What it is about photographs that can shake the foundations of the present moment so thoroughly?
This is the city of my childhood, where light, poverty, voices and rain flickered through all-too-solid streets, where people seemed dense and solid, too, in ways that would fade away over the years until most of what I remember seems to me now no more substantial than … a photograph, an image snatched in light from the flow of darkness.
– Theo Dorgan (foreword of ’Cork in the 1960s, Photographs by Anthony Barry’)
ANTHONY BARRY WILL be best known to Cork people for his famous blend of Barry’s Tea, which he created and sold in his shop in Prince’s Street in Cork. He will also be known for his political contribution to Cork, serving in the Dáil and Seanad Éireann and also as Lord Mayor of Cork from 1961 to 1962.
What may surprise some is his artistic vocation, which he pursued throughout his career in both tea blending and politics. Anthony Barry was consumed with the art of photography and never left the house without either his Leica or Rolleiflex camera round his neck. His mission was to record the architecture and people of Cork city.
Every day, as he walked from his home in York Terrace (where he lived from 1944) to the tea shop in Prince’s Street, he would photograph Cork citizens going about their daily business: the commercial and social aspects of the city, but also all the labour of the city, from the ships on the quayside to the shawlies trading on the Coal Quay. His aim was to capture his subjects unaware, thus recording the true goings-on of a city, whether it be the idle musings of those waiting in a bus queue or the smartly turned out family on a trip into the city.
– Orla Kelly (co-complier of ’Cork in the 1960s, Photographs by Anthony Barry’)
“The Irish Independent office at 35 Patrick’s Street when the Cork Examiner had competition from its Dublin rivals. A poster for the Sunday Independent focuses on the birth control debate, a hot topic in 1960s Ireland following the marketing of the pill, and sport and wedding photographs adorn the window. Outside, the chrome-plated Silver Cross pram was the essence of comfort for small babies.”
“A friendly conversation on the South Mall with a garda. The Edinburgh Assurance Co. and Royal Insurance Co. are in the background of this image. The South Mall was the commercial heart of the city – home to banks, stockbrokers, auctioneers, members of the legal profession and insurance companies. Parked beside the tree is an Austin Maxi.”
“Two women wait in the doorway of Fred Archer, silversmith and jeweller, at 67 Patrick’s Street, also home to Stephen J. Scully, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor.”
“Waiting for a bus on Patrick’s Street. The shop in the background was once owned by Liptons and later became part of the Five Star supermarket chain.”
(1/2) “These two pictures show the contrasting sides of life in 1960s Cork. In one two nuns in their traditional garb stop for a chat with a friend outside Egan’s ecclesiastical department, while in the other… ”
(2/2) “…we see two ladies dressed in the very height of fashion – one with a plaid skirt complete with matching wide tie, the other in designer tights, although she still sports the more traditional headscarf.”
“Queuing for a bus outside the limestone façade of the National Bank, South Mall, which also had a branch on Patrick’s Street.”
“Two women, who appear to be wearing the West Cork cloak, make an ethereal silhouette while walking down Patrick’s Street. Parked near the old post box is a Ford Anglia car.”
“Handing over the bag of customary Thompsons cakes outside this 1-hour dry cleaners. Thompsons had been the most popular cake manufacturers in the city since 1894 – snowballs, chocolate tarts, long doughnuts, custard slices and apple turnovers were just some of the selection available. On the left is Patricia O’Brien, with her sister, Chrissie, on the right.”
“Messenger boys bikes were a common sight in Cork; many a young lad delivered messages to the more opulent addresses in Douglas, Blackrock and Montenotte. Some of these daredevils raced down Patrick’s Hill at breakneck speed with little regard for life or limb. In the background are the Cactus Chinese Restaurant, Burton’s, Fitzgerald’s and McKechnie’s cleaners and dyers.”
“The heat in Kinsale on this day out appears to be having a soporific effect on day-trippers.”
“A young girl digs with her shovel as the steeple of Shandon, Cork’s most iconic building, towers behind on Eason’s Hill.”
“White gloves at the ready, directing traffic near the Gas Consumers Co. store at the top of Patrick’s Street.”
“No traffic jams on this quiet shopping day on Patrick’s Street. A garda stands talking to a man alongside a Ford Cortina Mark I. The Ever Ready vehicle parked across the road is a Commer van, in front of the van is an Opel Record estate, and the taxi parked at the end of the street is a Ford Consul.”
These are just some of the incredible photographs featured in ‘Cork in the 1960s: Photographs by Anthony Barry’ (compiled by Orla Kelly, Terry Kelly and Michael Lenihan), due to be released in November 2014. Preorder now through Mercier Press.
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