Friday October 22, 2010
The New All-Weather Milk Market Limerick Officially Open
A world-class market and a transformational project for Limerick
Limerick, Friday, October 22, 2010: The new, all-weather, Milk Market Limerick has been officially opened by Mr. John Gormley, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
The event, organised by Limerick Market Trustees, included an Open Day of celebration as a ‘thank you’ to the people of Limerick, and to all those who have supported the project and worked to make it happen. The Limerick Market Trustees also confirmed that an exciting new Christmas Market will be held at the Milk Market, starting at the end of November.
According to David O’Mahony, Chairman of the Limerick Market Trustees, “This is a great day for Limerick. Thanks to the support of so many, we are witnessing the transformation of one of the oldest and historic market in Ireland, into one of the most modern market in Europe, while still retaining its great character.
Our vision for the market was and is that it should be a transformational project for the city; a project that would be even more important to Limerick than other famous markets are to cities such as Barcelona, Florence and Vienna. The Milk Market Limerick has that great a potential.
To-day we are celebrating the delivery of a project which began back in 2003; but this is not the end of the journey. It’s really just the beginning. What we now have is a superb market and events facility. We also have a strong base of traders, offering excellent produce and operating to the highest standards. And, most importantly, we have a growing and loyal following of discerning shoppers who are coming to the Milk Market more frequently and spending in the City.
We now have a great starting point. However, our ambition is to establish the Milk Market as a sustainable, multi-day market and events ‘destination’ attracting greater numbers of local and visiting shoppers, including international visitors. We have already started this process with a Friday and Sunday market and our intention is to nurture, grow and firmly establish them. We also want to see other markets and events happen on other days of the week. If we can achieve this, and can begin to raise these markets to the level of our famous Saturday market, the social and the economic rewards for the City can be substantial.
Like everyone else, we are tired of negativity, talk of downturns and of what we need to do to get more people into the City. This is a great project which can make an enormous difference to Limerick. It can be as successful as the City chooses it to be. Already we on target to attract over 600,000 shoppers to the City, including overseas visitors, in our first full year. We have limited resources, but with greater partnership support within the city, and with continued shopper interest and loyalty, we can have one of Europe’s great markets and easily attract over one million visitors per annum. That’s both an opportunity and a challenge to be embraced. We’ll continue to play our part.
As part of this, we are delighted to confirm that we will stage an exciting Christmas Market which will begin on November 25 and run right up to Christmas Eve to facilitate last-minute shopping. The market will feature up to 60 stalls and shops – all packed with a wide range of artisan food, craft and gift possibilities and all set within a wonderful, fun festive environment. There will also be lots of seasonal treats to enjoy at the market and choirs, singing Christmas favourites, will feature at different stages during the market days. The Christmas market will run Thursdays through Sundays (Nov. 25 to Dec. 24) and on extra dates in December (Dec. 7, 8, 15, 21 and 22)”.
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About Limerick Market Trustees
The Limerick Market Trustees was established in 1852 “to expand and manage the affairs of markets within the boundary of Limerick City and one mile beyond...” A not-for-profit organisation, the board of the trustees is made up of members of Limerick City Council, Limerick County Council and Limerick Chamber, and are re-elected annually.
