Kathleen Noonan was born in 1922 and grew up in Douglas Street on the south side of the city. Kathleen had her first stall in Cornmarket Street and in 1955 took a stall in the Market. She has traded as Kathleen Noonan Pork and Bacon for over 50 years. Kathleen is now semi-retired and her daughter Pauline waits on their loyal clientele.
The stall is unique in the Market as it is the only one that deals exclusively in pig meat, specialising in pig offal and offering a range of products that was the mainstay of the diet of the ordinary working people of Cork from early in the nineteenth century. Kathleens daughter Pauline does not exaggerate when she says: "We sell every part of the pig except his squeal!"
The stall displays crubeens, pig's tails, bodice, skirts, kidneys, loin bones, knuckles, hocks as well as rashers, collar bacon and other "regular" cuts of pork and bacon. Pigs head is also sold but is not usually displayed as the supply is limited and regular customers have standing orders for every available head. The Noonans sell a large number of both pig tails and crubeens every week. Bodice is also sold in large volumes however over the last few years there has been a decline in sales to the native Corkonians which thankfully the immigrant population has picked up and Pauline is now benefiting from this.
