It’s one of the best spots in the city for a walk.

But Cork’s pedestrianised Marina wasn’t always so green and leafy.

A photograph shared on Twitter by historian Fiona Forde of @IrishFamilyDetective shows the scenic riverside walkway as it was back in 1952, around 100 years after the grand old alder, ash and poplar trees were planted.

Marina #Cork 1952 @MarinaMktCork
Photo Dave Mav #LoveCork #PureCork #CorkLike pic.twitter.com/AYxxb7HA4I

— IrishFamilyDetective (@Fiona_Forde_Irl) February 2, 2021

Interestingly, the name has been associated with the waterside walk since 1872, when it was first suggested to Cork Corporation he Gaelic poet and scholar Donncha Ó Floinn as a replacement for the area then known as the Navigation Wall.

According to Cork Past and Present, Mr Ó’Floinn pointed out that ‘The Marina’ was the name given to recently reclaimed land near Palermo in Sicily.

In July 1872, Cork Corporation formally adopted ‘The Marina’ as the name of Cork’s new promenade.