1
10
11
-
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/1dd33b08df7b855c84f0ad8693ab0fbf.mp3
c338034ad69d4e94fcf8e91d8bd1521e
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Two girls with measles in 'Low Babies', only one returned to school
Subject
The topic of the resource
measles
Description
An account of the resource
This excerpt is from Cork Folklore Project Sound Recording CFPSR00311, carried out on 14 June 2000.
Sister Marie Collins was born around 1920 in Limerick, to farming parents, and became a Presentation Sister and a teacher. She attended primary school in Monaleen, near where the University of Limerick is currently situated. Sister Collins was interviewed in 2000 by the Cork Folklore Project, and during the interview she reflects on the way in which certain memories from her early childhood stand out in isolation. Speaking of a scene that comes to her memory with clarity, as an isolated incident, she says: ‘Now, I remember that, and I have no memory before or after but that stands out in my mind. Do you know, extraordinary things. I remember the first day I went to school, being around the teacher’s table, but I have no recollection of the night before or days afterwards… I’d love to write down memories without anything before or after, just things that struck me there and then.’
She goes on to recount one such vivid memory, of a girl who had been in Low Babies (Junior Infants, the first primary school class that children attend) with her:
Full transcript of this interview extract:
SR Marie Collins
And we must have been in Low Babies, we had a high stool and a low stool and there were the High Infants and The Low Infants. and the two of us got the measles. And I can still see this little one, Kitty O’Brien, she had straight hair and a fringe, and a little bow on top of her head. And when I went back after the measles she was dead, she had died from the measles. I can still see her little wee face. And I got measles, and I didn’t die, but she died. So, you know, things like that. You’d say: ‘I can’t remember a bit of before or after but I remember that.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Cork Folklore Project
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
14 June 2000
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Interviewee: Sister Marie Collins
Interviewer: Sean Walsh
Interviewer: Dolores Horgan
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Relation
A related resource
CFPSR00311
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
audio file (.mp3)
Language
A language of the resource
English
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SP0001_CFP00311_Collins
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Ireland, Cork, 1930s
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
CFP00311 <a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/192" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">[For the CFP Audio Archive Catalogue entry for the full interview click here.] </a>
childhood illness
death
measles
-
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/685252c2f7e1405a501f224068e32d9b.mp3
d647e742429359426381a90d5515964b
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
'Even still, to this day, it'll never, ever, leave me': remembering blindness from German Measles
Subject
The topic of the resource
German Measles
Description
An account of the resource
Alison Morley, who was interviewed by Lorraine Cahalane in 1998, grew up on the Northside of Cork City. At the very beginning of the interview, she is asked about her earliest memory, and she recalls getting her sight for the first time at the age of four, after having lost her sight after contracting German Measles. She describes what it was like to be blind as a child, and how that experience will never leave her.
Full transcript of this interview extract:
LC Right. Now, Alison, what would be your most earliest memory?
AM Em, remembering as a child of the age of 4 that I was just after getting my sight for the very first time cos I was blind and em
LC And how were you blind? What happened?
AM Eh, it was just by contracting German Measles
And when I just got my sight back then it just seemed like being like everybody else
LC Right
AM You know. Frightening been in an ambulance and
LC Do you remember being blind, what it was like?
AM Yeah I do, I remember, em, like, trying to hold onto things and touching the door to see if the door was open or closed or holding the table to get myself in and out and things like that. Not being able to see my sister.
LC Oh right.
AM Cos I didn’t realise what she looked like. But then being in hospital, and knowing people are coming into the room but you can’t see them
LC Yeah
AM You know and then all of a sudden you can see again
LC Right
AM And looking, the very thing of, even fruit inside in a basket. You could always touch things, but you could never see them, I never knew what they looked like. Even to touch the difference between an orange or an apple or a banana or a pear or something like that. Or even smaller fruit but eh, no it always sticks, I think it always will, it’ll never leave me.
