Listen: What Christmas dinner was like in Cork in the 1970s

HALF a grapefruit and a prawn cocktail in a glass for starters, an electric carving knife for the turkey, a trifle for dessert...

These were just some of the ingredients of a classic 1970s Christmas dinner in Cork.

Folklorist Shane Lehane takes a step 50 years back in time in this year’s Holly Bough, and recalls with unerring accuracy exactly what was on the festive tables in that decade. It is bound to strike a chord with anyone who remembers that decade!

“The table was laid with a white tablecloth in the dining room, as opposed to the kitchen where we always ate. It was the only time we ever ate in that room,” he says.

Shane then lists some of the ingredients of the biggest meal of the year.

“The starter was half a grapefruit with a Chivers’ glacé cherry cut in two and placed at its centre”. For the prawn cocktail, “the shrimps came directly out of a tin, strained and mixed with salad cream which had already been mixed with tomato sauce, and perched on a few lettuce leaves.”

The turkey has not gone out of fashion, but the electric carving knife has!

“The ’70s was the era of the electric carving knife,” remembers Shane, “perhaps the most inefficient contraption ever invented, and many a wonderful ham was reduced to a mangled sawdust of meat by the oscillating blades.”

As for the veg.

On Christmas Eve, before going to bed the kettle would be boiled, the big white tablet placed in the bowl and the small green box of Batchelor’s marrowfats would steep in the hot water overnight.

“When boiled, they turned into a metallic-tasting mixture of green goo, some shredding their outer skins like a reptile - they were not greatly relished, save by my father.”

The mains was accompanied by Lea & Perrin’s Worcestershire Sauce, “necessary for the over-boiled, watery, mini-cabbages of brussels sprouts - never a universal favourite”.

One thing that hasn’t changed, says Shane, is the over-abundance of food on Christmas Day.

“My main recollection from the 1970s was the inadequacy of the size of the plate in accommodating the enormous surfeit of food. Eating Christmas dinner was tantamount to an archaeological excavation, digging through the layers for treasures at the bottom of the pile.”

However, there was always room after for both a plum pudding, drenched in Hennessy brandy and served with spoons of whipped cream, AND a dessert of trifle in typical ‘70s style.

It was often washed down with wine for the adults, but as Shane recalls, the choice here was Pedrotti, Chianti, Mateus Rosé, Blue Nun or Black Tower. That was pretty much it.

“To be honest, one barely knew what colour wine was going to come from the bottle,” he adds. 

Such was the rarity of wine, that the bottle was often kept as an ornament or candleholder, or in the case of a bottle of Chianti, to make a lamp.

For the kids, of course, the drink of choice was Cork’s very own Tanora, or a Raza - sure, it’s me daza!

The feast continued with home-made mince pies and Christmas cake, goodies from a US Biscuits tin, a boat of dates.

And, then, just a few hours later…

“There is something quintessentially Irish about what happens next,” laughs Shane. “Someone asked, ‘Would anyone fancy a turkey sandwich?’ And for some inexplicable reason, there was room for more food, and nothing tasted better!”

You can read the full article by Shane in the 2023 Holly Bough - on sale now in shops.