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Marie Finn: Barrack Street, Blackberry-picking, Catholic Church,
Marie (b. 1938) grew up in Barrack Street. She left school at 16 and started working.
She talks about the games she played as a child and recites part of a rhyme. You could pick blackberries and sell them to a sweet-makers. Oranges and bananas as…
She talks about the games she played as a child and recites part of a rhyme. You could pick blackberries and sell them to a sweet-makers. Oranges and bananas as…
Marie-Annick Desplanques: Brittany, Breton, Coiffe, Crêperie, Foodways, France, Children's Games.
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…
Mary O'Sullivan: Orthopaedic Hospital, Working Life, Kitchen Staff
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…
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…
Mary O’Sullivan: Travelling Community, Education, Prejudice,
Mary is a Traveller who developed a love of education, which she has tried to instil in others. She talks in detail about her experience of being a Traveller and about the lives of older generations and the history of her community.
Mary was born in…
Mary was born in…
Mary Sheehy: Gurranabraher, Street Traders, Bonfire Night
Mary was born in Washington Street in 1948; when she was 6 her family moved to Gurranabraher. Her mother was a trader in second-hand clothes in Kyle Street and a barmaid, her father worked for Cork Harbour Commissioners.
As a child, she had to wear…
As a child, she had to wear…
Maura O’Connell: Orthopaedic Hospital, Working Life, Healthcare
Maura was matron of the Orthopaedic Hospital for 20 years until her retirement in 1997. In this interview Maura recalls the various roles she had in the hospital prior to her being appointed matron.
Maura recalls that the nurses residents on the…
Maura recalls that the nurses residents on the…
Michael O'Callaghan: Togher, Emigration, Summer Holidays,
Michael was born in 1957. Originally from Togher. Michael’s family emigrated to London in 1960. He remembers the ship leaving Cork on the Inishfallen, and people singing and crying at the quayside. They sang the popular song “Now Is The Hour” [Bing…
Michael O’Connell: Faranree, Politics, Childhood,
Michael was born in the 1950s and grew up in Farranferris Ave below the Church of the Redemption in Farranree. He came from a family of 13 children. He was a student at the North Mon. His mother was a great GAA fan and a sporting person who played…
Michael O’Flynn: Fire Brigade; Vandalism; Change;
Michael has worked most of his life with Cork fire brigade, a job he loves, and he describes the nature of his job, the training required, and its dangers and rewards.
Michael grew up in Turner’s Cross.
He works as a fireman. In the 1960s there…
Michael grew up in Turner’s Cross.
He works as a fireman. In the 1960s there…
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,…
Noel Dempsey: Orthopaedic Hospital, Working Life, Healthcare
The interview explores Noel's memories of working at the Orthopaedic Hospital, nature of work, Sisters in charge, surgeons, theatre work, night shifts, carrying corpses to the mortuary, reflections on working at the hospital, new developments. …
Noreen Cronin: Shandon, The North Infirmary, Childhood
Noreen grew up in a tenement in Dominick Street next to Shandon in the early 1950s. She went to the North Pres School and worked at the North Infirmary. Her mother used to deliver babies in the area and helped to wash and lay out the dead. Her…
Noreen Hannover: South Main Street
Noreen Hanover was born in 1950 and grew up in the South Main Street area until 1975. Her family would have done most of their shopping on South Main Street and she relates the character of the shops there, their different purposes, as well as what…
Padraig O’Horgain: Church Street, Funeral Customs, Republicanism,
Padraig O’Horgain (Pat Horgan) was born in Church Street in 1951. His father was a Republican and was interned in Britain between 1939 and 1946. His father later worked at Cork Harbour.
O’Gorman’s hat factory and other businesses were cited in the…
O’Gorman’s hat factory and other businesses were cited in the…
Pat Nolan: Northside, Cork Academy School of Music
Pat is from John Street on the Northside. He was educated at the North Monastery, which was good for general studies but did not teach music. The school environment was harsh. He left school early. His father bought him a second-hand saxophone, and…
Pat O'Brien: Northside, Pubs, Childhood,
Pat O’Brien, talks of various locations on the Northside. Pat describes what activities he would have taken part in as a child in these locations.
He talks briefly about the pub trade. The Holy Hour was observed within the city limits (a break…
He talks briefly about the pub trade. The Holy Hour was observed within the city limits (a break…
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…
Patricia McCarthy: Shandon Street, War of Independence, Trades
Pat McCarthy (née Byrnes) is from Shandon Street. She grew up in Mahony’s Terrace, overlooking Pope’s Quay which she knew as the Sand Quay. Her father worked as a lorry driver. She remembers Shandon Street having bakeries and butchers. There were…
Patrick O’Brien: Patrick Street, The Swan and Cygnet, Seamus Murphy
Pat talks about the Swan and Cygnet pub, Patrick Street, where he used to work. It served a beautiful pint because the barrels were kept in Cork’s first cold storage room. Pubs in the city closed between 2.30 and 3.30 for the holy hour. There was a…
Peggy Kelleher: The Lough, Marriage, World War 2
Peggy (born 1930s) grew up in Hartland's Road, near The Lough. She was an only child. Her father, William Power, from County Waterford; he worked at the Munster Arcade and lived through the Burning of Cork by the Black and Tans in 1920; he was…