LC And at that age kids are very curious aren’t they? Like the 2 and 3
AM Yeah exactly. Em, you know even trying to, as I said a while ago, the difference between even a door opened and closed, you know, trying to discover, is it open, is it closed, can you walk straight through? You know. Or even touching things. In my, most of the time I can even remember walking through a door and ending up crying as a child because you get so agitated that you just, you know you’re getting annoyed with yourself that you didn’t actually open the door before you actually walked through it.
LC And how’d your mother cope with this? Like when you started walking now for instance?
AM Em I suppose grand, well it was just normal for people to you know, she had to, I suppose she had to cope with it, because she had to show me what to do, she had to show me how to touch things and, like, put my one leg forward if you’re going down a step now or things like that that, I’m not going to fall but em, I don’t know, I suppose she ju.. In a way I suppose when I look back at it now she might have, she probably did cope well with it you know ‘Cause there wasn’t much of an age gap between me and my sister that eh, she just had to do it I suppose.
LC Right. And do you remember your fir.. like your vivid memory now, would be the first thing you saw? What was that?
AM I was actually in an ambulance on the way to the hospital and, em, telling them, telling the nurse and telling my mother that I can see, and they just thought it was a lie, that I didn’t want to go to hospital, and I was telling them the colour of something that was there, and I can tell her what she had on her and I said, ‘Mom don’t bring me to the hospital, I can see, I can see’ and they just couldn’t believe it ‘till they actually done a test, but kept me in then under observation just in case it was going to go again and why was it going.
LC Right
AM Was there something wrong with the brain that was affecting my eyesight or something. But…
LC Jesus, you’re very lucky
AM Yeah even still, to this very day, it’ll never ever leave me. You know and I’ve a little one and I’ve often told her about, like I say, ‘Mammy didn’t have any sight when she was your age now,’ and you know and like, it’s, I don’t know I suppose
LC [unintelligible]
AM Exactly. And no one can ever actually experience it only, I can’t experience it, I can’t even imagine it now, you know, I can’t kinda turn around and say, ‘God did that really happen to me,’ because it did, and I just had to learn to cope with it but even if I see blind people today saying, ‘I could still be like them if my sight never came back’.
LC I know yeah
AM You know.
LC Jesus.
AM But em…
LC Very lucky.
AM Yeah, exactly.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
CFP00199 <a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/191">[For the CFP Audio Archive Catalogue entry for the full interview click here.] </a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Cork Folklore Project
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
13 May 1998
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Interviewee: Alison Morley
Interviewer: Lorraine Cahalane
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
.MP3 audio file, 4 minutes 02 seconds
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SP0002_CFP00199_Morley
blindness
childhood illness
German measles
rubella
-
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/6c08c19be245205bb1f6a656fccfc3e2.mp3
decab3a6946f5782452bca3c7943bbd0
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
'The Branding Iron': Joe Scanlon remembers receiving the Tuberculosis vaccination at the age of eight in the early 1960s in the Grattan Street Medical Centre, Cork.
Description
An account of the resource
Joe Scanlon, who grew up near the Grattan Street Medical Centre in Cork City, remembers the centre, and describes receiving the Tuberculosis vaccination at the age of eight. It was nicknamed ‘The Branding Iron’ among the children, and Joe gives a vivid description of his experience that day.
Excerpt length: 2 minutes 22 seconds
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
CFP00728
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Cork Folklore Project
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
25 July 2019
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Interviewee: Joe Scanlon
Interviewer: Kieran Murphy
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
.MP3 audio file, 2 minutes 22 seconds
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SP0003_CFP00728_Scanlon
1950s
childhood vaccination
Grattan Street Medical Centre
polio
public health initiatives
vaccination
-
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/06924657ae805e064d57e22fc16866f5.mp3
8845b52796651079d02a908f65299727
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
'Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, it did': Pauline Mattews speaks about Tuberculosis and how it affected her family.
