Sweet Caroline (Street).

Five Cork city streets are in the process of being transformed under a winter outdoor dining scheme that will see them “weatherproofed.”

Parasols, festoon lighting and awnings have been arriving into the city this week to be set up at five different locations, including Caroline St., Pembroke St., Beasley St., Princes St., and Union Quay.

A photo of Caroline St., shared by the Cork City Council Twitter, is giving seriously Christmassy vibes — thanks in no small part to the green and red exterior of the Oliver Plunkett.

Margaret Kenneally, owner of the Oliver Plunkett Bar said: “The Oliver Plunkett Bar has come back very strongly as a business since we were allowed trade again, thanks, in part, to its ability to meet customers’ needs outdoors on Caroline Street. These weather proofing grants will allow us to continue to look after those customers who want to remain outdoors in the coming months,” she said.

👀Take a sneak peak of 1 of Cork City's 5 newest outdoor dining streets!

🍽️Thanks to Fáilte Ireland's weatherproofing scheme 5 city centre streets have benefitted from new parasols, windbreaks, heaters, festoon lighting, planters & more

✨More updates on the way! pic.twitter.com/GglDDIxgoo

— Cork City Council (@corkcitycouncil) December 14, 2021

Union Quay is also part of the grand plan, which promised to “install 16 parasols similar to those on Princes Street. Each premises to have a unique colour parasol and windbreaker. Festoon lighting above the parasols. Improved pedestrian access, inclusive of wheelchair access and improved resurfaced road surface.”

The below photo, captured by Karl Diskin, shows that the project is coming along very nicely indeed.

This is looking very smart over on Union Quay 👌🏼 pic.twitter.com/UeYapiL8N2

— Karl Shane Dískín (@KarlDiskin) December 15, 2021

The €1.3million plan will also see heaters and lights added to the already-iconic parasols on Princes St., and giant umbrellas and parasols added to Beasley St.

Princes St. is looking like this right now, so there’s really no escaping the festive spirit.

Good night #CorkCity see you tomorrow. #CalmOfLatenights #Beautifulandpeaceful @pure_cork @CBA_cork 🎄🥰 pic.twitter.com/KHbsIXhMSU

— Princes Street Cork (@CorkPrinces) December 15, 2021

Header image via Paul McGuirk