Roger Herlihy: Imperial Hotel, South Mall, Commercial Buildings
Built Heritage:
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 steps going up to their front doors. He tells a story about hotel manager Charles MacDowell. He talks about Franz Liszt’s visit to Cork in 1840, and his playing at Hallaran’s asylum. Slavery abolitionist Frederick Douglass spoke at the hotel and there is a plague there dedicated to him. Artist John Banvard demonstrated a long painted panorama known as The Three Mile Picture.
Other visitors to Cork included Charles Dickens, midget Tom Thumb, and courtesan Lola Montez. The hotel was also occupied by anti-Fenian forces, and later by pro-Treaty commander Michael Collins.
Interviewer and interviewee share two funny stories about the City Hall.
Note: this interview was conducted for the DVD If The Stones Could Speak.
Cork Folklore Project
Cork Folklore Project Audio Archive
Cork Folklore Project
12 May 2014
Interviewee: Roger Herlihy
Interviewer: Mark Wilkins
Cork Folklore Project
1.wav File
English
Sound
CFP_SR00512_herlihy_2014
Cork, Ireland, 1840s
Kay O’Carroll: The Northside, Emigration, Childhood Games, Music, Tenements,
Life History; Cork: Ireland;
Kay O’Carroll describes her early life growing up in Gurranabraher giving engaging and colourful detail about childhood games and activities, the community spirit, women’s work, going out to the cinema and show bands as a young woman.
Kay was born in Wolfe Tone Street and lived there until she was seven when the family moved to Gurranabraher. Her father was born in St Mary’s Road and her mothers family came from Kanturk. Kay went to St Vincent’s School.
Note; This interview was conducted as part of the Cork 2005 Project
Cork Folklore Project
Cork Folklore Project Audio Archive
Cork Folklore Project
15 October 2004
Interviewee: Kay O'Carroll
Interviewer: Cliona O'Carroll
<strong>Cork 2005 Collection Catalogue Numbers:<br /></strong> <br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/5">CFP_SR00329_mccarthy_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/18">CFP_SR00330_odriscoll_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/19">CFP_SR00331_claffey_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/20">CFP_SR00332_hanover_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/21">CFP_SR00333_desplanques_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/22">CFP_SR00334_bale_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/23">CFP_SR00335_sheridan_1996</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/24">CFP_SR00336_steiner-scott_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/25">CFP_SR00337_rot_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/26">CFP_SR00338_stafford_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/27">CFP_SR00339_odonoghue_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/28">CFP_SR00340_hawkins_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/30">CFP_SR00342_ikebuasi_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/54">CFP_SR00343_ogeallabhain_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/31">CFP_SR00344_geaney_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/32">CFP_SR00345_wulff_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/33">CFP_SR00346_abdoulbaneeva_2004</a>;<br />CFP_SR00347_gunes_2004;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/35">CFP_SR00348_fourie_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/36">CFP_SR00349_henderson_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/37">CFP_SR00350_valdman_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/38">CFP_SR00351_carmody_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/39">CFP_SR00352_osullivan_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/40">CFP_SR00353_mahknanov_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/41">CFP_SR00354_oflynn_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/42">CFP_SR00355_akhter_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/43">CFP_SR00356_walker_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/44">CFP_SR00357_kelleher_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/45">CFP_SR00358_manresa_2004</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/46">CFP_SR00359_wimpenny_2005</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/47">CFP_SR00360_skotarczak_2005</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/48">CFP_SR00361_vermeulen_2005</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/49">CFP_SR00362_owen_2005</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/50">CFP_SR00363_dsouza_2005</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/51">CFP_SR00364_setter_2005</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/52">CFP_SR00365_obrien_2005</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/53">CFP_SR00366_botan_2005</a>:
<strong><br />Published Material:</strong><br />‘How’s it Goin’, Boy? radio series <a href="http://corkfolklore.org/radio-series/">(six thirty-minute episodes, broadcast 2005 and available on the Cork Folklore Project website)</a>
O'Carroll, Clíona for the Cork Northside Folklore Project (2006) How's it goin', boy? Dublin: Nonsuch Publishing.
1 .wav File
English
Sound
CFP_SR00341_ocarroll_2004
Cork; Ireland; 1950s - 1970s;
Geraldine Healy: Personal memories of Cork in the 1960s, 70s & 80s
Built Heritage:
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, Fitzgerald’s Park Museum, Murphy’s Brewery and City Hall.
