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Liam Ó hUigín: Henry Street, Bonfire Night, Childhood Games, Messenger Boys.
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…
He was a messenger boy in the 1950s; he talks about the job and its good and bad aspects. He…
Pat Speight: Northside, Childhood Games, Schooldays,
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 McCarthy: Childhood, Catholicism, GAA.
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…
Pat Walsh: Barrack Street, Custom House, Dundanion Castle, Elizabeth Fort, Railways, Sculpture Factory, Trams, Transport,
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…
He talks about the channels of the River Lee within the city and…
Eileen Claffey: Childhood Games, Food, Farming, Festivals, Irish Language,
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 Geaney: Childhood Games, Céilí, Halloween, School, The Stations.
An account of growing up on a small farm in the Cork countryside and the simplicity of life in the 1950s.
Noreen was born in Cuileann Ui Chaoimh in Co. Cork. She had three sisters and one brother. She attended Owen na Bui National School. She lived…
Noreen was born in Cuileann Ui Chaoimh in Co. Cork. She had three sisters and one brother. She attended Owen na Bui National School. She lived…
Mícheál Ó Geallabháin: Family, Community, Social Class, Sport, Music, Emigration.
An in-depth, evocative interview about growing up in The Middle Parish highlighting poverty and the power of education in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Mícheál Ó Geallabháin gives intimate and warm detail about family life, community spirit, class,…
Sean Lucey, Terry McCarthy: Blackpool, Dixies Showband
Seán Lucy was born in 1936. Seán is from a family of four. He started work as a radio and television repairman in 1950, before becoming a professional musician in 1960. He played the clarinet. He played with the Butter Exchange Band, a brass and reed…
Tommy Rooney: Second City Jazzband, Cork Academy School of Music
Tommy Rooney was born in 1931. He was reared in Crosshaven and was the eldest of nine. His father’s family were from Dublin. He joined the army in 1945 at the age of 14 and remained in the service for 12 years. He played music during some of that…
Liam Foley: Blackpool, Showbands, Arcadia
Liam is originally from the Northside, from Great William Street in Blackpool. His whole family were musical, and even though his father worked as a cabinet-maker, he and the rest of the family were very keen on playing music at home. He went to…
Frances McCarthy and Betty O’Mahony: The Dixies, Christy O'Mahony
Frances has always lived on the Northside. She was born in Poulraddy, went to school in North Presentation school. When she was seven she moved to Ballyvolane and went to school at St Patrick’s College, Gardiner’s Hill, and Mayfield Community School.…
Marie Crean: South Parish, Cinemas, Black and Tan’s
Marie was born (in the 1950s) and reared in High Street, in the South Parish, off Douglas Street; she thinks the street was formerly Quarry Lane. Some of her area was altered to make a new road. She went to school in South Presentation.
She recalls…
She recalls…
James 'Jim' McKeon: Northside, Sport, Writing,
Jim (b. 1940s) remembers that his father worked for the railways and had a tied cottage in an area known as Kilbarry Cottages, or Railway Cottages. Then the family moved to Paddock House, Fairhill. The house was at the top of Washbrew Lane, and came…
Seán Lane: Blarney Street, Butchers, Bowling,
Seán Lane was born in 1942. His parents were both from Blarney Street, where he was raised. His father was a bacon butcher.
He talks about his childhood. Children were always on the lookout for any opportunity to make a penny, such as cow-herding…
He talks about his childhood. Children were always on the lookout for any opportunity to make a penny, such as cow-herding…
Eileen Jones: Blackpool, Shawlies, Sunbeam,
Eileen Jones (b. 1931) was born in Millfield Cottages. When she was 4 years old her family moved to Welsh’s Lane in Blackpool; members of her extended family lived nearby. Her mother was born in 1896. Her father was a builder’s labourer.
There was…
There was…
Pat Saville: Blackpool, Working Life, Sport,
Pat Saville was born in 1946. He had a twin brother, Charlie, and an older brother, Ray. He moved from England with his family when he was 4 years old. He grew up in Welsh’s Lane, Blackpool. His father died when he was 10.
He describes the shops and…
He describes the shops and…
Noel Magnier: Gerald Griffin Street, Shops, Box Cars,
Noel has written a book about growing up in Cork in the 1940s and 1950s, called Is That You, Boy? He was born (1939) and reared in Gerald Griffin Street. He has 4 siblings. He recalls the shops and businesses on the street.
Denny’s cellar was a…
Denny’s cellar was a…
Mary Marshall: Blackpool, Childhood, Hunting,
Mary grew up in Thomas Davis Street, Blackpool. Both her parents were from Blackpool. Her mother liked to use Grand Parade library, and her father was an avid reader who told stories from Greek mythology. At the time the area bounded onto the…
Helen Prout: Fairhill, World War 2, Worklife,
Helen established the Cork Youth International Film, Video and Arts Festival in 1980 and has spent her life voluntarily teaching thousands of young people about film and the arts in workshops all over Cork.
In this interview, Helen recalls life in…
In this interview, Helen recalls life in…
Donnie Walsh: Gardiner's Hill, Sport, Republicanism,
Donie was born in 1948. His family lived in Stream Hill, and then in Gardiner’s Hill. He used to visit his grandmother’s house in Carrigadrohid, which had no running water nor electricity. He talks about going to the well and collecting…