Barry Murphy: Cork Civic Trust

C O C: Would you like to state your name and give us your memory.

B M: My name is Barry Murphy I lived in this house for from the 1st of February 1959 to the 27^th of July 1970. I left here to go to the church to get married. Eh my two brothers and my first cousin also left here to go to the church to get married. Em the house was run by the Mrs Ryan’s there was Sissy, Monica, Mary and they had a brother Jack who was not well and they also had a brother Monsignor Ryan he retired to this he was in Plymouth but he retired to here. Eh his eh Ger I think his name was. I have many happy memories here like to me it was home from home it was because eh I was originally from Bantry and the home place was sold so this, this was my home.

C O C: An we are talking about the Civic Trust House. What was the civic house trust when you lived here it was a

B M: It was a boarding house. There was thirteen the maximum number that ever stayed here was thirteen, but em we very rarely that was she was trying to fit in some friends or other. But people who stayed here I only remember two people who came to stay here and left to change lodgings. We never changed.

C O C: Right

B M: I suppose its location it’s near to town and em the people who ran it were generally very nice very nice people.

C O C: An would have stayed friends with the people that you would have met?

B M: I did yes well like they were elderly ladies. I have a photograph of my em after, after we were married we called we passed by the house here an I have a photograph with the people of the house an our on the door step in our wedding gear and the family here as well. So em its.

C O C: And has the house changed much now from what it was then.

B M: Well I can’t say that much. This room has changed a lot because the fireplace is that’s a new fireplace that’s been fitted there that wasn’t like that, an there was a press there in the corner and also but I'm glad to see I was worried about the window. That stained glass window on the stairs. I was wondering what happened what happened to that. I was wondering was it removed by some engineer as a favour for a friend for some other house but thank god its still there. An I have many happy memories of this house.

C O C: Can you give me a picture of your kind of days here

B M: Well I was a shift worker so em we’d come down. This was our this was our communal room and we we em the students use to study in there own rooms but we came down here for meals and there was a radio there in the corner there was no television at the time and we had chairs around the place. We played forty forty five here or and em there was one man Michael O Callaghan he was a teacher above in the Cathedral school and he spent all his life here. He never married but he spent all his life here in this house and em so it’s em the room across the way that was the family room an the kitchen was in behind here and all the rest then were more or less bedrooms.

C O C: Ok and what kind of meals would have been prepared for ye.

B M: Well ordinary meals breakfast you’d get a fry for breakfast you got your lunch and you got your tea.

C O C: And what was dinner?

B M: An you got supper maybe a bit of sweet cake an if we didn’t we always went up to the Inchigeela Dairy’s or up to the Stad to get something to have with the cup of tea.

C O C: Em, em just questions we are asking em everyone that comes in. Em do you have any memories of Allotments in Cork.

B M: No you see I'm a native of Bantry not a native of Cork.

C O C: O ok. Did you have any experiences of Bonfire night in the city?

B M: Only horrible black clouds of smoke tyres no didn’t like it

C O C: Well em Barry thank you for coming in and taking this interview.

B M: Thank you