Murphy’s Brewery Collection

Repository: UCC Library Archives Service

Identity Statement

TitleMurphy's Brewery Collection
Archive ReferenceIE BL/BC/MB
Web Link to this Entryhttps://iar.ie/archive/murphys-brewery-collection
Creation Dates[1742]-1992
Extent Medium91 boxes + 147 bound volumes

Context

Creator(s): Murphy Brewery Ireland Ltd

  • Administrative History ↴

    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.

  • Archival History ↴

    Stored at the Lady's Well premises until the transfer from Heineken Ireland to UCC in 1999.

  • Immediate Source Acquisition ↴

    Donation

Content & Structure

  • Scope & Content: Murphy Brewery Ireland Ltd ↴

    The records preserved in the Murphy’s Archive are an unparalleled source for the social and economic history of Cork from the mid nineteenth to the mid twentieth century. The Collection is made up of business records (legal, administrative and financial) and brewing records (brewing books, malt bins, lab. reports, etc.)

    The Murphy’s Brewery material falls into three main sections – Legal, Administrative, and Brewing. The remaining sections compliment these – Charity Work, Publications, and a very small amount of memorabilia related to the Murphy Family. Where possible original order of administrative files has been retained, but in the main an artificial order was imposed by the archivist. The workmen’s account books provide specific examples for the social historian of working hours, conditions and wages. Also the minute books record changes in the workforce with the introduction of more mechanised systems of production and the phasing out of such traditional craftsmen as coopers, farriers etc. Details of the commercial life of the city will be enhanced by studies of the various Tied Houses connected with Murphy’s. These records in particular have a strong genealogical interest for researchers. 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. This archive records an important facet in the economic growth and development of Cork City and County and can be used by historians as a touchstone for comparison with similar industries throughout Ireland and abroad.

  • Appraisal Destruction ↴

    Permanent Retention

  • Arrangement ↴

    A. LEGAL ([1742] – 1984)
    1. Tenancy Agreements and Deed Books

    2. Legal Documents
    2.1 Agents Agreements
    2.2 Purchase of St. Finnbarrs Brewery
    2.3 Other
    2.4 Legislation
    2.5 Publicans’ Licences

    B. ADMINISTRATION (1857 – 1991)
    1. Correspondence

    2. Financial Records
    2.1 Ledgers
    2.2 Accounts
    2.3 Receipts and Deliveries Books
    2.4 Balance Book and Balance Sheets
    2.5 Promissory Notes
    2.6 Sureties Book
    2.7 Income Tax Payments
    2.8 Insurance

    3. Minutes Books
    3.1 West Cork Bottling Company
    3.2 J.J. Murphy & Co. Ltd. Directors’ Meetings
    3.3 Maltings
    3.4 Kilmallock and Limerick
    3.5 Bandon

    4. Annual Reports

    5. House and Licence Registers

    6. Ledgers
    6.1 House Ledgers
    6.2 Rental Ledgers
    6.3 Town/Country Ledgers
    6.4 West Cork Bottling Company, Bandon
    6.5 Country Bottling Ledgers
    6.6 City Bottling Ledgers
    6.7 City Ledgers

    7. Employee Records
    7.1 Wages Books
    7.2 Salaries Books
    7.3 Workmens/Employees Registers
    7.3.1 Murphys Brewery
    7.3.2 West Cork Bottling Company
    7.4 Cork Coopers Society

    8. Shares
    8.1 Debenture Forms
    8.2 Debenture and Dividend Ledgers
    8.3 Debenture Minutes
    8.4 Administration

    9. Customs and Inland Revenue

    10. Plans

    11. Publicity

    C. BREWING PROCESSES (1828 – 1985)
    1. Brewing Records

    2. Notebooks

    3. Gyle Book

    4. Malt Bins Books

    5. Minutes of the Brewing Department

    6. Laboratory Reports

    7. Brewing Room Diaries

    8. Grains Day Book

    9. Malt House

    10. Waste Accounts

    D. CHARITY WORK (1894 – 1903)
    1. Society of St. Vincent de Paul

    E. PUBLICATIONS (1890 – 1992)
    1. Journals
    1.1 The Journal of the Institute of Brewing
    1.2 The Journal of the Federated Institutes of Brewing
    1.3 The Brewing Trade Review
    1.4 The Brewers’ Journal and Hop and Malt Trades’ Review

    2. General

    F. MURPHY FAMILY MEMORIBILIA ([1876] – 1900)

    G. MISCELLANEOUS (1880 – 1893)

Conditions of Access & Use

Access Conditions Available by appointment with the Archives Service to holders of UCC Readers tickets.
Conditions Governing ReproductionBy application to the archivist.
Creation Dates[1742]-1992
Extent Medium91 boxes + 147 bound volumes
Material Language ScriptEnglish
Finding Aids Descriptive list Archive Web Link →

Allied Materials

Publication NoteFor further information on the history of Murphy’s Brewery in Cork see:Ó Drisceoil, Diarmuid and Ó Drisceoil, Donal'The Murphy's story : the history of Lady's Well Brewery, Cork'.Cork : Murphy Brewery Ireland, 1997

Descriptive Control Area

Archivist NoteEmer Twomey
Rules/ConventionsISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description. 2nd ed. Ottawa: International Council on Archives, 2000.
Date of DescriptionsMay 2009