A tribute to Jimmy Richie
Declan Bracken
Jimmy worked in Bracken’s Bakery for 22 years. During his time there, he wasn’t known to many of the neighbouring businesses on the Mallow Road, because he worked the nightshift. He would begin his shift at 10pm and finished in the early hours of the morning.
To many of Bracken’s customers, he was the mystery baker. Even some of his fellow employees never met him, and that was fine with Jimmy. He loved having the bakery to himself.
With no phones ringing during his shift, there was nobody to distract him from his work. He would play his heavy-metal CDs and be happy in his own company.
Jimmy was very dedicated to his trade. He was very proud of being a baker. He was trained in Fyfe, and worked for a family bakery that had 35 shops and sold everything that the bakery produced such as breads, confectionery, meats, and pies. They opened at 5am daily meaning the bakery was in production non-stop.
For those who met Jimmy, his deep Scottish accent instantly gave him away. It was so deep that it was hard to understand him half the time. His wife, Lillian, once said that when he had a few pints, not even she could understand him. He was proud of his roots, and passionate about Scotland. He loved history, especially Scottish history.
He was also passionate about sport, and emblematic of Scotland, he loved a game of golf. He played rugby when he was young, but the sport that gave him the most pleasure was soccer. He was a dedicated Glasgow Celtic football fan. He knew everything about the club, their history, their many victories and wonderful stars. He passed on the Celtic tradition to his daughter Heather and son Shaun. They grew up in a house where Celtic memorabilia was everywhere.
Jimmy was also a member of the original Cork Celtic Supporters Club, now based in the Gallows Bar on Bandon Road. Because he worked nights, it was difficult for him to attend meetings. But the current club chairman, Charles Glavin, was a regular in Bracken’s Bakery. On behalf of the Celtic Supporters Club, Charles arranged to honour Jimmy’s memory by having his name engraved on a personalised brick at Celtic Park. Last week, Charles met with Lillian and the family to present them with a framed certificate for the engraving. A fitting tribute to a devoted Celtic fan.
Many years ago, while on holiday in the Mediterranean, he met and fell in love with a beautiful blond girl from the northside of Cork. That was the reason he came to live and work in Cork.
Lillian was Jimmy’s backbone, his mentor, and his best friend. But more than anything she was the love of his life.
Lillian’s own father was also a baker who had worked in Thompson's Bakery. Maybe that was the seed that connected them. In fact, it was Lillian’s sister Catherine who discovered that I was looking for a baker, and the rest as they say is history.
I am honoured to have shared a bakery with Jimmy Richie over his years in my employment. He never let me down. He was reliable, never late for work and rarely stayed at home sick. With his help, I built up a good name in Cork city and I hope we can continue to keep his legacy alive by producing the fine breads and confectionery that made Jimmy proud to say ‘I worked in Brackens Bakery’.
May he rest in peace.