What could possibly link a banking disaster and a brewery? The answer is James J. Murphy. The Irish Times is in there too. Born in 1825, James J. Murphy was the eldest son of 15 children. After his marriage, he was involved in running the Midleton Distillery, in east Cork, founded by his relatives two generations earlier.
The distillery would later become Irish Distillers - one of the greatest success stories of the modern Irish drinks industry. Murphy, however, sold his Midleton shares and with the proceeds established a brewery on a site known as Lady's Well, near Blackpool in Cork - it was to be called James J. Murphy & Co, and it still exists on the same site today.
Before Murphy's death in 1897, the brewery was turning out 100,000 barrels of stout a year and James J. had become one of the most prosperous men in Cork. The records show that in 1881 his share of the net profits was £11,250 - a tidy sum in those days.
The banking connection was that Murphy held a directorship on the board of the then Munster Bank. But there was trouble on the horizon.
In 1885, insurmountable difficulties had forced the closure of the bank. James J. came to the rescue. He gathered around him members of the merchant class of his day to found a new bank, which became known as the Munster & Leinster. In time, all the creditors and depositors in the failed bank were repaid in full, and with interest, and a financial calamity was averted.
Cork city was so proud of him that in 1890 a special fund was opened and some 602 gentlemen and businessmen of the city made a silver presentation to him, marking his achievement. "The calamity which you averted by this action cannot be properly or adequately estimated; but we must record our conviction that if you, and those associated with you, had not assumed the task, the trade and commerce of the country would have been paralysed for many years, credit would have been destroyed, and misery and poverty would have fallen upon thousands of hapless victims," one speaker said at the presentation in the Imperial Hotel.
According to The Murphy's Story, a new history of the brewery which is about to be published, the newspapers of the day, local and national, carried extensive reports of the presentation, including the full texts of the congratulatory speeches. The authors, Diarmuid O Drisceoil and Donal O Drisceoil, record that the story of the presentation was also carried in the Wine Merchant & Brewers' Review of August 24th, 1890. It said that "owing to the singularly retiring disposition of Mr Murphy, it was impossible for the outside public ever to realise the amount of gratitude which it owed him . . . It is no exaggeration to say that he saved the nation from a dreadful calamity by the vast energy he displayed in liquidating the old Munster Bank since the memorable crash in 1885.
"The labour to him seemed like one of love, though there are few men of his wealth and position who would have undertaken it even at a princely compensation. Cork has every reason to be proud of such a man - a man who fulfils everything he promises, who never boasts of his achievement, who is a silent worker in this age of chatterboxes."
The Cork Vintners' Society, the book tells us, made a separate presentation to the great man - a portrait in oils "in which the likeness is faithful and the expression has been faithfully caught". The portrait hangs in the brewery to this day. But despite the honours being heaped upon him from every quarter, Murphy was modest to a fault. This is how he summed up his contribution when replying to the numerous plaudits.
"I did, under the circumstances, what I consider I was called on to do. I feel an honest pride in thinking we averted a dreadful calamity. I thank you gentlemen for the generous zeal you have exhibited to show me honour far beyond my deserts. It will teach others that honest efforts to do good will be sure to win the respect and gratitude of all." The authors tell us too that James J. went on to become chairman of the new bank and that the Murphy family was represented on the board until 1966, when it amalgamated with two others to become Allied Irish Banks. A silent benefactor and a keen supporter of the budding GAA, Murphy's death in October 1897 was marked by the Cork County Board of the association, which hailed him as one its greatest friends.
Local histories are always worth mining for the insights they can throw up. But I didn't expect a connection between Murphy's Brewery and The Irish Times. There is one, though, even if it is tenuous. Sir John Arnott was the owner of St Fin Barre's brewery in Cork, which competed with the Lady's Well brewery until the late 19th century. After his death, the brewery was taken over by Murphy's in 1901. Before that, however, Sir John had purchased The Irish Times. And Arnott's store in Dublin hardly needs an introduction.
The brewery will celebrate the publication of the history by producing a special brew based on recipes for porter from the beginning of the 20th century. It will be called Arnott's Prize Medal Porter, and at official functions it will be served in specially-engraved glasses.
When James J. saved the crippled Munster Bank all those years ago, he could not have foreseen the events that would flow from his actions. The bank that would later become AIB was to continue its association with the brewery, although the relationship would become somewhat more strained. Ironically, the bank, in the modern era, found itself handling a brewery that was in serious difficulty. These were dark days for Murphy's - at one point in the 1970s, despite a rescue effort by vintners, it seemed that the bank which owed so much to the business acumen of James J. Murphy would have to pull the plug on the brewery. Mr Jack Lynch and Mr Peter Barry made efforts to save it, but in 1982, AIB was left with no option but to put the business into receivership.
The wheel had indeed come full circle. In 1983, however, there was better news. Heineken, the Dutch brewers, took over the business, and it has not looked back since. The silver that was presented to James J. is on display in AIB's Cork headquarters - AIB is still handling the Murphy account - and the brewery is more vibrant than ever.
The takeover, by the way, was sealed on April 1st of that year. In the trade, some thought it was a foolish move at the time. Not any more.