PUBLIC TOILETS THAT were installed in Cork city over six months will finally open this weekend. 

The two accessible toilet units were installed at the city end of the Marina Promenade in October at a cost of over €30,000. 

At the time, Cork City Council said it was hoped the toilets “will be fully operational before the end of next week”.

But a delay ensued as a result of contractual disputes between the council and the operators of an adjacent café.

Today, it was confirmed that the toilets, which are next to the Cortado café, will be fully operational from tomorrow. 

They will be open seven days a week in line with Cortado’s opening hours, which are currently listed as 8am to 6pm. 

The toilets will be maintained by a contractor engaged by Cork City Council.

The 1.8km Marina Promenade, running from Centre Park Road to Blackrock Village, was officially opened by Taoiseach Micheál Martin in April 2025 following a multi-million euro revamp that began in 2023. 

However, Labour councillor Peter Horgan said public toilets were never included as part of the plans. He told The Journal that he and other councillors have been pushing for more facilities. 

“There’s been a number of meetings where we’ve talked about toilet in the city as a whole,” he said.

“Especially when you build a place like the Marina. Significant public money goes into it, and it’s a really great job. It’s fantastic, but it doesn’t have toilets. It’s a basic requirement.”

Horgan said “so many people” have contacted him over the last couple of years about the issue.

“There was a whole thing around installing the toilets with the coffee shop that was put on down there, and between the jigs and the reels… it’s just been delayed for nearly six months to get them open. They’ve been there, and they haven’t been open.”

He paid tribute to the other councillors and officials who he said had worked hard to get the toilets open, as well as the owners of the Cortado cafe, but he said “it shouldn’t have come to that”.

“[Public toilets] should be installed at the start of every public investment that we do.”

Horgan added that he and other councillors are working to get more toilets installed along the promenade. “The issue is still live to try and make sure that we have the public facilities in our public amenities.”