Cork boy, 10, who melted Soviet hearts when the Cold War came to town

IT was the year the Cold War between the USA and USSR was at its frostiest.

In cinemas, Rocky took on a chilling Soviet boxer, Ivan Drago, while James Bond tangled with the Reds in Siberia in A View To A Kill.

The year was 1985. Bruce Springsteen’s Born In The USA rang out of radios, and, with the threat of nuclear war ever-present, Sting plaintively sang that he hoped the Russians loved their children too.

In Ireland, the mere mention of anything Soviet-related conveyed menace, mystery and intrigue.

But in Cork, 1985 also saw the city mark its 800th anniversary - and one of the events that celebrated the occasion was the courtesy visit of a Soviet Union 4,500-ton anti-submarine ship, Soobrazitelny.

Its arrival in September turned out to be a never-to-be-forgotten experience for 10-year-old Cork boy, Stephen Hackett.

The ship’s visit to Cork Harbour attracted huge publicity and big crowds at the quayside. A 21-gun salute from the Irish Navy greeted her as she rounded Roches Point before berthing on Anderson’s Quay.

The anti-nuclear group, Cork CND, actively protested on the quayside during its three-day visit, and its chairman Sean Dunne handed a letter of protest from the group to Russian Ambassador Alexi Nesterenko on behalf of the people of Cork.

Remarkably, tensions were heightened considerably by the presence of the U.S frigate USS Pharris, also on a week’s visit to Cork, and docked less than 100 metres away on Kennedy Quay.

Reporters from the Cork Examiner were prevented from boarding the Soviet ship - built in Nikolayev in Ukraine in 1961 - and speculation was rife that she was carrying nuclear-guided missiles, due to the presence of one of the country’s top naval officers, Rear Admiral F.N. Gromov.

It was a unique situation for the people of Cork, to have “the two superpowers berthed on the same stretch of water - a stone’s throw from the city centre”, said the Examiner.

In spite of this, and as a goodwill gesture to the people of Cork, the public were allowed a viewing of the Soviet vessel on Sunday, September 29.

In Grange, Douglas, Margaret Hackett decided to take her son Stephen along, accompanied by his grandmother Maura Buckley, and they proceeded to queue early at the quay.

As the gangway was lowered, quick- thinking Maura availed of the opportunity to move to the front, and called Margaret and Stephen to join her. While alighting the gangway, Stephen’s foot painfully got caught between the wooden steps.

He was immediately attended to by the worried crew who, as Margaret observed, came from everywhere to the deck. They referred to her as ‘Mathar’ (mother), and she and Stephen were hurriedly escorted to the bowels of the ship, to the sick bay.

Margaret recalls the speed and efficiency of what happened next. “I remember someone putting on a white coat and preparing a needle to inject and making a hand signal of someone going to sleep.

“It was all bewildering, but I understood that whatever he was administering was going to make Stephen drowsy and that he was likely to fall asleep afterwards.”

The Russians also applied an ointment to the sore foot. Before they left the sick bay, a crewman presented Stephen with some naval medals as a memento of his stay and then took them both back to deck, where they were met by a member of the Irish Navy. Margaret assured the cadet that they had transport home.

Recently, Stephen, a pupil of St Columba’s, Douglas, at the time, who went on to be bassist in Cork band The Young Offenders, sought some information on the incident, and his mother made a framed picture of his medals and press cuttings from 1985, and presented it to him as a birthday gift when he visited Cork last year from his home in Bath, England.

That day in 1985, at the height of the Cold War, a shroud of suspicion was lowered to reveal the Soviets as a kind and caring people, who reminded us of ourselves. A young Cork boy unwittingly brought out the best in Soviet hospitality.

It is interesting to observe how, 36 years ago, even on neutral territory there would be no engagement between the superpowers. Rear Admiral Gromov told the Examiner they hoped to play football against an Irish team - but not against the Americans. He added: “There won’t be any contact with the Americans.”

Unlike their U.S counterparts across the quay, the 281 Russian sailors, who were paid just £6.50 a month, were only escorted ashore under strict supervision.

When the historic photo above appeared on Twitter in July, it attracted a few memories from Corkonians.

Joe Noonan said: “I saw U.S sailors excitedly touch the Soviet ship, saying this was something they never imagined being able to do. It was a special vibe.”

Seamus O’Corcorain said: “I remember it well. The Soviet navy put on a great show, with their band and dancers, there was plenty of Soviet propaganda available, as the sailors sold their uniform for a pack of cigarettes.”

Brian McCarthy said: “Cracking photo. If we took ’em all down the Sextant for a few pints, we’d have sorted the whole thing out.”