Cork Folklore Project
Cork Folklore Project Audio Archive
Cork Folklore Project
1 April 2014
Interviewee: Geraldine Healy
Interviewer: Mark Wilkins
Cork Folklore Project
As Interviewee:<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/103" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00389_healy_2010</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/15" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00505_healy_2013</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/189" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_VR00542_healy_2015</a>;<br /><a href="http://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/174" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CFP_SR00523_healy_2014</a>;<br />CFP_SR00700_healy_2019;<br />CFP_SR00701_healy_2019;<br />CFP_SR00709_healy_2019;<br />CFP_SR00710_healy_2019:<br /><br />As Interviewer:<br />CFP_SR00387_Sheehan_; CFP_SR00395_Speight; CFP_SR00421_Cronin.
1.wav File
English
Sound
CFP_SR00510_healy_2014
Cork, Ireland, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s
"Mary": Grattan Street, Healthcare, Working Life
<span>Ireland; Cork; Limerick; Middle Parish; The Marsh; Grattan Street; Occupational Lore;</span>
<p><span>‘Mary’ grew up on a farm in county Limerick, part of which was rented to a mental hospital to be worked by patients. By interacting with these patients she quickly learned who you could trust and who you couldn’t. </span></p>
<p><span>Mentions her brother’s physical and mental disability.</span></p>
<p><span>Discusses how the smell of tripe and drisheen reminds of father who died when she was young</span></p>
<p><span>Recounts her surprise and confusion as a child learning that her mother had remarried and her new husband was to live in the family home.</span></p>
<p><span>Outlines the routine on farm including looking after the cows, feeding hens, making bread, and how their dinner changed with seasonal availability of produce.</span></p>
<p><span>Talks about her commute to school on a bicycle with sister and standing up to boys who hassled them. Learned some subjects through Irish. Recalls her sister disliking being singled out by teacher because of her attractive eyes and hair.</span></p>
<p><span>Remembers seeing a young JP McManus cycling.</span></p>
<p><span>Explains how she always considered becoming a nurse. Discusses training and hospital experiences including with nuns. Believes that nurses who had worked abroad had a broader perspective on life. </span></p>
<p><span>Outlines the role of the Public Health Nurse which required entering patients’ houses and assisting them with births and deaths. Other features included the need to be able to read emotions and build trust with others and managing your work largely independently. </span></p>
<p><span>Describes some memorable cases as a PHN. A family singing Boney M to a baby with a severely lif-limiting condition. Waiting for an ambulance for a man struggling to breathe who lived without electricity. Trying to find help for an older woman struggling with dementia who was being passed from one agency to another without resolution. Fumigating a woman’s accommodation to rid it of fleas, the poor living conditions she found there and the ambivalent reaction of the woman to this health intervention.</span></p>
<p><span>Discusses vaccines, their role in eliminating polio and the varying attitudes to vaccination.</span></p>
<p><span>Recounts the story of social welfare officers in Grattan Street providing a bed to a woman who promptly sold it on the Coal Quay.</span></p>
<p><span>Reflects on the mutually beneficial mix of medical disciplines in Grattan Street and the positive relations between the staff. </span></p>
<p><span>Outlines the problems, changes and tensions relating to the car parking situation for Grattan Street staff and others in the surrounding community.</span></p>
<p><span>Talks about a child welfare issue where she had to attend court as a PHN.</span></p>
<p><span>Speaks of the deficiencies of the Grattan Street building including plaster falling off walls, the waste of paperwork, dry rot, bars on windows and a very out-of-date photocopier. Suggests future uses for the building. </span></p>
<p><span>Tells the story of the 2010 floods when the vaccines had to transferred with difficulty to St Finbarr’s Hospital for safety.</span></p>
<p><span>Discusses the desirable feature of the new building in Gurranbraher including it having a central meeting area and parking as well as being of a manageable size, accessible and approachable.</span></p>
<p><span>Reflects on how she found her career of helping others rewarding. </span></p>
Cork Folklore Project
14 March 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/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/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>;
1 .wav file
English
Sound
CFP_SR00704_Collins_2019
Cork, Limerick, Ireland, 1960s-2010s