Protesters will take to the streets of Kinsale to show support for Piper’s Funfair
People are ready to take to the streets this weekend to save their town’s traditional funfair and showman’s wagon.
The solidarity rally in Kinsale, Cork, is designed to show support for the Piper family, who have held a traditional funfair in the tourist town since the late 1930s.
Speakers are also expected to publicly call on Cork County Council to reverse its position, which forced Piper’s showman’s wagon from its traditional parking spot, and which also threatened the family’s ability to run the funfair in its traditional quayside location.
The Irish Examiner first reported last week how the local authority had threatened to confiscate Piper’s showman’s wagon unless it was removed from the Short Quay area of the town, where it is parked for nearly 90 years, and had also set rent increases for the traditional funfair site for the summer season.
Brendan Piper, the fourth generation of his family involved in the business, said the increases were in the range of an additional €1,000 for next summer, an additional €2,500 in 2024 and a staggering additional €5,000 for 2025 , and rendered the company commercially unviable. .
But this week Cork County Council defended its position, describing rents as ‘unusually modest’ and ‘significantly below market levels’.
He said the Piper Fairground is exempt from commercial rates and the proposed rent for 2022 was a nominal charge in the context of commercial rents incurred by city ratepayers.
He said the proposed increase in rental charges reflected a contribution to municipal services provided in the town which would benefit fairground visitors.
The council also defended its position which forced the removal of Piper’s famous showman wagon from its traditional parking spot in the square at Short Quay.
“It is normal and appropriate for council to refute unsubstantiated claims of permanent occupation of public spaces or unsubstantiated property claims,” he said.
Local Green Party representative Marc O’Riain and former Piper employee Helen Hickey, who organized a petition in support of the Pipers, now signed by some 2,000 people, have now invited people to attend the rally in this weekend to demand the return of Piper’s to Quai Court. The event will take place on Sunday at 3 p.m.
They said the community was “shocked and appalled” by the council’s unilateral actions, without any community engagement, with councilors Sean O’Donovan and Alan Coleman being the only public representatives to fight Piper’s corner on the council.
“The showman’s cart and the ‘merries’ have been part of Kinsale since 1932 and have been an integral part of community and children’s memory for almost a century and part of our intangible cultural heritage,” said Mr O ‘Rian.
“As the council tried to defend the rent increase and the action to eject Piper’s wagon from Short Quay, the community is likely to come out in force on Sunday in solidarity with the Piper family.”