1984 Revisited: Ford's was so rooted in Cork that its closure was unthinkable
1984 was a seminal year in Ireland. Forty years on, our writers look back at some of the scandals and stories that made the headlines and helped shape the Ireland of today
The first Anglias on the assembly line at the Ford factory on the Marina in Cork in 1959. From 'Ford boxes’ shipping crates to Fordsons soccer team, the car company inserted itself deeply into Cork's consciousness. Irish Examiner Archive
There was a hard beginning to 1984 for much of Cork with a grim announcement in the Cork Examiner: Ford’s would close later in the year.
The car assembly plant had occupied an outsized place in Cork life since opening in 1917. It had been located on Leeside by Henry Ford himself thanks in large part to his ancestral roots in Ballinascarthy, giving rise to the quip that Ford was a Cork company with a Detroit branch.
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