`There's always room for Murphys," proclaims the company's current promotion, and yesterday University College Cork proved the point when it accepted the brewery's extensive and historically valuable archive.
The Murphy Brewery archive spans 1850 to 1970 and, as UCC librarian Mr John Fitzgerald pointed out, it will provide new insights for historians into the economic and social conditions of Cork in the 19th and 20th centuries.
"It is of particular significance that Murphys Brewery should donate its archives to UCC. Both institutions share their origins in Cork of the late 1840s and both have grown to become central to the life and the development of the city and the region." Murphy Brewery's Ireland MD, Mr Padraig Liston, said the brewery decided to donate the records to make them more accessible while ensuring their preservation as a national resource.
Mr Liston and Mr Fitzgerald paid tribute to UCC historian Dr Donal O Drisceoil, who, with his brother, Diarmuid, quickly recognised the importance of the archive as they researched their history of the Lady's Well brewery.
Padraig gave a flavour of what awaits historians when he pointed to the specific examples of working hours, conditions and wages, which give important historical snapshots of the social and economic life of Cork in the 19th and 20th centuries.
"There are also details on brewery workers joining the British forces and the IRA; glimpses from expense accounts into the opulent lifestyle enjoyed by Cork's merchant princes; and the development of trade unions in the brewery," he said.
The archive, he noted, also gives insights into the growth and development of the brewery from a craft-based tradition into a modern international industry and shows the impact of new technologies and techniques of production on the company.
Yesterday's donation is but the latest phase in UCC's and Murphy's symbiotic relationship - a point noted by Mr Fitzgerald when he observed the university had provided a burgeoning and obliging market for the brewery's products.
Murphys must be credited, he pointed out, with a central role in lubricating the process of intellectual development in Cork and yesterday's donation had brought him a certain modicum of personal satisfaction.
"Having made small but regular contributions to the income of Murphys Brewery over the last 20 years, it's particularly pleasing to see such a handsome return on one's investment."