Tom Spalding: North Main Street
North Main Street and South Main Street
In this interview, Tom Spalding, a local historian and author, discusses his research methods and interests concerning the development of the North and South Main Street area over time. His interest lies primarily in what he calls “street furniture” – street signage and other fixtures on the street within public areas (such as benches, bronze plaques, and post boxes). When prompted, he discusses the nature of changing street names within Cork: streets like Wellington Road will have multiple other street names associated with them and for which the properties receive their own address numbers, such as Montpellier Terrace, Connaught Place, and Garfield Terrace. Tom also lists Paradise Place on the corner of South Main Street and Castle Street, as another example of this phenomenon and describes the history behind the name “Paradise”. He also states that names may have been changed on paper, which can be traced through painstaking archival research reaching back 150 years, but that street names did not necessarily always catch on “on the ground”. Another topic of discussion is where North Main Street ends and South Main Street begins. Tom presents evidence for the divide occurring at the Liberty Street and Castle Street junction, explaining that Washington Street would have been cut through the medieval part of the city in the 18th and 19th centuries. There is some discussion of local pubs and businesses that Tom frequents: Leaders, the Benny McCabe pubs, the Raven, the Vicarstown, and the Castle. Lastly, Tom gets into a discussion of renovations and construction over old ‘street furniture’ evidence of prior businesses and old artisanship within the city. Some examples he lists are the renovation of North Main Street “20 years ago” (in the 1990s) as well as City Council pedestrianizing Prince’s Street in the 1980s. He advocates keeping things that are of heritage value that are still in functioning order and do not present a hazard to pedestrians.
Cork Folklore Project
Cork Folklore Project Audio Archive
Cork Folklore Project
14 January 2015
Interviewee: Tom Spalding
Interviewer: Margaret Steele
Cork Folklore Project
<strong>Other Interviews with Tom Spalding:<br /></strong><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/81" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00636_spalding_2017</a><strong><br /></strong>
<strong>Other Interviews in the Collection<br /></strong><br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/64" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00536_oleary_2015</a>; <a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/65" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00537_hanover_2015</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/67" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00539_hUigin_2015</a>; <a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/68" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00543_obrien_2015</a>; <a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/69">CFP_SR00544_comber_2015</a>; <a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/70">CFP_SR00545_leader_2015</a>; <a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/71" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00546_creedon_2015</a>;
<br /><br />
<div class="element-text">Penny Johnston based a digital oral history mapping pilot project called ‘Cork’s Main Streets’ on the audio interviews from this collection in 2016, as part of her PhD research. The 2018 website and the map layer can be viewed at: <a href="http://corksmainstreets.corkfolklore.org/cms/">http://corksmainstreets.corkfolklore.org/cms/ </a><br /><br />Penny’s PhD dissertation can be accessed at: <a href="https://cora.ucc.ie/handle/10468/5469">https://cora.ucc.ie/handle/10468/5469</a></div>
<div class="element-text"><strong><br /></strong><strong>Other Material Relating to Cork's Main Streets:</strong><strong></strong><br /><br />CFP_SR00448_hinchy_2012: Interview of ex-Beamish Brewery (South Main Street) staff member Ed Hinchy.<br /><br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/90">CFP_SR00532_davis_2014</a>: Interview with the former manager of The Other Place Resource Centre (South Main Street), Clive Davis, conducted by Stephen Dee and Dermot Casey, as part of the LGBT Archive Collection <br /><br />CFP_SR00535_wilkins_2014: Mark Wilkins was interviewed by Aisling Byron on the music scene of Cork City in the 1980s and 1990s: the interview contains an in-depth discussion of South Main Street music venue Sir Henry’s and of the South Main Street pub The Liberty.</div>
<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/cmm/neatline/fullscreen/cork-memory-map#records/34"><strong>Click here to access Tom's entry on the Memory Map</strong></a>
1.wav File
English
Sound
CFP_SR00538_spalding_2015
Cork; Ireland; 1800s - 2000s;
<p>Liam Ó hUigín: Grattan Street, Healthcare, The Marsh</p>
<p><span>Liam grew up on Henry Street in The Marsh and recalls playing football on Grattan Street which was busy and full of activity with businesses, pubs, shops a fire station, barber shops and tenements. He discusses some shops and games in more detail.</span></p>
<p><span>Speaks of the poverty in the Middle Parish which necessitated buying goods on credit and selling clothes and jewellery to pawnshops. Mentions pawn locations. Mentions bringing empty bottles to shops to fill them with milk.</span></p>
<p><span>Discusses the conditions of the tenement houses in the Middle Parish including the sanitation arrangements such as outdoor toilets and the use of newspaper as toilet paper, he also mentions heating issues including timber, turf and coal which was available via a voucher scheme. Further discusses cooking, washing in the tenements including the introduction of gas and electricity. Also mentions medicines for lice and worms administered at home.</span></p>
<p><span>Says that boys and girls played different games separately when he was growing up. Mentions some of these games in more detail.</span></p>
<p><span>Discusses foods (including tripe and drisheen, pig’s tongue, Connie Dodgers) meal routines and the shops where food was purchased. Liam and his mother brought lunch to his father where he worked on the docks.</span></p>
<p><span>Returns to the topic of corner shops and shopping and the types of food available there, further comparing this to supermarkets today.</span></p>
<p><span>Speaks of the death of his mother and the change in living circumstances that this entailed.</span></p>
<p><span>Describes getting a vaccination in the dispensary, what it was like inside and who worked there.</span></p>
<p><span>Mentions fights outside bars at night time.</span></p>
<p><span>Talks about air raid shelters built in Cork city during the Second World War, what they looked like and where they were located.</span></p>
Cork Folklore Project
Cork Folklore Project Audio Archive
24 July 2019
Cork Folklore Project
