Dunnes closed there in 2016
09:38, 13 Feb 2026Updated 10:15, 13 Feb 2026
North Main Street car park(Image: Google Maps)
There are major changes underway on what was once the most vibrant and varied shopping street in Cork City – and hopes that it can come back to life and exit decades of neglect and dereliction.
The North Main Street still has major issues – and almost 7 years after the partial collapse of the old Hosford’s Grocers building at the southern end of the street, that high-profile site remains the unwanted ‘poster child’ for dereliction on Leeside. Cork City Council, now the owner of the buildings, has promised to begin regeneration work this year.
There is also new movement at the other end of the street, with fresh moves to attract new tenants to the near-empty old North Main Street Shopping Centre – now renamed the ‘North Gate Quarter’. Daltons Pharmacy and the Daybreak stores (along with a MyGP medical centre) are the only businesses there at the moment. The centre was largely shuttered in 2016 when the anchor tenants, Dunne’s Stores, pulled out.
Now agents Global Properties are offering 7 units up for rent, at ‘fair rates’ in a bid to bring new life back to the centre that has 400 car park spaces and a central location. The agents say the spaces range in size and could be suitable for retail, cafes or a gym. The owners may also be planning to give the old centre, which opened in 1992, a facelift to give it a more modern, brighter look.
The North Main Street has already seen very positive changes in recent times with new apartments, a big new Centra, and the repurposing of the old TSB bank next to St Peter’s Church as housing for the Peter McVerry Trust, along with new cafes and smaller businesses.
The new Boname Patisserie café and bakery on North Main Street(Image: CorkBeo / Eoin Shortiss)
And the much-loved Bradley’s off licence and deli, which has kept going through all of the challenges and changes since the 1800s, remains a big draw to the street and a shining example of how quality city centre retailing can be done, even when the odds seemed against you.
There are more changes on the way, the buildings around the old Ideal Pet Shop have been sold and are due for major development and attitudes to living in Cork city centre, which have lagged behind trends in many European cities, are also changing, a few decades on after the flight out to the suburbs.
The moves to bring new tenants into the ‘North Gate Quarter’ could add to the new optimism around the old street – especially if the centre gets a facelift.
Want to see more of the biggest and breaking stories from Cork Beo? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Cork Beo as a preferred source, simply click here.