Breda (b. 1949) grew up in Thomas Davis Avenue, in Blackpool. The houses were built new in the 1960s. They lived with a relative who told her and her brother scary stories. She went to the North Presentation Convent school.
Liam was born circa 1940. His father was a docker. His mother died when he was 10 and his aunt reared him; she was a widow at 32 and had her own children.
He was a messenger boy in the 1950s; he talks about the job and its good and bad aspects. He…
Cork Storyteller Pat Speight (b. 1940s) was born near the North Cathedral, known by locals as the North Chapel. His first house in Cork he thinks was a kind of tenement, with three families living in one house; his father later bought out this…
Billy, a one-time Cork Folklore Project member of staff and long-term collaborator, was born in Cork in 1941 and grew up with his six siblings in Quaker Road. His mother was born in Cork and his father came from Dunmanway. Billy attended St Marie’s…
Ronnie talks about some of the buildings of the South Parish, such as Saint Fin Barre’s Cathedral and Elizabeth Fort, and comments on some related photographs.
Ronnie (b. circa 1963)talks about the laying of the foundation stone for Saint Fin…
Pat Walsh talks about some of the transport histories of Cork, including the railway and tramway systems and their associated infrastructure; and about the history of Elizabeth Fort.
He talks about the channels of the River Lee within the city and…
David is a member of the Freemasons and talks about the Masonic Hall building on Tuckey Street. It dates back to the late 1700s when it was used as a meeting place for several different groups until it was bought by the Freemasons in 1844. He lists…
Minister Farris talks about the history of the Trinity Presbyterian Church, York Street.
He talks about the present church building, which was established in 1861. He comments on its crooked steeple and the stories associated with it. The site of…
Ria talks about the history and purpose of Blackrock Castle. She explains that the building was bought by Cork County Council and saved from dereliction. It went on to house a science centre and an observatory.
David talks about the history and use of Christchurch and the adjoining Triskel arts centre.
He describes the Siege of Cork in the 1690s when the church was badly damaged.
He relates the story of Sir Henry Browne Hayes, who kidnapped Quaker heiress…
Michael talks about the Crawford Observatory building, about the instruments it housed, and about the advancement of scientific knowledge.
Michael is the curator of University College Cork. The Crawford Observatory was established on the campus in…
A group of religious sisters talk about Nano Nagle, her life and work and miracles attributed to praying to her. They talk about the modern schooling needs of the area, and the role of the South Presentation building.
Mary talks about the establishment of the National Sculpture Factory, and the history of the building that houses it.
The sculpture factory was founded by four artists who wished to work collectively, and their project was supported by the city…
Geraldine talks about her time at UCC in the late 1970s and 1980s, and about the then new Boole Library. She mentions a superstition about walking on the grass of the quadrangle before graduation. (She reads aloud about the Crawford Observatory from…
Eibhlín talks about Cork Opera House, its history and its role in the life of the city.
The building was established in 1855 as the Athenaeum, a rebuild of an earlier exhibition hall, and remodelled as the Munster Hall in 1872 and again in…
John talks about the history and present role of Cork’s Vision Centre.
The building was originally St Peter’s Church, completed in 1788, and sold into private hands in 1949, after which it fell into disrepair. It was restored by Cork Corporation and…
Mary at the time of this recording was the Cork Folklore Project's manager,
She was born in Des Moines Iowa, in the United States and moved to Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota when she was 8 years old. She had one sister who died when she was 10…
Eileen grew up on a farm in Inchaclough, West Cork with one brother and four sisters. She was the third child. They had a cousin and a neighbour’s child living with them. Her parents were hardworking– her mother used to work at least 12 hours a day.…
Noreen grew up during the 1950s in Nicholas Church Place, off Cove Street. She says the house was a tenement house shared with a family who lived upstairs. She went to the South Presentation Convent School. Her father died when she was 10. She left…
Marie-Annick Desplanques grew up in Brittany, west France. She moved about frequently as a child because her father worked on the railways. She discusses food, games, Christmas in France as well as moving to Ireland from Newfoundland and the…