Jack Doyle - old haunts

Many of Jack Doyle's stomping grounds in his youth in Cobh can still be seen today. Although, the house that Jack grew up in is no longer in existence the Holy Ground is still an area that is lived in. Some of the old tenement houses have been torn down over the years, but others have been lovingly repaired and restored and offer their present owners fabulous vistas of the harbour. It was along this seafront area that Jack grew up and spent most of his formative years....

'....In those distant days, children had to devise their own amusement. One of the most cherished pastimes in the Holy Ground was a game of pitch-and-toss under the gaslamps; another was alleys, a game similar to skittles. The boys would play till late at night and there was great consternation whenever Joe (Jack) cheekily tried to trick them out of their stakes.'

'His favourite haunt in the town was the Soldiers' Home and Sailors' Rest, where his Uncle Joe worked. The chief attraction there was the delicious Chester cakes that were baked on the premises. The cakes were a kind of pudding known as soldier's duff and they made a tasty and filling feed for hungry young bellies. Joe always went in with a halfpenny and asked for some Soldier's Duff, whereupon his uncle - with a wink, a smile and well-practised sleight of hand - would invariably slip three or four huge chunks into a bag for the price of one. Joe could cheerfully have scoffed the lot with his huge appetite, but the cakes were always shared with the rest of the gang, rather in the manner of a general enduring the same hardships as his men when times are tough.' The Soldiers' Home and Sailors' Rest still stands today but now houses a Chinese restaurant; the chances of Chester cake are slim but you could always ask.

'Joe received his education, what little there was of it, from the Presentation Brothers who taught at St. Joseph's school for boys on the outskirts of town (This building is now part of the larger Colaiste Muire complex but can still be visited)....Joe disliked school intensely. He tried his best to be a diligent pupil, but the discipline administered by the Brothers was strict, the lessons dull and the confinement of classroom restrictive. There were other, more exciting things for a robust and energetic boy to do and going 'on the lang' proved an infinitely more attractive proposition. Several times he was threatened with expulsion for absenteeism.....Joe may not have been the most popular boy in town with those in authority, but his standing with his school-mates was of the highest order. To them he was a hero to whom they turned in times of trouble, a match for the bullies who had wronged them....The Holy Ground was no place for the faint-hearted. The boys who lived there spoke tough, acted tough and for the most part were tough. But according to those who were around at the time, none was tougher than big Joe Doyle.'

Many thanks to Michael Taub, author of Jack Doyle - The Gorgeous Gael and his publishers, Lilliput Press, who have kindly allowed us to reproduce excerpts of the book here.

Michael will be speaking at the Gala Dinner celebrating Jack's 100th birthday on Saturday 31st August. Tickets are available at the reception, Commodore Hotel, Cobh (tel. no 00-353-21-4811277; email - commodorehotel@eircom.net)