Description
An account of the resource
Pauline Matthews was born in 1950 in the Ballintemple area of Cork city. When she was an infant her mother contracted tuberculosis and was confined to the chest hospital in Mallow. Shortly afterwards Pauline too contracted the disease leading her to be hospitalised in St Raphel's Montenotte. Pauline's father was in the merchant navy, meaning, that he was away for long periods of time. After an accident at sea, he too was hospitalised, in Australia. The loss of the father's income meant that Pauline's aunt had to not only be the sole visitor to her sister and niece in hospital but also, hold down a job to provide her three relatives.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Cork Folklore Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Cork Folklore Project
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
10 February 2020
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Pauline Matthews
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
.MP3 audio file, 9 minutes 53 seconds
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SP0004_CFPXXXX_Matthews
domestic caregiving
families
-
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/0223506f6b58b9332771ae2512921ab2.mp3
eecb625ba368492e4a2252ad64b6aaf3
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Three deaths in a year: John 'Chris' Kelleher, in conversation with CFP interviewer Michael Daly, explains how his mother lost her husband and two sons, to tuberculosis, diphtheria and the croup within a year of each other.
Description
An account of the resource
John was born in 1929 in Fair Lane, later called Wolfe Tone Street. His mother, Mary Margaret Kelleher (1901 - 1970) was married twice; her first husband died of Tuberculosis in 1924. In this excerpt, Johnny tells of his mother being widowed and having further tragedy fall upon her family. Where she lost two of her sons, one to Diptheria and one to Croup.
Excerpt length: 2minutes 22 seconds
Full transcript of this interview extract:
John Kelleher: They were good times.
Michael Daly: Yeah, brilliant. Tell me a bit about your family, actually. Were you from a big family... ?
JCK Well now, my mother was married twice. Her first husband was a bloke by the name of Freddie Murphy. Now Freddie was - - he was involved in newspapers. Now he would be what you would call - - then - - a shopper. He was the man between the Echo office and the newsboys of the time. He’d take the papers out, give ‘em to ‘em, collect money, get it back, get his commission. Now unfortunately he died in 1924, a young man, with TB. Now, the TB that was going at the time - - there was different types of TB, but this was - - this particular TB that was rampant in the country at the time, it was better known to the people as consumption, because you can understand what it done to the people, it just - - if you got the TB, it just consumed you. So he died at the age of twenty-four. So that left my mother with four children. So she had no choice - - there was no welfare, the state was only three years old - - she had to go out selling newspapers for to rear the four of them. Now he died in February ’24, but unfortunately she buried one of the boys in June 1924 and she buried the other boy in September 1924.
MD Oh.
JCK Now both of those lads - - young fellas - - died, one with diphtheria, the other with the croup. If I’m right I don’t think they exist today. But that was the time, so she was left with the two girls then. Then she eventually met my father, married my father, and there was three of us from that marriage. Well, she kept on the papers then, as I came - - my brother went to England when he was only about seventeen, so he wasn’t very much involved with papers, but my sister and myself were involved with them. I was with my mother all the time, with the papers. Actually, ‘til the last day of her life she was with the papers. She died suddenly in Christmas 1970.
MD Oh, Okay.
JCK We used to be down by the Colosseum, and she died sudden, after coming up from the Colosseum.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
CFP00390 <a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/document/104" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">[For the CFP Audio Archive Catalogue entry for the full interview click here.] </a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Cork Folklore Project
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
21 July 2010
Contributor
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Interviewee: Johnny Chris Kelleher
Interviewer: Michael Daly
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
.MP3 audio file, 5 minutes 17 seconds
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SP0005_CFP00390_Kelleher
childhood illness
croup
diphtheria
families
laryngotracheobronchitis
livelihoods
newspaper selling
Tuberculosis (TB)
-
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/6a973ad091e8f055a622f460c3b7f94e.jpg
9a25f4817c8a142c3ffe1979e69ff98f
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/cf368ec86a2360e09d805b0f9aa5e6b3.mp3
6f378d18b37146db62d69205867fdf30
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
'They got that awful black flu': Mary Morgan tells of how both of her parents contracted "Spanish Flu" in 1918.
