Cork people give their reaction to Utopia the first adult shop to open in the city.
Utopia Adult Products is located in the city centre on Lower Oliver Plunkett Street. The Cork branch is one of seven in the Utopia chain of adult shops nationwide. There were objections to the store opening in Cork, with landlords refusing to rent out properties for the shop.
The sex shop as it's known locally, has its share of comment, criticism, and curiosity but who would have thought Saddam Hussein was responsible for it all?
Proprietor Jim Bellamy was previously in the children's toy business, but when the Gulf War crippled his supply chain, he could no longer make a living. When he moved to Ireland Jim Bellamy noticed the potential for selling adult sex toys,
So, I diversified from childrens to adult.
Rather than being seedy, Jim Bellamy considers his shop fun and perfectly harmless. Nobody is being forced to shop there.
If you're a vegetarian, don't go into a butchers.
Across the street from the premises Cork dockers assemble for work. One of them has been into Utopia out of curiosity but was shocked by what he saw,
You wouldn’t get it in Bangkok.
A long term resident of the area Seán Keane has already purchased a couple of items from Utopia. He bought himself a pirate eyepatch and made a coat for his dog from a pair of knickers.
This part of Cork has a tradition of prostitution, and during his forty years living in the locality, Sean Keane has seen it all. He recalls a scantily dressed woman standing in the perishing cold.
I’d say if you’d want to take her out, you’d need a blowlamp to heat her up first.
A 'Nationwide' report broadcast on 20 October 1995. The reporter is Tom McGuire. The presenter is Michael Ryan.
