The Murphy’s Brewery archive, Special Collections, Boole Library, UCC

Project:  Brewing and Society in Ireland in the 19-20c.  A map of the tied houses (pubs exclusively serving Murphy’s products) in Cork neighborhoods will trace the company’s community relations as well as the development of neighborhoods; information regarding the sourcing of agricultural products will yield an account of how the city was connected to the hinterland.  Employment records allow a glimpse into the integration of the brewery into family survival networks in a time of increasing mobility.

The Archive:  The Murphy’s Brewery archive (IE BL/BC/MB) was donated by Heineken Ireland to UCC library in 1999.

James J. Murphy purchased the buildings of the Cork Foundling Hospital in 1854 for £1,300. Construction of a new brewery, supervised by Gresham Wiles (Brewer) began, and Lady’s Well Brewery (Murphy’s Brewery) was established in 1856. James J. Murphy and family administered the business of the brewery, and the Murphy family had a presence in the Company until the 1960’s. By 1906, Murphy’s Brewery was Ireland’s second largest brewer (after Guinness) and had established a tied houses system (c.200 mostly around Cork city) that precluded these public houses from selling another company’s product.

In 1983, Heineken NV acquired the assets of Murphy Brewery Ireland Ltd., creating Heineken Ireland, a fully owned subsidiary of Heineken International. The company may have changed ownership, but Murphys stout continues to be brewed at its original location in the north inner city of Cork since 1856.

The Archive is contained in 91 boxes & 147 bound volumes, [1742] – 1992. The Murphy’s Brewery material falls into three main sections – Legal, Administrative, and Brewing. The remaining sections complement these –Charity Work, Publications, and a very small amount of memorabilia related to the Murphy Family. The business records comprise mainly of bound volumes include Workmen’s Account Books, Minutes of the Board of Management, General Accounts, Registers of Tied Houses, and Delivery books. Also surviving are a number of deed books and other loose papers referring to leases and agreement with publicans,financial records, shareholders correspondence and other matters.

http://booleweb.ucc.ie/index.php?pageID=284

Bibliography:

Donal O Drisceoil and Diarmuid O Drisceoil. The Murphy's Story: The History of Lady's Well Brewery.Cork: Murphy Brewery Ireland Limited, 1997.

Donal Ó Drisceoil, “Murphy’s Brewery.” In: John Crowley, Robert Devoy, Denis Linehan, and Patrick O'Flanagan, (eds). Atlas of Cork City. 2005