40 years after Cork’s darkest day... Dunlop workers meet up for a chat

FOR years now, a group of men have met up for a weekly coffee in Cork, and to shoot the breeze.

The usual topics of conversation are on the agenda: Family, sport, health, life... But, every now and then, the chat will take a turn to the bond that has bound them for four decades and more.

The three men here, David Dwyer, Tony Lee, and Victor Couse were all workers at the Dunlop factory on the Marina - and 40 years ago this month their lives came crashing down when it shut its doors forever.

There are many contenders for the darkest day in Cork’s industrial history in the 20th century, but Friday, September 30, 1983, is arguably at the top of that grim list.

The workforce at rubber manufacturers Dunlop, which had been a major hub of employment in the city since 1935, were told the factory was closing its doors, and that 850 people were out of work.

That’s 850 livelihoods, at a time when jobs were scarce and emigration was a necessity rather than a lifestyle choice.

The ripple effects went wider of course: Thousands of people in families across Cork were directly and indirectly affected by the lay-offs. Then there were the other shops and bars in the locality that felt the pinch.

From a distance of 40 years, it is tempting to conflate the Dunlop closure with that of Ford next door on the Marina nine months later, which had been a source of employment for even longer. Some would add the closure of Verolme on the docks in 1984 to that devastating toll.

But each job loss in all three places was intensely damaging and personal. There were more jobs lost at Dunlop, and Ford at least kept Cork as their hub in Ireland, even though their operation was drastically scaled down.

For Dunlop, it was the end of the road.

Michael Moynhan, Examiner journalist and author of Crisis And Comeback: Cork In The Eighties, recalls being a child in Cork at the time.

“Guys in my class, their fathers were laid off. So it was very vivid to us,” he said. “Guys would come in white in the face because the bottom had fallen out of their world.”

The laid-off employees of Dunlop tried to get on the best they could, some landed on their feet, others were not so lucky. But the bond they had forged together in the factory meant they always had each other.

About 16 years ago, David Dwyer began arranging regular weekly meet-ups with his old Dunlop colleagues.

“I used meet George O’Sullivan from Beaumont. Then we got Matt Farrell to join us,” he said.

“George went into a nursing home and died later. Denis Barrett replaced George and recruited Tony Lee. Denis and Matt both died and Tony got Victor Couse to join us.”

Denis, Tony, who worked in finance, and Victor, who was Credit Controller, enjoy their weekly coffees and chats.

“We also have a fourth member who doesn’t come every week,” added David.

He reflects on the closure of the factory in September, 1983.

“About three months before the announcement, we were informed the factory was in difficulty and that Dunlop was looking for a ‘third party’ to take over. At that stage, I think we all felt that the closure wasn’t too far away.

I think most of us felt that we would be able to get work easily enough, but very few ended up doing as well as they did in Dunlop.

David admits that he was one of the lucky ones. “By the end of February, 1984, I had begun working as a Sales Rep for my brother’s factory, Eurostyle.”

He spent 14 years at Dunlop, and has fond memories of the employer and his fellow employees.

“I started working there in November, 1969. I had done Science in UCC and heard Dunlop were looking for graduates in the Technical Department.

“After passing the interview, I spent the first three months learning about how tyres were made, spending two or three weeks in each section of the factory.

“At the end of January, I was placed in the Mill where the rubber compounds were made in big mixing machines. About 10 different rubber compounds were used in each tyre, and these were made by mixing raw rubber with different ingredients to suit their function.

Most of my 14 years in Dunlops were spent as a quality supervisor in the Mill.

“When I started, a huge variety of goods were manufactured there. All types of tyres from truck and tractor to car and cycle tyres were made in the factory, also golf balls, squash balls, wellington boots and slipper soling compounds.

“Over the next 14 years, however, the factory dropped many of these products to specialise on making radial car tyres. About 25,000 radial tyres a week were being made when the factory closed.”

David adds: “Overall, Dunlop was a great factory to work. There was great camaraderie among the workers.

“With about 700 staff, it was possible to get advice and help on any project you were doing. We bought a little bungalow in Crosshaven in 1981 and I got great help from Con O’Leary, from Castletreasure, when I was putting down a new floor and Tom Kiely, of Windmill Road, put a new roof on the back kitchen for us.”

At 6pm on Saturday, September 30, a Mass for all ex-Dunlop employees is being held in St Michael’s Church, Blackrock.