STRANGE BEER Towards the end of the Middle Ages one of Europe's best- known beers was 'Braunschweiger Mumm'. It took its name from the brewer Mumm and the town of Braunschweig (Brunswick) in Germany where he brewed it. The beer was made without hops. Instead of hops it contained a mixture of the flowers of the sundew plant, spruce-fir bark, various herbs and raw eggs! As if all that wasn't enough to give it sufficient body and flavour, it was left to mature for a further two years before being sold. //W ady's Well" Brewery is the name of one of the companies within our concern. But the .company is usually called Murphy's, after one of the brands of beer brewed there. It is situated in Cork in the South of Ireland. What's the origin of this unusual name? Opposite the brewery there is a steep hill and halfway up the slope lies a well inside a very tiny building. For the Irish it has been a holy shrine for centuries. No wonder therefore that in 1856 the brewery's founders named their new business after this hallowed place. Tremendous interest The future man with a purpose into it. I also got support from the organisation which provides work for the unemployed. Because you only have to pay a percentage of their wages. Those people did a lot of bricklaying, for instance. And all the employees at Murphy's contribute a small sum every week from their wages to help pay for the upkeep of the well. In fact, a lot of cash is needed, not only for wages but also for materials. Some of this money has been used to pay for the long stone steps which have been built. Before the steps were there, it was almost impossible for old people to climb up to the well. The brewery paid for the handrails at the side of the steps. Many inhabitants of Cork come along to our gateman and ask if there is any way they can help. A lot of contributions have also come in from that source. More than 10,000 Irish pounds have already been spent". Once a year holy mass is celebrated at the wellAs many as 2,000 people turn up for the occasion. The local "Butter Exchange Band" and a choir come along to take part. There is steadily growing interest and the newspapers are giving the occasion more and more publicity each year. Many local and church dignitaries attend this mass. All of which makes Matthew Cahill hope that more and more people will start working to help preserve the well. But it's regrettable that vandals have also taken an interest in it. Just recently, the old wood carving of the Virgin Mary was stolen. It was recovered by the police but it had been badly damaged. Temporarily, the sisters at a nearby convent have been kind enough to make another statuette available. The end of the work is certainly not in sight. A garden needs to be laid out and another wish, of course, is to have lighting at night. "Benches alongside the steps are also on our list", adds Matthew, "so that older people can rest for a while on their way up. We've asked for a cost estimate for making pictures of the Stations of the Cross and having them fixed in the wall". This year a great deal of work still had Matthew Cahill, the man who looks after a holy well. Cork to be done before the annual mass, which took place about the end of May. There's absolutely no doubt at all in Matthew Cahill's mind that all these plans will ultimately be realised. This former Irish weightlifting champion (1965) is basing his confidence, so it seems, on an unshakeable belief in Providence, the Virgin Mary, the Cork city council - which has already given frequent assistance - and of course on his brewery colleagues and the people of Cork. His achievements to date certainly show that faith can work wonders. The hill, showing the holy well in the little white building in the background. In the foreground: the steps that were recently built to make the well easier to get to. One of the employees at Murphy's is Matthew Cahill. Tall, strong, quiet, an unassuming batchelor in his early forties, he has devoted his energy over the past ten years or so to caring for this hallowed place. It was his own idea. Having worked for the brewery for some 26 years, he has been able to keep an eye on what has happened to the well during all those years. He now works in the new keg filling department. He was saddened when the local residents who used to look after the well moved away. They had to leave their houses as they had been declared unfit for habitation. Did Matthew Cahill set about the job alone, armed with just a rake and some other tools? No, he tackled the job properly, as the results show. Particularly in the past five years a great deal of work has been shifted. "No, I certainly didn't do it all on my own", he explains. "I've had a lot of help from my mates at work. Many of them have put lots of hours of work

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Heineken International Magazine | 1984 | | pagina 4