13 Jun We come from a ‘sustainable’ past
Sustainability sounds like such a modern buzz word but I think we simply need to look back to how our grandparents lived before commodities became so disposable. Recently, while nosing around the shelves at O’Sullivan’s, I found a shelf that must have remained untouched for decades. It housed a little pile of papers; the pull off pages for a 1910 calendar, the empty undated envelopes from a few telegrams and some envelopes from the 1920’s. I didn’t need to wonder why such a stack of paper had accumulated; we still keep a stack of used envelopes and old flyers on another shelf; we use the paper to tot figures and jot notes, just as was done a hundred years ago.
On the same shelf I found a ledger, started in 1908 and continuing to the 1930’s. The ledger records the shipments of Bass that O’Sullivan’s had transported from Limerick to Kilrush with the Shannnon Steamship Company. The book records the date, quantity, consignment numbers and prices of the deliveries in a variety of hands. Also with the ledger was a receipt book from Glynns, the owners of the Shannon Steamship Company Ltd, containing the counterfoils of the deliveries from Merchants Quay by cart to our shop here on Moore Street.
Here is a piece about the steamers from the Clare Journal from 9th October 1893:
New Goods Service on the Shannon:
Messrs. M. Glynn and Son of Kilrush have placed on the Shannon a steamer for the purpose of goods traffic. She will load in the Limerick Docks every Wednesday and Saturday goods of all descriptions to Kilrush which will be discharged on Merchants’ Quay, Kilrush.
And later, from The Clare Champion on the 17th of January 1914:
Advertisement: Shannon Steamship Company Ltd.
SS. Corona, SS Leven, SS Start. or other vessel will sail every
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Limerick for Kilrush direct carrying goods for West Clare including Kilrush, Kilmihil, Miltown Malbay, Ennistymon, Carrigaholt. —–
Telegrams: Glynn Limerick and Glynn Kilrush. Tel. 156-180.
Photo: Lawerence Collection
Steamer at Merchants Quay c 1900
I quizzed Donal Sr about the deliveries and he told me that Timmy Carrig drove the horse and cart that delivered the barrels and syphons of drink from Merchants Quay to Moore Street. Sure enough, you can clearly see the signature of T Carrig on the counterfoil throughout the receipt book.The barrels were unloaded on the street and lowered through the grate that used to allow access from the street level to the basement floor. Our grate no longer exists but there is one further up Moore Street outside Buggles Bar that is still in use. Mr Carrig took away whatever empty barrels we had for the return trip by steamer to Limerick and onwards to Cork. There they were refilled for further use. The circular economy was hard at work.