Limerick Milk Market
I remember the size of his enormous hands as he snapped the neck of the Turkey. ‘God you drive a hard bargain missus’ he said, as my mother looked on with satisfaction.
She later recounted her story to anyone who cared to listen. She boasted about ‘getting the best Bird in the Market for half nothing’ and ‘He even killed and plucked it as part of the deal’ she said with pride.
I remember the weight of that Turkey as I struggled to carry it home for my mam. It was as big as myself. My arms ached as I did everything in my power to lift it high enough, trying to ensure that its head didn’t bounce along the ground. It seemed to have doubled in weight, as I got closer to home. I remember a man on a bike shouting ‘what did that poor Turkey ever do to you Son’ as I struggled in vain to keep my mothers prize from falling into the muddy puddles that formed after a recent shower. My father greeted me with laughter when he saw the state of the ‘best bird in the market’. ’That Turkey looks as if it’s gone fifteen rounds with Cassius Clay’ he joked, as he went on to reassure me that he would have it sorted before my mother got home.
This was my first memory of the Limerick Milk Market.
The noise of Turkeys, feathers flying, as they met their end at the hands of their executioners. The Carol singing, the bargain hunters, the laughter, the buzz of Christmas as my mother reminded me that it was “ only two more sleeps before Santa came”. The Market was a magic place to be at festive time. As a seven year old, I could not imagine a more exciting place in the world then Limerick’s Milk Market. I was hooked!
From boy to man, the annual excursion to that special place became a feature of all my Christmases. Years later I set out to capture the ‘magic’ of the Market with my Camera. I quickly realised that it was the people who made it unique and I learned a lot from studying them. My father called it the ‘University of Life’. The owned very little but money couldn’t buy what they possessed in abundance. They were people with character and principles. Honesty and integrity and a profound decency were common features in those days. They were eager and willing to share what little they had with those less fortunate then themselves. These were the Grandchildren of people born during the Famine and they knew what real hardship was.
Now, as I look at those images from the 70s, the memories come flooding back. I can close my eyes and hear the sounds of Christmas and I remember the Magic of the Limerick Milk Market and the special people that I was privileged to meet there.
It’s all changed now. A canvas canopy protects the traders and shoppers from Limericks notorious rain. The scene is one of affluence and worlds apart from the Market of my youth. The buzz is there, the laughter the same, but the sounds are punctuated by people speaking languages and selling products that were unimaginable in the 70s.
And I can’t help thinking – What would Old Moll make of all this?
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52 Comments
28 May 11 at 8:33pm
1
Loved what i saw on Capital D Gerry, I am from Limerick and am wondering if you have put a book together on the photo's I saw in the Milk Market , they were very special , I have a love for this beautiful city and am very proud of it. Well done and please keep up the good work . What an eye and a talent you have. Ann
03 August 11 at 5:15pm
2
the photo in the limerick leader of patrick dunne .i live in london and was at home on holiday at the time of print .you captured my dad so well just as i remember him .a good kind soul .thanks for that .best of luck .god bless . .Elizabeth alwaked .
20 June 11 at 9:46pm
3
Thank God there a people like you who had the mind to take those shots when you did, they are fantastic . Looking forward to seeing some more, thanks for sharing them.The guy with the bag over his shoulder and hen in his hand, (Market A Edit ) is still around , I can get his name if you want it ?, you can let me know. Ann Nolan
21 June 11 at 6:54pm
4
Absolutely brilliant , tough times, yet some brought a smile to my face, great memories of the 'good 'old days, thanks
07 July 11 at 8:11pm
5
Hi Gerry, I just saw your photographs which were in the Limerick Leader and thought that they were absolutely wonderful. every picture definalely told a story. I can't wait for you to publish a book of photographs on Limerick. Well done. Kathleen
11 July 11 at 12:06am
6
The best street photographs I've seen, ever
11 July 11 at 1:11pm
7
Hi Gerry, My family was delighted to see your picture on the Limerick leader of 9/7/'11 entitled 'A man carries a wheelbarrow at Mount St Lawrence cemetery.' This man is my late Grandfather Christopher Lahiff. Vin Lahiff.
11 July 11 at 7:42pm
8
Fantastic shots - each as good as the next. Wonderful collection.
12 July 11 at 9:08am
9
Gerry just read the on-line version of the Leader, and was blown away with you Photographs. Memories of Limerick in the 1970's came flodding back, your web site photographs of the Milk Market are a window into the past history of Limerick and its people. I also remember fondly our Days in the FCA , delighted to see all is positive for you now. I suggest that with your permission your Photographs of the Milk market be put on permanent display in the now award winning Milk Market as a historic pictorial record of the people of Limerick. Your Photographs of Limerick bring to life the History of Limerick as the late Jim Kemmy did in the print media.Wishing all the best for the future.
