| Collection Description | 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 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.) [UCC Special Collections and
Archives] |
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