‘Doing Pana’ is still a major part of the Cork lexicon, but is it even a thing any more?

Do people, young or old, still meet up with a friend (or go solo for that matter) and stroll slowly up and down the bending Patrick Street, stopping to chat to a passing friend (or even stranger) and glancing at the goods in the shop windows?

I would suggest the tradition died out decades ago.

There was a time when ‘doing Pana’ was so common that a photographer used to position himself halfway along it and snap friends, couples, and families as they ambled along the pavement.

Since they were usually clad in their finery (dressing up to walk down a street... notions!), they often purchased said photos, which now can be found yellowing at the backs of their grandchildren’s drawers and in their attics.

Patrick Street remains an important thoroughfare for the city, but in recent times it has lost some of its lustre.

Yes, it has recovered a little since the pandemic, when it seemed to become half-deserted and saw an influx of vape shops and mobile phone units. Urban Outfitters and Seasalt are among businesses to have recently located there, while we eagerly await the next iteration of the former Debenhams/Roches Stores building.

But Pana will have to go a little further to match its halcyon days of yore.

Friends in England recently asked me for recommendations on where to go in Cork city to eat and drink as they were heading here on a break, and my response was instructive. I didn’t mention Pana (The Long Valley doesn’t count, pedants!)

Instead, I directed them to Oliver Plunkett Street, South Mall, and Grand Parade, Opera Lane too. But I........

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