“My secondary school days were spent on the Muskerry Tram - to give it a grand name, you know there are days when I sit down here and dream of the train. I went to St Aloysius School in Cork. A crowd of us went in on the train everyday, I got up at 6am every morning to catch the first train at 7am at Dripsey Station. The School opened at 9am We waited in the evening after school and got the 5pm train home. We had a monthly ticket, which cost one pence and tuppence.” 

We have already met Dripsey woman Anna Ryan in our journey down the River Lee. Anna talked about a number of aspects of Dripsey’s heritage and in particular Dripsey Station. Up to that point exploring and researching Dripsey, I had forgotten about the impact of the Cork Muskerry Tram on people and place. Anna had created another question to pose. What ever happened to the small station that Anna had remembered so vividly? Is there what I call a part two to the story? My sense of wonder got the better of me. I looked up an old Ordnance Survey  map and compared it to a present day map. I spotted the site and went searching for the building but did not know what I would encounter. Near the site in Lower Dripsey, I met local man Dermot O’ Sullivan who was building a rubble wall in his entrance driveway. That is how I discovered the site of the old Dripsey Station. Dermot brought me next door to the Carroll family who now live in the revamped ticket house of Dripsey station.

Pat Carroll is a knowledgeable man who is clearly proud of not only the area’s cultural heritage but also his family’s story. I spent an evening and an afternoon session with Pat. He offered more insights into how an area such as Dripsey within Inniscarra Parish came to be.

To begin at the beginning of the above insights, Pat’s father Denis Caroll was born in Cummeen, Donoughmore on July 4, 1904. He was an apprentice tailor to a Mr Cremin in Srelane. In 1934, he married Kate and they had seven children, three girls and four boys. Kate was from Donoughmore. Her mother died from  a stroke when Kate was eleven. Her father died three/ four years later from throat cancer. The neighbours raised the rest of the family bar three of the girls who moved to Philadelphia. Kate never saw her sisters again. Pat Carroll (the son) a decade ago , whilst in Philadelphia went to his aunts’ house and his cousins were still living there.

In 1935, the Carroll family came to Dripsey Bridge and lived on the Murphy’s land at Shandy Hall near Upper Dripsey. Denis began tailoring and built up a decent repu tation for himself. He made all the clothes for the community’s communions and confirmation. He made suits for Cork Bishop Con Lucey. When Denis got busy, his brother Paddy helped him out. Denis was fond of his grand piano, which served as a work bench. He loved music and was able to play the fiddle and accordian.