Description
An account of the resource
Mary was born in West Cork near Kilmichael in 1922, her parents were small farmers. Their house and that of her grandmothers were ‘safehouses’ during the war of independence and civil war. In this excerpt, Mary describes how her parents contracted the Spanish Flu and survived. But not everyone in her locality was as lucky.
Excerpt length: 1 minute 11 seconds
Full transcript of this interview extract:
MM My Father and mother got married in 1918, In February 1918 a photograph over there in the corner but anyway they were quite comfortable that time like because that was 1914 to 1918 war farmers could sell anything, eggs, rabbits anything I’d say. They got that awful black flu, the Spanish flu the two of them. And my mother was expecting her first baby the baby was to be born in December the baby was to be born in February but was born in December. And people wouldn’t even come into the house to help them because they were terrified because it was so contagious and they both recovered. And next door was a farm rented out to dairy cows and the three bothers died, three young men, two sorry, two young men died there in next door to us. They recovered but they both died in their fifties. A doctor told me that anybody that got it they didn’t live to be old because it did affect their hearts it was a deadly flu like.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
CFP00642 <a href="https://corkfolklore.org/archivecatalolgue/items/show/239" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">[For the CFP Audio Archive Catalogue entry for the full interview click here.]</a>
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Cork Folklore Project
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
31 October 2017
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Interviewee: Mary Morgan (nee Murphy)
Interviewer: Jamie Furey
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
MP3 audio file, 1 minute 11 seconds
Subject
The topic of the resource
Spanish Flu
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SP0006_CFP00642_Morgan
adult illness
families
Spanish Flu
-
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/5512e24f6490998c8e6c40a25178ac46.mp3
21347a8859d740e6505af291158a1a13
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
'The needles were like six-inch nails': Liam Ó hUigín remembers his trip to get vaccinated.
Description
An account of the resource
Liam Ó hUigín grew up on Henry Street in the vicinity of North and South Main Streets in the 1940s and 1950s. In this excerpt, Liam describes his trip to Grattan Street dispensary to get vaccinated.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
CFP00727
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Cork Folklore Project
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
24 July 2019
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Interviewee: Liam Ó hUigín
Interviewer: Kieran Murphy
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
MP3 audio file, 1 minute 29 seconds
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SP0007_CFP00727_ ÓhÚigín
childhood vaccination
Grattan Street Medical Centre
vaccination
-
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/e863c21b4955985d2b1a517c97f3fab3.mp3
d80ab49ccdfd03c12c20865fd9703ec3
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
'They are so debilitating, it's so important to get vaccinated': Healthcare provider Imelda Cunning explains how important it is to get vaccinated.
Description
An account of the resource
Imelda Cunning, originally from Glasgow, Scotland. Trained as a podiatrist. Imelda moved to Ireland in 1999. Upon taking her position a podiatrist in Grattan Street medical centre she noticed the difference between her patients in Glasgow and those in Cork. Imelda then goes on to describe the long term effects of different infectious diseases and how important getting vaccinated is.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
CFP00714
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Cork Folklore Project
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
7 May 2019
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Interviewee: Imelda Cunning
Interviewer: Kieran Murphy
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
MP3 audio file, 5 minutes 30 seconds
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
SP0008_CFP00714_Cunning
childhood illness
public health initiatives
vaccination
-
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/8fd1140683783ba07b4ff90f47cbbe8f.jpg
e8a5a0d8b651ede9347a61ab1bc30f44
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Teddie and Charlie O’Shea Mass Card
Subject
The topic of the resource
Spanish Flu Epidemic, 1918-1919; Public health; Cards, Memorial prayer.
Description
An account of the resource
Memorial cards for brothers Teddie and Charlie O’Shea. Both of whom lost their lives to Spanish flu two weeks apart from each other in 1918.
Teddie and Charlie were from the College Road area of Cork city
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Jim Morrish
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Jim Morrish
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Cork Folklore Project
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
November 1918
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
.jpeg.
