These photographs act as a document primarily for the shop owners and their families as their place of work and secondly for those who feel a sense of sadness when they see another old shop close. There have been huge changes in Cork over the past ten years, entire buildings even streets have disappeared. These photographs capture some of the remaining businesses, which represent a type of trade and attitude towards community and consumerism completely at odds with new trends in Ireland today. As many of the shop owners have said `Change is inevitable, different generations have different demands' but perhaps these photos will stand as a record of a way of life that will not survive but will be fondly remembered. Our communities will be all the poorer for their passing.