Rebel Reads is a creative space for organising, educating and community building centered around a bookshop with cultural activity and campaigning in Cork city.
Cork is full of a vibrant sense of community, with an abundance of progressive, creative, talented people across various fields – from activists to musicians, to artists and beyond. We wanted to establish a centre for all of this activity while creating an open creative space in the city.
Are you interested in seeing or contributing to the only community based autonomous social centre in Cork city?
We started off rolling out different ways of raising funds so that we could rent a space in the Marina Business Park in Cork City which would build from the ideas of Solidarity Books. This provided a venue for progressive, independent groups in Cork, along with operating as an open, community-focused space, available for a variety of uses.
Some ideas we are interested in organising the space in a way that can accommodate a bookshop, cafe, art exhibitions, music, talks and festivals. We want this place to act as a meeting space and a centre of activity for all leftist and alternative groups and individuals in Cork. This is an inclusive space, focused on mutual support, autonomy, equality and working collaboratively to build sustainable non-hierarchical structures. We will also be looking for contributions for other uses for the space.
The history of our move to the Marina…
Ever since the closure of Solidarity Books in 2015 and the first Rebel Reads closure in 2018, Cork was without an autonomous space where people can meet, organise and hold events.
As the second biggest city in the Republic, Cork has always had a real need for a community hub where independent and progressive groups can meet, work together, share resources, organise fun events, have days of action or simply to socialise.
Our aim was to fill the current gap and set up a multifunctional and self-sustainable space, run by and for the people as an inclusive, progressive, non-hierarchical organisation.
We plan to use the space to socialise, learn, organise and celebrate.
What has happened so far:
- In 2017 we set ourselves up as a formal organisation, establishing ourselves as a Company Limited by Guarantee, with a constitution and ethos behind us.
- In 2018 we rented our first premises on Fr Matthew Quay. In a very short time we managed to create heaps of excitement around Rebel Reads and lots of different people, groups and initiatives engaged with the space. This space closed in Ocotber 2018 due to circumstances outside of our control.
- In August 2020 we took up a new premises in the Marina Business Park. We are now working towards opening in September/October and once we have organised the space and its use in line with COVID-19 measures.
- In September 2020 we put out a call for volunteers – which was answered by more than 50 skilled and passionate people. Hooray! We have had our first online volunteer meeting and look forward to working with everyone to get the new Rebel Reads space up and running.
- Over the coming weeks, months, and years, we welcomed new members. Membership entails payment (€5 per month or a €60 lump sum per year) which contributes towards the running of the organisation. All members are welcome to contribute to the organisation, to use the space and participate in decision making; we hold an annual AGM where all members are invited to have their say – all paid up members have a vote. We also welcome members who simply wish to support the venture financially.
- We are also working to develop key income streams for the organisation which will contribute to the running costs of the space.
- In early 2021 we planned our next AGM after opening the previous year. All members were made welcome to contribute to the organisation at this stage.
- In October 2022 we held our AGM, and all members were again welcome to contribute. We celebrated a successful previous year with the use of the space having increased dramatically.
- This would continue with AGMs held each year to date. The space is open for many different events throughout the year.
- We are now reaching out to welcome new members so that the potential for Rebel Reads is even better for the future – leading into having held our pre-AGM “Lets Grow Rebel Reads” event held in November 2025.
- We are based down in the Marina Commercial Park , and our address is:
Unit O2 Marina Commercial Park, Centre Park Road, Ballintemple, Cork, T12 VW53 - As we are run by volunteers, please check our social media accounts in Mastodon, Facebook Instagram and others where we broadcast our opening hours. We are mainly open during events.
About us:
The current steering committee includes James McBarron, Eric Hayes, and Declan Synnott.
Please get in touch if you’d like to know more or get involved!