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Memorial cards
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Ireland; Cork; 1918;
death
memorial
Spanish Flu
-
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/e064add419aa51ee2ed53157d1994215.jpg
5929360bd15e71961d69dbe05c6f934f
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interviewee's brother William in the foreground of picture playing pitch and put at Heatherside Sanatorium
Description
An account of the resource
Interviewee's brother William in the foreground of picture playing pitch and put at Heatherside Sanatorium
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Michael O'Sullivan
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/919b20af92d1587aa341c1bc6f0f7ad4.jpg
e028e0bbb9fdf7ad234f1a180efb4f99
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Interviewee Michael visiting his sister Irene at Sarsfield Court Sanatorium.
Description
An account of the resource
Interviewee Michael visiting his sister Irene at Sarsfield Court Sanatorium.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Michael O’ Sullivan
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Michael O’ Sullivan
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/8e4c912aa8bf10f68170e2910e78a01d.jpg
e7f97572c0117d3997113061bf2758c1
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Leather Wallet made by Interviewees brother William at Heatherside Sanatorium
Description
An account of the resource
Leather Wallet made by Interviewees brother William at Heatherside Sanatorium
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Susan O'Sullivan
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Susan O'Sullivan
https://corkfolklore.org/health/files/original/d7f7fc52e5d7437ad61fffca1948ecdb.mp3
75ee21a5198f1d27ce684d4e1678733c
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
53 min 35 sec
Time Summary
A summary of an interview given for different time stamps throughout the interview
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
<p>Start Time</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Question/General Theme</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Topics of Summary</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*1:15</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Intro to family history</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Brother and sisters in sanatoriums for TB. Brother for 7 years, sisters for circa 2-4 years. Michael was told about 2 years ago after a chest x-ray that he probably had TB, but he was not aware of it.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>3:00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Cont.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Visiting sister in sanatorium on interviewees wedding day</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>4:50</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>What ages were brother and sisters when they had TB</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Brother 17, sisters in 20s, 30s.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>5:47</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>What symptoms?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Coughing up blood, constant cough</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>6:20</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>How was TB diagnosed?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Doctor and x-ray</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>6:45</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>What hospital?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>North Infirmary</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*6:50</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>What Medications?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Bottle with pink/purple liquid, used for everything.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>7:45</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>How were they transferred to sanatorium</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Ambulance</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*8:40</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did you know how TB was transmitted?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No, was told it wasn’t contagious.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*8:50</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did family talk about TB?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No too embarrassed, shame, linked to poverty</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>11:00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Were you aware of others in community with TB?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No there was a stigma surrounding it.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>12:09</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did you wear masks, or clean the house?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No masks, but lots of scrubbing with ‘Jeyes Fluid’</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>13:10</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>What sounds would be heard in the house?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Coughing, wheezing.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>13:30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did people with TB look different?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Ghastly, Lethargic</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>14:10</p>
</td>
<td>
<p> </p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Brother would go hunting ferrets, get cold and wet, maybe made him susceptible to TB.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>14:50</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did doctors visit house?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes, didn’t wear masks</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*15:00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Would people have gathered in groups outside, inside?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes churches, cinemas and sporting events would be packed.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>16:10</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did priests talk about TB at mass?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No never mentioned it, maybe out of fear.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>16:30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>What about the radio?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes, Noel Browne TD minister for health. Brother had great respect for him and all that he did.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>17:40</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Was visiting allowed at sanatorium?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes, but only outside. Interviewees remember visiting sister on their wedding day</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>18:20</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did your parents visit?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes, regularly, by taxi.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*18:44</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Cont.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>When interviewees visited on their wedding day, the car broke down on the way.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>18:55</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Cont.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>They had photographs taken on their wedding say at the sanatorium.