Joesph starts off the interview by talking through his work history. From working for Sisks at 16 to his job as a foreman for the Cork city council. Joesph mentions some of the building projects he has been involved in, from the churched in Blackrock…
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…
Murty O’Sullivan, who grew up in Blackpool, is the third generation in the building trade as a stonemason, with the fourth generation just starting. He describes the tradition of families passing on trades through the generations and the difficulties…
Aisling talks about her architectural conservation work at Fota House, Cork.
She describes the purpose of some of the rooms and of the layout of the house. She comments on the difference between conservation work and renovation work, emphasizing…
Sean Moraghan talks in depth about Fota House and gardens in specific and the evolution of the country house in general. He talks, inter alia, about the role of the garden, food preparation and storage, class, status and gender distinctions.
Geraldine shares her knowledge of the Jewish community in Cork.
She describes how Jews arrived in two distinct waves in the eighteenth century and the nineteenth century, scattering after the Second World War. She describes the Cork synagogue and…
Fritz discusses the Unitarian religious tradition, and the Unitarian Church [in Princes Street].
He mentions a number of notable Cork men who were Unitarians. Temperance movement founder Father Mathew had a connection to the building, and slavery…
Roger talks about the Imperial Hotel, South Mall, formerly the Commercial Buildings and the famous people who attended the hotel.
He explains that South Mall used to be a channel of the River Lee and that is why some buildings on the street have…
Maud explains how she came to study at Crawford School of Art in 1972. She praises her tutors but notes that many of them were fired when a new teaching regime was brought in to support a new Diploma qualification. She says the college had an air of…
Geraldine Healy recounts her personal memories of going to the Everyman Palace Theatre in the late 60s, early 70s. She gives brief accounts of changes to the UCC campus from the mid 70s and early 80s. She mentions brief facts about Collins Barracks,…
Patrick talks about the history of some of the buildings of Cork and about the personal memories associated with them.
He talks about Cork waterworks and being awed as a child by its workings, and about Cork Prison, which he and his parents visited…
Lorraine grew up on the grounds of the Orthopaedic Hospital. Her father was the Gate Porter. Her father moved into the gate lodge in 1955 and a year later he married and it became the family home till his retirement in 1991.
Lorraine was one of…
Peter moved to Cork in his early twenties when he had got a job as a typewriter mechanic. The job involved a lot of travel which did not suit him once he got married.
Peter left this job for a position at St Mary's Hospital as a theatre attendant. …
John, worked at St Mary's Hospital from 1972 to 2003 when he took early retirement. Initially he worked as an orthopaedic register but from 1978 he was consultant.
He remembers thinking St. Mary’s was a very progressive hospital but the layout…
Mary worked in the hospital kitchen for 35 years from 1973.
She describes the type of work that the kitchen staff had to preform, from cooking in the kitchen to scrubbing the walls in the corridors.
Mary says there there would be 7 staff on per…