Calls for the protection and preservation of the former Ford assembly plant in Cork.
The economic impact on Cork was devastating in the early 1980s when the famous Ford car factory closed. Efforts are underway to preserve the original building on the site where seven thousand people once worked building Ford cars and tractors.
Gus McLaughlin came from a family of Ford workers. His father, his brothers and his son also worked at the plant. When the Ford plant opened in 1917, it was at the cutting edge of American technology. His father moved to Cork from Northern Ireland specifically to get a job at Ford.
The plant on Cork's marina was the first Ford motor factory to be built outside of America.
When Ford closed the Cork plant in 1984, the economic impact on the city was great. Now, the area where the old plant is located is earmarked for a multi-billion euro dockland regeneration. Cork City management want the Ford building's architectural and historic value protected. Pat Ledwidge, Cork City Council, describes why the building is worth protecting and the plans to place it on the record of protected structures.
It was a pioneering industrial building.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 11 July 2009. The reporter is Jennie O'Sullivan.
