Business

Jimmy and Paddy celebrate St George's Market's 120th year as footfall figures soar

Jimmy Murdoch, right, and Paddy Lynn reminisce over the history of St George's Market PICTURE: Hugh Russell
Jimmy Murdoch, right, and Paddy Lynn reminisce over the history of St George's Market PICTURE: Hugh Russell Jimmy Murdoch, right, and Paddy Lynn reminisce over the history of St George's Market PICTURE: Hugh Russell

AS the Friday market at Belfast's iconic emporium, St George's Market, prepares to celebrate its 120th birthday next month, new figures from Belfast City Council show overall footfall has risen to 208,000.

The Friday, Saturday and Sunday markets have all welcomed more visitors than last year, but Saturday has emerged as the most popular, with footfall rising 8 per cent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same period last year.

And with a total of 950,000 visits in 2015, the market is well on target to exceed that figure by the end of the year.

The latest data will come as an early birthday present for the 250 traders, many of whom have family ties stretching back generations.

One of the most popular - and well known faces is 83 year-old Jimmy Murdoch, whose great grandfather, James Megaghan, was instrumental in persuading the then city father to build the market back in the 1890s - "so the traders would have a roof over their heads".

Jimmy, whom despite being officially 'retired', still works at the family fruit and vegetable stall each Friday, has a simple explanation for the market's ongoing success, despite increasing competition from supermarkets and online shopping.

"It's all about the craic and the banter," he said, "pure and simple."

Certainly, when Jimmy starts telling his stories, you can see why shoppers might choose to buy their apples and oranges at his stall instead of picking them up in a sterile supermarket aisle.

Although, as he points out, it's not so much of the apples and oranges now; more a case of the "fancy stuff" - such as mangoes, ginger, chilli peppers and "bunches of beetroot" - that his loyal customers are stocking up on each week.

And, the taste and freshness are unbeatable, he says, with all produce bought fresh from the farm that morning and taken from the fields the day before.

"My alarm on Friday goes off at 2.45am as I like to get early to the farmer's market to get the best produce - I will get my spuds from one man and my cabbage from another - and then I will have them nicely displayed and my stall ready for opening at 5.30am," he said.

"I started working here at 14, so you get used to the early starts. One of the biggest changes over the years has been the rising prices - you used to be able to buy a box of apples two or three pounds; now a box will cost you £20.

"On a good day, though, I'll make a couple of hundred pounds and get a good crowd around me and I'll go home happy."

As someone who once challenged a suspected cucumber thief - and found the stolen item up his sleeve - Jimmy Murdoch is not someone to be messed with, but as a young lad he was happy to take advice from his father when it came to choosing a mode of transport.

"When I was young I always thought I wanted to work with motors and I asked my father for a lend of £30 to buy a car," he said. "He told me to stick with a horse because it goes slower - and you have time to talk to people."

For the market's resident historian, Paddy Lynn, the 'big birthday' is a timely salute to all the market families who have helped build up the colour, character and unique atmosphere of St George's over the years.

The man behind 'Paddy's Antiques and Collectables' for over 30 years, Paddy - whose great grandparents sold fish from baskets on their backs in the original wholesale market - said the venue was a genuine Belfast "institution".

"St George's Market is also a tourist attraction, of course," he said, "as well as a busy market place at the weekends.

"Despite the challenges of the internet and multi-nationals, and the need for more younger traders and more unique goods, we're still here and I don't see any reason why the market won't survive for another 100 years."

The 120th anniversary is being officially marked on Friday, June 3, when the market will launch its extended Friday opening hours from 6am until 3pm.

The food and craft market will run as usual from 9-3 on Saturdays, with the food, craft and antique market open from 10-4 on Sundays.