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Una Lyons: Oliver Plunkett Street, Cinemas, English Market
Una (born 1960) grew up in a guesthouse, a Georgian building on Oliver Plunkett Street. She had two siblings. Her parents had an unusually cosmopolitan outlook. Her father was an engineer with CIE trains. The street was quite residential but she also…
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…
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…
Liam Ó hUigín: Henry Street, The Marshes, Childhood
Liam grew up in Henry Street during the 1940s. He talks about the marshes of Cork and Pike’s Marsh, named after a Quaker merchant family.
He recalls the practice of adding “a” to the end of some placenames, such as Pana for Patrick Street. There…
He recalls the practice of adding “a” to the end of some placenames, such as Pana for Patrick Street. There…
Kevin Leahy: Gurranabraher, Irish Army, Docklands,
Kevin was born (circa late 1930s) in Kelly’s Lane (later Boyce’s Street). His father was in the British Army and later the forces of the Irish Free State. When Kevin was 14 he went to work as a plumber.
He remembers Blarney Street, and women who…
He remembers Blarney Street, and women who…
Joseph Lane: Gurranabraher, Milk and Cake Shops, Pranks
Joseph grew up in Gurranabraher. He remembers three pawnshops of Cork. When people left Ballymacthomas to move into new corporation houses, they left their old houses behind, still complete with furniture and fittings.
Joe recalls a childhood…
Joe recalls a childhood…
Fergal Crowley: Patrick Street, Munster Arcade, Black and Tans
Fergal worked in the Munster Arcade, Patrick Street. He describes the shop. His father started work there in 1901. After the building was burned by the Black and Tans during the Burning of Cork, the British government paid to have buildings on one…
Creena O’Connell: Gurranabraher, Shawls, Allotments
Creena was born in 1932. Her family were one of the first to get a house in Gurranabraher, an estate built in 1934. Her father was able to get part-time employment with Cork Corporation working on the roads; he died when he was 58.
She recalls a…
She recalls a…
Billy McCarthy: Quaker Road, Public Baths, Childhood
Billy was born in 1941. His mother, Mary Ann Cronin, was from Mayfield; her father, William Cronin served with the British army during the First World War, and later became a postman. His father’s family came from Dunmanway, West Cork. His father,…