Those who held a protest against the Port of Cork’s closing of a supposed public right of way for the arrival of Cobh’s first cruise liner of the year have been urged to ditch their placards for the sake of the town’s tourism industry.
County councillors have pleaded with the protestors at last Monday’s arrival of the MV Astoria not to repeat it as the port prepares to welcome a record 102 cruise liners this year.
Cllr Sinead Sheppard told a meeting of the Cobh/Glanmire Municipal District Council that she was “very disappointed” to see a protest taking place when the first liner of the season arrived.
“We have invested so much time and money into making sure people remember visiting Cobh.
Cllr Cathal Rasmussen said people on holidays don’t want to see a protest.
“At the end of the day it’s a legal issue and if people are genuinely upset they should go down the legal route,” he said.
The Port of Cork closes a section of the town’s Deep Water Quay and Five Foot Way for arriving and departing ships. It says it does this for health and safety reasons.
“If a rope broke and hit somebody and killed them then we’d have a major issue,” Cllr Rasmussen said.
Cllr Kieran McCarthy said everybody had a right to protest.
“But if they want to protest then they should go outside the Port of Cork offices instead of hurting the people of Cobh. I watched what happened. I’m sure the shipping companies took notice too.
“If they make a decision not to come to Cork it will hurt a lot of people. You might as well say ‘we don’t want your business.’ It’s totally counterproductive,” Cllr McCarthy said.
Cllr Diarmaid Ó Cadhla, however, said people didn’t mind the principle of closing the area for 30 minutes while a ship is docking or pulling off.
“The question is the right of way. If that is recognised then there is no issue at all. The problem is that Port of Cork insist that the ground is theirs and any walking is at their discretion. That is not acceptable to the people of Great Island,” he said.
“I think people are dead right to stand up for themselves and reject it.”
There is also another dispute ongoing over an alleged right of way which the Port of Cork closed off after it purchased the former Irish Fertiliser Industries (IFI) site at nearby Marino Point.
The Port of Cork estimates that the record 102 cruise ships visiting Cobh this year will bring with them more than 200,000 passengers and 80,000 crew.
