Echo boys' call rings out across Cork again

The sounds of Cork’s past echoed across Leeside as former Echo boys returned to the streets in a flash mob celebrating the legacy of the Evening Echo.

The event, organised by Stanley Notte Creations, aimed to highlight the cultural significance of the newspaper and the role its daily sellers played in the fabric of Cork life and community.

With up to a dozen volunteers stationed across four bridges in Cork city, the newly indoctrinated Echo boys and girls were seen calling out to crowds before distributing 500 copies of Stanley Notte Creations’ satirical newsletter, The Cork Exclaimer.

The humorous publication featured the headline, ‘Lord Mayor Says, ‘An Echo Tribute Day Should Have Occurred Yonks Ago, Like!’, with an article about the excitement around the event and the history of the Evening Echo.

Speaking to The Echo of the modern day, Stanley Notte said his decision to organise the event stemmed from a desire to share a fond memory of Cork’s past with younger generations.

“My entire business is about celebrating Cork — its culture, its humour, and its history,” said Stanley.

"I miss the Echo boys, and I think a lot of other people miss them too.

“I know it's a thing of the past, and it's highly unlikely they would ever come back, but I was thinking about doing an event to honour and celebrate Cork, and that was one that came into my head."

Stanley said the Echo boys had been part of Cork culture for a long time and the flash mob was about honouring this history.

“[We had] people positioned across the Christy Ring Bridge, St Patrick’s Bridge, Shandon Bridge, and the Northgate Bridge — wearing one of my company T-shirts, shouting ‘ Echo, Evening Echo’, and handing out newspapers to people passing in cars like they used to in the old days.

“I wanted to do something that reminds people of Cork’s past — something we enjoyed, which in this case, was the Evening Echo being on sale at 3pm — you couldn’t get it before then back in the day.

“ The Echo is a huge part of our culture, and remains a huge part of our culture,” he said.

“If you mention The Echo to almost anybody in Cork, they’d be able to talk about stories breaking on it or waiting for their dad to buy it so they could read it — I just think remembering things we enjoyed when we were young is important.

“It’s also important to remind the younger generations of the way things used to be — it reminds us of what our community used to be like, and still is, but in different ways.” 

Stanley said the idea for The Cork Exclaimer newsletter was born out of a previous function he held, where the title was used on invitations. It stuck with him as a creative idea to explore for future events.

“A friend of mine came up with it about 15 years ago. I said to him at the time that it was brilliant, and that I was going to use it at some stage,” he said.

“I thought it was a lovely play on the former Cork Examiner, and while obviously this [event] was about the Evening Echo, I felt it seemed to fit — entwining the two titles to some degree.”