<strong>Other Interviews in this Collection</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/240" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00696_O'Regan_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/242" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00704_Collins_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/243" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00706_Higgisson_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/244" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00712_O'Brien_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/245" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00713_Kearney_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/246" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00714_Cunning_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/247" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00717_Ward_2019</a>;<br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/249" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00728_Scanlan_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/250" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00729_Mulcahy_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/251" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00732_Cassidy_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/252" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00760_Morrissy_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/253" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> CFP_SR00762_OConnell_2019</a>;
<br /><strong>Other Interviews with Liam in the CFP Archive<br /></strong><br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/134" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00422_OhUigin_2012</a>; <br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00439_OhUigin_2011</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/67" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00539_OhUigin_2015</a>;
Audio
English
Sound
CFP_SR00727_OhUigin_2019;
Joe Scanlan: Grattan Street, Healthcare, The Marsh
<p><span>Joe recalls the dispensary on Grattan Street, its waiting room and the names of the doctors who worked there. He describes in detail his visit there to get a vaccination as a child. Discusses medical treatments administered at home by his mother including those for fleas and head lice. </span></p>
<p><span>Recalls as a teenager being told by a doctor who was smoking to give up smoking. Comments on how widespread smoking was at the time. Humorous story about asking a Garda for a cigarette. </span></p>
<p><span>Story of Cork character ‘Kick the Bucket’, a young man who was convinced he was going to die very soon but lived to be 81.</span></p>
<p><span>Speaks of playing on the streets of The Marsh and The Middle Parish as a child and how they would go to the Mercy Hospital if they were injured playing football. Describes rival groups of boys from Grattan Street and the Coal Quay having fruit throwing fights. </span></p>
<p><span>Describes how as a child he used a skull from a tomb in St Peter’s Cemetery to use as a Jack O Lantern. Returns to the topic of underage smoking and acquiring cigarettes from adults. </span></p>
<p><span>Explains a form of recycling where he collected empty glass bottles to return to a shop in exchange for money. He used the money for cigarettes and matches or to pay for a cinema ticket. Recalls Dermot’s Cake shop on Adelaide Street.</span></p>
<p><span>Talks about his passion for fishing, avoiding the bailiff and selling his fish catch to local fish and chip shops. Tells of his fishing rob being confiscated by the bailiff and retrieving it. </span></p>
<p><span>Mentions children taking sweets from a shop on Sheares Street without paying for them. </span></p>
<p><span>Discusses income inequality and buying clothes on the Coal Quay. Explains how he made floats for fishing from wine bottle corks made by his dad’s friend for Woodford Bourne’s on Sheares Street.</span></p>
<p><span>Reflects on crime and safety in the city centre and tells the story of a house being burgled where the owner shouted out that he had nothing worth stealing.</span></p>
<p><span>Outlines some long standing Grattan Street residents’ concerns about their neighbourhood today including students, student parties, students drinking on the street, cark parks, bus routes, student accommodation, Edel House, increased traffic, methodone clinics, community Gardaí and the HSE’s use of buildings in the city centre.</span></p>
<p><span>Remembers Shawlies on the Coal Quay, including his own grandmother. Describes the products sold there and farmers bringing vegetables with dirt on them by horse and cart. Mentions Ryan’s Pub on North Main Street and how the farmers might frequent it.</span></p>
<p><span>Speaks of the simple food and meals he ate, and how his shoes were pawned but bought back in time to wear for mass.</span></p>
<p><span>Recalls the violence and fear of St Joseph’s School and wanting to leave to go fishing. Speaks of his preference for St. Francis School where he was not beaten and learned a lot. Outlines getting food and cocoa in the morning at school. Tells the story of a father confronting a Presentation Brother for an excessive beating to his son. </span></p>
<p><span>Talks about food and his mother making bread and mentions other foods and treats from his grandmother.</span></p>
<p><span>Speaks about fatal diseases in the past including mumps. To receive medication in the dispensary you had to bring your own empty bottle. </span></p>
<p><span>Speaks about the work of the Middle Parish Community Centre especially in relation to addiction. This prompts Joe to speak of his own story of dealing with his alcohol addiction, the risks alcohol posed to his health, liver disease, his desire to see his grandchildren grow up and his happiness now he has successfully remained sober for many years.</span></p>
<p><span>Mentions the Barrett family who lived in the dispensary building.</span></p>
Cork Folklore Project
Cork Folklore Project Audio Archive
25 July 2019
Cork Folklore Project
<strong>Other Interviews in this Collection </strong><br /><br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/240" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00696_O'Regan_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/242" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00704_Collins_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/243" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00706_Higgisson_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/244" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00712_O'Brien_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/245" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00713_Kearney_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/246" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00714_Cunning_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/247" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00717_Ward_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/248" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00727_OhUigin_2019</a>;<br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/250" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00729_Mulcahy_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/251" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00732_Cassidy_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/252" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00760_Morrissy_2019</a>; <br /><a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/253" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> CFP_SR00762_OConnell_2019</a>;
Audio
English
Sound
CFP_SR00728_Scanlan_2019;