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>19:12</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did you visit your brother?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No too far away (Doneraile).</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*19:30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>What did you see at the sanatoriums?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>People sitting about talking, in their night gowns, dressing gowns, seemed happy, some played Pitch and Putt</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Cont.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>The patients were involved in craft making, dolls, leather objects. Interviewee still has leather wallet that his brother made him at Heatherside Sanatorium</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>20:00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did someone teach them these crafts?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Not sure, but think someone came to sanatoriums to teach them.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>21:27</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Cont.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>All the windows were open, lots of fresh air</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>22:00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Do you have an idea of how many patients were at sanatorium?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No but both genders, no children.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>22:38</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Was there a special diet?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No but they were well fed</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>23:11</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>It must have been difficult for parents with children at sanatorium?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>23:35</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did parents ever talk about it?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No, they never talked, we were not told anything.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*25:47</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Do you remember the day your brother came home?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes remember him coming through the door, he had put on a lot of weight, didn’t recognise him, everyone was nervous.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>27:40</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Was he different?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>yes</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>28:05</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did your brother go back to work?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes as chef in Savoy Cinema Cork, and also worked in a confectioners in Gerald Griffin Street Cork</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>30:00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Are there similarities with Covid 19?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes, people are scared and avoiding each other</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>31:24</p>
</td>
<td>
<p> </p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Reminded of Polio in 1950s</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*31:50</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Theresa what are your experiences of TB?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Cousin Elsie was in Mount Desert Sanatorium. Theresa’s father would take her to visit Elsie, talks about country girls dying of TB at sanatorium. Elsie worked in mortuary, she was then transferred to St. Finbarr’s hospital</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>34:45</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Cont.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Theresa’s friend brother John was in Sarsfield’s Court sanatorium for 2 years. He never worked again after he came home, was weak and had bad chest.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>35:59</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>What ages were they?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Elsie was 18, John in his 30s.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>36:11</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>What do you mean by country girls?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Farmers daughters, usually from Cork and Kerry</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>36:40</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Do you remember how the buildings looked?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>There were wards and the main hospital, lots of fresh air, open windows, people sitting around talking.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>37:35</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did they ever talk about the food?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No they never discussed food.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>38:05</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>How long were they there?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>About 2 years</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>38:16</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did Elsie lay out/prepare the dead of her own accord?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes of her own accord.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>38:50</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Do you remember anything about the wards, rooms?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Some patients were in rooms of 2 beds, some in ward with 4-6 beds.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>39:20</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did your parents ever talk about TB?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No never</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>39:45</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Do you see a comparison with Covid 19? (Theresa).</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>There were no masks, but you did avoid people if they coughed, you got out of the way fast, but we were told it wasn’t contagious. Sensitisation was never mentioned.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>40:33</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did people cover their mouths when they coughed?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>40:50</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Were patients allowed to leave the sanatorium?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No, they were confined to the grounds, a lot of the time they were dressed, in suits and ties etc. Reading books</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>41:30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>What about exercise?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>There was no talk of exercise.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>42:50</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Cont.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Interviewees mention a pink ointment that was often used for various illnesses, but can’t recall its name.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>43:00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Were there any visible markings caused by TB?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Could be hunched up from coughing.