12 July 11 at 6:31pm
10
Truly fabulous collection 8-))
13 July 11 at 5:52am
11
Wonderfull photos of days gone by. The geezer with the banjo 1673-Edit was located close to where I ran a stall selling books and LP's in the Summer of '78. Thanks for the memories.
13 July 11 at 3:56pm
12
Well done fantastic. Please publish in book form Liam Mc Dermott Orpington, Kent
13 July 11 at 4:09pm
13
These are very very strong photos. I've never seen work of this insight based on Limerick subjects.
14 July 11 at 12:35am
14
The photo of the old lady standing in a doorway is my great-gran-aunt, Hannie Mc Loughlin. It was taken at her house in Summer Street. Only for Gerry Andrews I would not know what she looked like. She was terribly poor. My mother remembers Auntie Hannie stuffing the spout of the teapot with newspaper to keep the tea warm.
14 July 11 at 9:22am
15
Just to say, love your work & presentation. A terrific site. A lot of heart in the work. A lot of soul too. Good on you. From a fellow Limerick man, Johnny Duhan.
14 July 11 at 2:27pm
16
HI GERRY THE CHAP IN PICTURE 39 IS WILLE COADY HE LIVED IN ST MARYS PARK HE WOULD HAVE BEEN A CLASS AHEAD OF ME IN ST. SENANS CBS ON THE ISLAND ROAD,ILL BE 47 THIS YEAR SO HE WOULD PROBABLY BE 48 0R 9.PICTURE 46 IM FARILY CERTAIN IS MAGGIE MOLONEY SHE LIVED IN THE OLD COTTAGES ON THE ISLAND ROAD. THERE IS NEW HOUSES BUILT ON THE SITE NOW, MAGGIE WOULD HAVE OWNED SOME OF THE LAND THAT LEE ESTATE IS BUILT ON.SHE USED TO GO ALL OVER ST MARYS PARISH COLLECTING PATATO SKINS AND WASTE FOOD FOR HER ANIMALS.SHE USED TO SELL VEGETABLES AND APPLES IN THE MARKET.
14 July 11 at 4:44pm
17
I read about these in the Limerick Leader, I am over here is Canada. I remember going to the market every weekend with my mum for the veg and fruit. How these brought back so many memories, how much more simple life was back then. We were poor but we never new it.
16 July 11 at 10:00am
18
i remember that man making baskets i think darcy was him name his brother was sonny darcy horse riding place in ballincurra.and pearse duffy and her daughter marion..i remember those days well..nice photos kiddo.
16 July 11 at 4:28pm
19
Outstanding world class work both on an artisitic level and as a historical archive. This collection needs to be on permanent exhibition in St. John's Castle, or the Hunt Museum, or better still the Milk Market (www.milkmarketlimerick.ie)
17 July 11 at 11:00am
20
Gerry, What a marvellous archive of priceless images you have discovered. Thanks to article on Leader I ws able to source your web site and marvel at the slide show. Congratulations on the quality of the images and website itself. Dan Clery
18 July 11 at 10:51pm
21
These are wonderful photos. There is an overwhelming feeling of melancholy about them. Nobody smiling, many of them a portrait of very tough times in Ireland for some of our people. I remember going to the market on occasion in the '70's & 80's without realising the depths of poverty some people were enduring. We have come along way ! It would be interesting to know what became of many of these people, I'm sure they would have stories to tell.
19 July 11 at 10:02am
22
Beautiful photos - beautiful people, yes even the old wrinkly bearded lady, they're all beautiful. I see that there aren't any fat people and that people look more worn - how times have changed. You need to be sure to pack your wide angle lens in these days of obesity. The memory of the famine is far far behind us. Thanks for sharing these photos.
19 July 11 at 10:44am
23
Hi Gerry Im a refugee from Cork, only in Limerick 30 years, and I,ve just stumbled across this site. Your pictures of the Market are extraordinary. Have you been asked to exhibit them in Limerick or is it something you would be interested in? regards Martin Walsh
19 July 11 at 11:49am
24
Really great photo's. What a contrast with the market of today - not a Latté in sight back then! Make's you think, is anyone that badly off compared to back then?
19 July 11 at 12:17pm
25
Great images Gerry. Keep up the good work, Liam
19 July 11 at 4:14pm
26
Wow I just spotted an old mate of mine from Sean Heuston Place,a famous limerick chracter as a young lad,Teddy Grey,,,gonna have a good look through them,,,,i should know many,,,amazing....
19 July 11 at 4:20pm
27
God above the MARKET A edit photograph is a lovely pic of ole Thady, he actually only passed away a few months ago, god love him..
19 July 11 at 8:07pm
28
Hi, I am lost for words; it is like a different world completely. They are lovely pictures. Thanks for sharing Michelle
19 July 11 at 9:43pm
29
beautiful shots...... i really enjoyed them.
