Manager - Old Cork Waterworks Experience and Elizabeth Fort

Welcome to our new staff spotlight section which highlights the many services delivered by Cork City Council on a daily basis. 

In this edition of our staff spotlight, you'll get to know our manager of the Old Cork Waterworks Experience and Elizabeth Fort, Mervyn Horgan. 

Tell us about your job?

I provide day to day management services for Old Cork Waterworks Experience and Elizabeth Fort under the supervision of Cork City Council. Both are historic properties but couldn’t be more different in audience profile and onsite facilities which can also drive business levels seasonally. I engage a team of 12 staff over both attractions and the onsite and offsite events we are involved with.   

What does a typical day involve?

I know it’s a cliché but every day is different, and very much dependent on the time of year. For the last few months organising Cork Carnival of Science in Fitzgerald Park was a big focus. It is Irelands largest outdoor science event and a great event for Cork to host – for example 50 plus organisations, a tented village, food traders and security must pop up and then disappear over a few days.

Old Cork Waterworks Experience (OCWE) would have a lot of group visits over June and July. Our primary science teams participated at Cork Summer Show and also science themed weekends at Fota Wildlife Park. The site itself site tends to be busiest over the winter months with meeting room use and formal events occurring more often and schools being a large part of the target audience. As an example, OCWE engaged with 325 primary schools this year which required a good bit planning and administration. The school year is quite short (182 primary school days) so tends to involve a longer lead in as teachers plan activities well in advance. 

With Elizabeth Fort the traditional “tourist” season see’s the bulk of the visitors. There is a trend or upward curve on the numbers from early March and over the summer visitor numbers would average between 400 & 500 per day. Similar to OCWE we get a lot of groups this time of year and a cruise day is a great day in Cork for visitors to the city. The Tourism Section and the Arts Office are very proactive with the programming of events and activities to utilise the space which in turn helps showcase the venue and helps attract other events. The site hosted the Munster Fleadh in July and multiple events are pencilled in for August and September. We’ve also just completed a two-year programme with Failte Ireland and we’re currently implementing some of these learnings and adapting to meet more customer expectations.

What is your favourite part of your job?

Has to be the people, I’d consider myself very much people orientated and maybe this comes from my background in hospitality. Looking in from the outside both attractions can be scaled back to just brick and stone, it’s the interaction with the human element or little touch points that provides most of the memorable experiences. I consider myself very fortunate to work with amazing people across Cork City Council from tourism and parks to climate and events, I think this skillset and know-how within the local authority can be under appreciated especially from the outside. Being involved with Cork City Council has taught me a lot, especially with processes and systems, this all helps to manage relationships with external organisations I would work with throughout the year.    

What can make your job challenging at times?

I wouldn’t say “challenging” but there are some days when I feel I’m glued to my desk, I really enjoy interacting with people and sometimes this must be sacrificed if say a report or funding application is time sensitive. I wouldn’t be the best at my own time management over the course of a day but I’m getting better.  

What advice would you give your younger self?

If I was ever asked, I’d offer a few pieces of advice. Firstly, ask questions, the answers may be not what you expected, can save you time and effort and will probably be what you needed to hear at that specific moment in time. Next try to understand where the other person is coming from or what the motivating factor is, sometimes we are just caught up in our own bubble and may miss an opportunity or the time build a valuable relationship. Lastly, continue learning along the way both formal and informal can provide a reset at different stages of your career and build confidence.