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*44:30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did you see nurses at the sanatoriums?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes, dressed in white, no masks, gloves or aprons.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>45:00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Was music played?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes people came in to play music, but can’t remember who.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>45:56</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Any advice for younger people today and Covid 19?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Not to smoke. Everybody smoked in 1940’s and 50s, no warnings of danger. Woodbines cigarettes.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>47:00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did they smoke in the sanatoriums?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Outside</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*47:30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Cont.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>People got relief from smoking. There were very few that didn’t smoke, Theresa’s father smoked to get relief from dust inhaled in his job as a shoemaker. Michael’s father worked in a flour mill and he would get relief from the inhaled flour by smoking.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>49:00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Did the sisters that had TB smoke?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>No another sister did and she never contracted TB</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*49:30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>When did you find out that you might have had TB as a child? (Michael).</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>2 years ago. I was spitting up blood, had x-ray and doctor said lungs were scarred from TB. But I didn’t know I had TB. I had Pleurisy in the 1950s with the same symptoms.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>*50:20</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Do you think people had TB and didn’t know it?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Yes, some were afraid to go to the doctor, others didn’t wasn’t to go to doctor because they could end up in a sanatorium</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>51:00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Cont.</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>I wonder what bloated my brother in the sanatorium. He was very heavy when he came out.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>51:30</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Maybe because he wasn’t very active there?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p> *52:00</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Is there anything that comes to mind before we finish the interview?</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>We are lucky to have survived this long, I haven’t been sick a day in my life (Michael jokingly). We are after our Covid vaccine now and we are not doing too badly.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p>53: 34</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Thank you for doing this interview</p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Thank You, we didn’t get your name (Michael jokingly).</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p> </p>
</td>
<td>
<p>Susan O’ Sullivan</p>
</td>
<td>
<p> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p> </p>
</td>
<td>
<p> </p>
</td>
<td>
<p> </p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Michael and Theresa O’ Sullivan
Subject
The topic of the resource
Public health; Tuberculosis (disease);
Description
An account of the resource
Michael and Theresa are husband and wife and live on Fairhill on the north side of Cork city. Michael is 87 years old and Theresa is 85 years old. In this interview they both talk about their experiences of TB in Cork during the 1940s and the 1950s. In particular Michael talks about 3 siblings that contracted TB and spent time in sanatoriums. His brother spent 4 years at Heatherside Sanatorium in north Cork before being transferred to St. Finbarr’s hospital for a further 3 years. Two of Michael’s sisters spent between 2-4 years at Sarsfield Court sanatorium. Michael talks about visiting his sisters but not his brother because of distance and lack of transport.
To this end he did not see his brother for 7 years. Michael talks about the emotions experienced when his brother came home. Michael talks about visiting his sister at Sarsfield sanatorium on his wedding day with his wife and talks about the car breaking down en route. Michael also talks about learning that he had TB when a chest x-ray in circa 2018 revealed scarring on his lungs reminiscent of TB.
Theresa talks about her cousin Elsie who spent time in Mount Desert Sanatorium. Theresa talks about how Elsie would help to lay out the dead in the mortuary. Theresa also talks about the many young girls that died of TB at the sanatorium.
During the interview the girls are referred to as country girls which Theresa explains was a term used to describe the daughters of farmers. Theresa talks about the girls catching TB from cattle on the farm. Theresa also talks about a friend called John who spent time at Sarsfields Court sanatorium with TB. When John was released home he was never able to work again due to a weak chest as a result of recurring chest infections.
Michael and Theresa discuss family, community and societal attitudes towards TB. They talk about what people were told about TB and how they believed TB was transmitted. They talk about visiting the sanatoriums and the lack of social restrictions that they observed there. They talk about how fresh air was considered a treatment for TB and how the patients spent a lot of time outdoors. Michael and Theresa talk about the popularity of smoking and describe how some would find relief from breathing difficulties through smoking. Michael and Theresa conclude their interview with a discussion on the current Covid 19 pandemic and discuss the differences and similarities with the TB pandemic of the 1940s and the 1950s.
Image 1: Interviewee Michael visiting his sister Irene at Sarsfield Court Sanatorium.
Image 2: Interviewees brother William in the foreground of picture playing pitch and put at Heatherside Sanatorium.
Audio Excerpt: 23:10 to 31:50 of interview.
Interview Log at bottom of page.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Cork Folklore Project
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Interviewees: Michael and Theresa O'Sullivan
Interviewer: Susan O'Sullivan
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Cork Folklore Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Cork Folklore Project
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
22 March 2021
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
.wav
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Oral History
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Ireland; Cork; 1940s; 1950s
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Susan O'Sullivan
blood
Cattle
Cork City
Coughing
Covid 19
Doctor
Fairhill
Handcrafts
Heatherside Sanatrium
Leather
Michael O’ Sullivan
Mortuary
Mount Desert Sanatorium
Noel Browne
North Infirmary Hospital
Pleurisy
polio
preparing the dead
Priest
Sanatorium
Sarsfield Court Sanatorium
Smoking
St. Finbarr’s Hospital
Theresa O’ Sullivan
Tuberculosis (TB)
Woodbines Cigarettes