‘Memories of Dear Old Charleville’ contains photographs, many of which have appeared in the pages of the Corkman down through years, depicting the lives of the people, the places and the events that have shaped the fabric of our North Cork border town.
Published by local man Michael McGrath, who has been writing the Charleville page in this weekly newspaper for many years, the book contains pictures from the pre-1950’s, the 1950’s. ‘60’s. 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and it also dips briefly into the 2000’s.
Pictures from the early Charleville Cheese Festivals feature largely, as does sporting occasions, cultural events, and it is a treasure trove of memories that will be cherished by Charleville people everywhere, as those that are no longer with us are recorded.
A foreword written by Kevin O’Shea the director of the very successful Shoestring Theatre Company states that: “This is a book that will bring the memories flooding back of the people, the places and faces that made and shaped the lives we lived in the town we love so well. The more I looked, the more time I spent trying to unlock the stories behind the pictures, and in doing so created new memories.
There is no photoshop here, just a window into our lives – ‘the way we were.’ It includes the good, the bad, and the sad. It features some who have achieved national and international prominence, but its essence is about the extraordinary, ordinary people, characters, local events and some lovable rogues, who coloured our lives.”
Photographs are a record and a snapshot of times past, especially the older black and white prints of local people and places. They evoke memories of a bygone era and bring immense enjoyment to those of the older generation and help them recall happier times in less affluent days, and the personalities who helped to shape the fabric of the Charleville we live in today.
It also contains the words of the local anthem, ’Dear Old Charleville,’ written by exile Thomas Reidy in New York, as well as the poem extolling the virtues of ‘Charleville Fair’ from the pen of the ‘Bard of Ballyhea’, Con O’Brien.