19 July 11 at 10:06pm
30
Hi, I cannot tell you how wonderful I think your pictures are - all of them - the ones in the Milk Market are fantastic. We would always have gone to the Market on Saturday with my Mom and Dad for fruit and veg. I wonder if the man weaving the basket in photograph 9/60 is the same man that had a stall/shop on Gerald Griffin Street. I was always fascinated by the shop when I was a child. Thank you so much for sharing them.
20 July 11 at 8:07pm
31
Those photo's are so brilliant, remind's me of my own childhood in limerick...
21 July 11 at 10:09pm
32
What memories! I remember going to the market on Saturday mornings with my mother in the 1960s. It strikes me we didn't really realise the level of poverty that existed then - puts today's economic situation in context quite a bit. It's a fantastic collection, a super historical collection and of amazing quality. You are to be complimented!
23 July 11 at 9:36pm
33
Superb photos of that time. Terrific faces. The view of the market from above is also excellent. Well done. I hope I can do as good.
24 July 11 at 7:51pm
34
Hi Gerry, Remember your double page spread in the Limerick People newspaper of the Milk Market with editorial by Limerick poet John Liddy early 1980's...great memories! Dominic Taylor
25 July 11 at 9:26am
35
You have taken me down memory lane, and as a photographer myself I really appreciate your work! Just for a few minuets I was a young girl again, waiting for my mother to come back from the Saturday market with shoes for me. GREAT WORK!!!! I took some photos last Autumn in the market, and yes it has changed so much, this time there were Smiles, not sad faces.....Once again FANTASTIC. THANK YOU!
26 July 11 at 11:07am
36
Gerry Brilliant, the Limerick Market pictures are on a par if not better than the great late Bill Doyle. Well done.
26 July 11 at 7:23pm
37
Thank you very much for publishing the milk market pictures. My late father worked there during the run up to Christmas and was responsible for the demise of many a turkey! Thank you again for bringing back the memory of a more honest era.
04 August 11 at 2:58pm
38
Thank you so much for evoking so many happy memories of the Milk Market. I hope you'll have the published in book form. the expressions on the faces you captured so well, e.g. the girl with the dogs, the blind fiddler etc. etc.
05 August 11 at 6:34pm
39
You've given me a wonderful trip down memory lane! I remember going to the milk market with my mother & dragging home bags of goodies. Your photos of Ireland in the 70s are outstanding and evoke fond memories of simpler times. I hope you find more photos to publish ... thank you.
07 August 11 at 10:47am
40
Gerry,excellent photos,I remember John Maloney and my self from wolfe tone street going to the market to make a few bob killing and plucking turkeys,its easy money some one said!!!!The first woman we saw buying a turkey,we asked if she wanted it killed and plucked,she said she did but if we tore the skin we would get nothing,guess what we got nothing.good memorys.
09 August 11 at 10:34pm
41
thanks for a look into the past, and a photo of my granfather. patrick dunne. god bless you, from west london,
13 August 11 at 9:58pm
42
What a super set of photographs, a great historical record but also a great tribute to your skill as a photographer and the connection you had with the people you were photographing.
26 August 11 at 12:28pm
43
loved the picture of my granddad its so nice to see old pictures of people gone by
29 August 11 at 11:09pm
44
Fantastic photos, thank you for sharing
22 September 11 at 2:29pm
45
Limk BW 523 is my Grandmother..Maggie Troy (mc) from St Mary's Park thanks...lovely pic captured her to a t..
03 October 11 at 7:10pm
46
[...] 60 photos here [...]
04 October 11 at 1:09pm
47
Really lovely photos. B&W leads us to dive deeper into expressions, I think, too. I'm not a city girl but your story of toting the turkey sounds like daily life in the Ozark Mountains. There's always more work than hands and little ones have to do often more than grownups.
03 November 11 at 2:53pm
48
Hi Gerry, Thank you so much for the memories.Im retired here in Turkey & it was great to look at those photographs.Im not great on computers but I will try to save this .Once again thank you. Kind regards, Tony Fleming.
03 January 12 at 5:35pm
49
I have identified people in 4 photographs of limerick in the 70s, counting from left to right picture 14 is tinker called Lally Donoghue, picture 15 is the famous basket maker John Delaney, picture 40 is Mrs Duffy From weston and her family still have a stall in the market every saturday, and picture 45 is John Coady. Hope this helps you. James
11 April 12 at 11:40am
50
Hello the photo Number 52 ( Woman with a pram ) is a lady called Maggie that lived on the Island Road in a cottage across from the convent entrance. Houses built on the site of her cottage now. She collected potato and vegetable skins and food waist in that pram for her chickens to eat. I remember her calling to my mother twice a week when I was a child.
01 May 12 at 1:09pm
51
GREAT PHOTOS THE CHAP KILLING AND PLUCKING IS MY BROTHER MICKIE
13 May 12 at 6:42pm
52
Fantastic to see those old photos of Limerick , brings back great memories