166 years ago today on 12 July 1854, a meeting took place in Cork which decided to fund the completion of the Athenaeum (aka the Opera House)

The Irish Industrial Exhibition was a world's fair held in Cork in 1852, the first to be held in Ireland (then part of the United Kingdom). It was opened on 10 June by the Lord Lieutenant, the Earl of Eglinton (who gave his name to Eglinton Street in Cork and the Eglinton Street baths).

It followed hard on the heels of the Crystal Palace London Exhibition and preceded the Dublin Exhibition by one year. Taking place two years after the Great Famine ended, and following a significant increase in Cork's population due to an influx of people fleeing the countryside the fair stemmed partly from attempts to revive local industries.

The National Exhibition was housed in a cruciform building, with four ‘transepts’, specially designed and erected at the Corn Exchange on Albert Quay, the site of the present City Hall. Because the Corn Exchange (near Anderson's Quay) was too small to contain all the exhibits, Sir John Benson was commissioned to construct the second exhibition hall. 

Three of the four transepts were given over to the display of industrial exhibits, amongst other things, whiskey, ale, porter, pearl barley, ‘Norton’s Projectile Shells’, hydraulic presses, Valentia slate, stuffed birds, wax flowers and Cork Ginghams, as well as other displays of the fine arts. Most of the major Cork businesses and manufacturers participated.

At the conclusion of the Exhibition the organising committee decided not to demolish Sir John Benson's creation. It was dismantled and re-erected on the site currently occupied by the Court Opera House.

166 years ago today on 12 July 1854 at a public meeting, presided over by the mayor, it was stated that the expense of transferring and directing the building had been borne by the Exhibition Committee. However there was a sum of ￡200 required complete the work that would provide Cork with such a magnificent public utility. It was decided that a public subscription be opened. At the conclusion of the meeting, before the crowds had dispersed, over 30 shares were subscribed and many more reserved.

The reconstruction of the building, which was called 'The Athenaeum', was finished by early 1855. It was perceived as a centre of learning and culture for all the citizens of Cork. It hosted its first performance on 29 January 1855, a concert in aid of the Blind Asylum. The Lord Lieutenant, George Frederick Howard, the Earl of Carlisle, officially opened the building on 23 May 1855. Nationalist members of Cork Corporation had protested against the choice of the Lord Lieutenant to perform the official opening.

'The Athenaeum' was renamed 'The Munster Hall' in 1875 and renamed Cork Opera House in 1877 after extensive reconstruction.

It became one of the most popular venues in Cork city and hosted touring opera companies, including the Carl Rosa and Moody Manners companies, and some of Ireland's best-known actors, until it was destroyed by fire on 13 December 1955. 

The present Opera House was opened by President Eamon de Valera on 31 October 1965. The Opera House was extensively refurbished in 2000, adding a splendid fa?ade.