we're looking at 2027 for this to occur.
I'm not one to constantly polarise the supposed split in our city but too many politicians have hijacked it for too long.
It's lazy and simplistic and belies the truth that we should be shouting, like we do in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and hope to do in Croker this summer — for Cork. All of Cork.
Let's work to see a better infrastructure that serves everyone. Otherwise Dublin will just sit back and laugh. And who wants that?
• Peter Horgan is a Cork City councillor in the South East Ward for Labour, and serves as chairman of the council's transport and mobility strategic policy committee
• The public consultation on the proposed Cork light rail route is open at www.LuasCork.ie. You have until Monday June 9 at 5.30pm to respond.