Jim Fahy: Masonry, Apprenticeships, Emigration

Jim Fahy Picture July 2016.jpg

Title

Jim Fahy: Masonry, Apprenticeships, Emigration

Subject

Stonemasons: Occupational Lore:

Description

Jim Fahy is a stonemason who was interviewed in 2015 by Michael Moore from the Cork Folklore Project, also a stonemason. Jim Fahy comes from several generations of stonemasons on both sides of his family. He describes the ‘closed trade’ system, which would have given him entrance into the profession due to his family lineage. When the system ‘opened’ he was required to do formal training despite the fact that the mason’s traditional rule gave him the right to enter without formal training, through apprenticeship. He started his apprenticeship or training in 1975. He vividly describes the hard working conditions and the skill of the stonemason. He describes the union customs such as ‘paying their script’ and being brought to ‘the green table’ in the mid-1970s until the Recession in 1981. He laments the current state of the profession and fears that properly trained tradesmen will soon become extinct.

Both Jim's Cousin and Uncle were also interviewed for the project:
CFP_SR00569_fahy_2016; & CFP_SR00577_fahy_2016;

Date

3 December 2015

Identifier

CFP_SR00566_fahy_2015

Coverage

Cork, Ireland 1960s -2010s

Source

Cork Folklore Project Audio Archive

Rights

Cork Folklore Project

Language

English, Béarlagair na Saor (Masons Language)

Type

Sound

Format

2 .wav Files

Interviewee

Jim Fahy

Interviewer

Michael Moore

Duration

43min 15sec

Location

Minnane Bridge, Cork

Original Format

.wav

Bit Rate/Frequency

24bit/48kHz

Transcription

The following is a short extract from the interview transcript, copyright of the Cork Folklore Project. If you wish to access further archival material for this interview or other interviews please contact CFP, folklorearchive@gmail.com

JF The thing about it is now I’m the last of my family as a mason, once I die there’ll be no one to take it up after me and that’ll be the end of my family’s time in the masons trade which goes back generations, and it’s sad thing really at the end of the day like because I would have loved my 2 sons like 1 of em even to take it up but they had no interest in it like, and I feel like as if you know and that’s the reason I’m so hooked up with historical side of things now is that what’s there I’m trying to preserve it and not only that I want to promote it as well, so like that’s the reason I’m so involved in it now and getting the banner restored now and things like that you know. It’s really important and not only that I’ve managed to save a lot of the records of the plumbers, the carpenters, the electricians, all these things were left in bags inside in carpenters hall, just abandoned and left there and the next thing for the them you know yourself a black plastic bag the next thing that was going to happen to that was it was going out in a skip.

Citation

Cork Folklore Project , “Jim Fahy: Masonry, Apprenticeships, Emigration,” accessed April 25, 2024, https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/179.