On Saturday night between 11 and 12 o’clock the Clonmel Brewery was broken into and a quantity of porter and of the new ale manufactured at the brewery, known as “B.B.”, was stolen. The thirsty visitors effected entrance to the brewery means of a disused hayloft which looks out on Dowd’s Lane in the quay direction. The door of the hayloft, which is about eight feet from the ground, was shut-to but not locked. Several dozen of porter and “B.B.” were taken, and it is certain that there must have been at least two disciples of Bacchus concerned in the affair. Sergeant Booth is looking the matter up, but so far no arrest has been effected.Further inquiries show that the circumstance of the door being open was due the fact that they hay in the loft, which was ordinarily piled up against the door, thus keeping it closed, had been removed. This would go to show that it was some parties with intimate knowledge of the inner arrangements of the brewery who committed the depredation. Suspicion was first aroused by the fragments of two or three bottles, which were found in the street, underneath the hay loft, next morning.The Cork Examiner - Wednesday 27th July 1910
Flip-top bottles are often thought of as a relatively modern idea as a bottle closure device, and not something which is generally associated with Irish brewing. But the object shown above shows that they have certainly existed here in the past, and were not developed and exclusively used by the Grolsch beer brand of which they are most associated. Their use by German breweries is also know by those who partake of beers from some of the relatively smaller companies of that country too, and Germany appears to be where the origin of this precise type of closure begins – way back in the 1870s.
In 1878 Nicolai Fritzner of Berlin was granted provisional patent for the bottle closing device using a porcelain stopper with an Indian rubber or leather washer and a wire clasp. He had already patented something similar in 1876, and a year earlier than that a Charles de Quillfeldt from New York had registered a very similar method of closure, although the bung used to close the bottle was made completely of rubber so isn’t quite the same as the version today’s beer drinkers are familiar with, and even prior to this there were other wire and bung bottle closing inventions but again they were not quite the same design. The true inventor is open to interpretation, and there were court cases and complicated debates regarding copyright infringement that we won’t go into here, suffice it to say that these general types of bottle closures have been around since the mid-1870s at least, and the ceramic stoppered version we are familiar seems to appear near the end of the decade.
This bottle was made by the firm of Charles Borron & Co., as shown by the letters CB&C which stand proud of the base. That company operated in Newton-le-Willows in Merseyside in England from the mid-1860s until it closed in 1925. The glass used itself is dark green and the volume it holds is exactly one half pint. The words ‘T. Murphy & Co. Ltd. Brewers Clonmel printed on the ceramic stopper and the same wording - with the ‘T’ extended to the name ‘Thomas’ - is in relief around the base of the bottle itself. The date of the bottle is tricky to ascertain to any precise degree of accuracy but it must fall between the very late 1870s when the closure mechanism was invented and 1925 when the glass bottle manufacturer ceased trading.
But we can perhaps be a little more accurate based on an advertisement for the aforementioned ‘B.B.’ ale that was produced for the Thomas Murphy brewery which shows our exact bottle design complete with a handsome label and a pale drink poured into glass. The words ‘Drink Murphy’s B.B.’ are printed above the image. The ale was described as new in 1910 in the above report on the theft, and it was still being advertised in newspapers in 1915, so this gives us, perhaps, a better indication of the date of our object notwithstanding that the bottles could have been used for other beers and ales prior to this period. There is no record of what style of beer ‘B.B.’ was and it would be obvious to suggest Best Bitter, although perhaps a better guess would be ‘Bitter Beer’, a term used by others. Adverts say it was ‘a genuine refreshing drink’ but very little else is mentioned about it.
-o-
What became known as Thomas Murphy & Co. appears to have started as a partnership with Thomas Greer and Thomas Murphy, both Quakers - as were many of our Irish brewing hierarchy - in the late 18th century, although some sources suggest it was started just by Greer alone with Murphy coming into the business later. Their foundation date seems to be a little vague, with later sources claiming it was 1798 but advertisements in newspapers and guide books give the date at 1797 and 1799. The earliest mention, in a newspaper from 1863, states the 1797 date so it is possible that the 1798 date was adopted because of the importance of the rebellion that occurred in that year. It is also possible, and likely that there was a year or two in between the sourcing of the brewery site, its fit out, and when it commenced its first brewing which could also account for the variously used years.
Dubious dates seem to be a minor issue with the brewery’s purported history, as another major event – or calamity – that occurred was when the entire brewery burned down. The date given in every available history for the brewery states that this was in 1829. It wasn’t. It was in 1825 as attested by a few newspaper reports that sate that on the morning of Saturday the 8th of October a fire was spotted in the brewery and that the entire premises (measuring 200 ft by 500 ft at this time)was soon engulfed in flame, the fire having started when a kiln became overheated and burst through its protective tiles, causing huge flames to escape into the brewery itself*. Luckily no one was injured and after the insurance pay out the brewery was rebuilt and began expanding, eventually stretching from Nelson Street across Dowd’s Lane and down to the quay. The main building itself was and is a handsome six storey structure and it can be seen in its prime in this illustration from c. 1889, although no doubt with some artistic license applied. At this time the site stretched to 2 acres and it employed 200 people if write-ups of the day are to be believed, plus there were coopers making casks and carpenters building drays – it was a large and important endeavour for the town and surrounding area.
In 1829 the brewery of Greer and Murphy were producing Double Strong Ale, Pale Butt, Ale, Porter and Table Beer** and in 1833 Thomas Greer dies and in that same year the brewery can be seen to be exporting its beers to England. The partnership was officially dissolved in 1838 and the brewery was now known as Thomas Murphy & Co. By the 1860s and 1870s they were brewing East India Pale Ale, and Strong Ales and Mild Ales as well as Brown Stout according to various newspaper advertisements. The pale ales in particular were attested to be as good as any of those produced on these islands at the time.
-o-
As an aside, in 1887 the following incident occurred, which is worth noting:
A curious occurrence took place here on Wednesday. It appears that on Sunday last a champion football match, between a Carrick team and one in Clonmel, was played on the ground of the latter, and that at the termination of the play a serious row took place. On Monday six of the Carrick contingent were arrested and fined £2 each by the Mayor of Clonmel. On the same day a drayman named Patrick O'Neill, in the employment of Mr Murphy, brewer, Clonmel, arrived in Carrick with some barrels of beer, ale, and porter. He was hooted through the streets by a large crowd, the publicans refusing to deal with him. So serious did things turn out that the police had to escort him out of the town for some miles. On Wednesday he returned only to meet much the same treatment. Not a trader in the town would purchase, nor could he get stabling for his horse or refreshments for himself. He left, after been hooted about, under police protection.The Dublin Daily Express - 3rd June 1887
If nothing else, this shows that sport will trump beer every time, and the passion - and resentment - of its supporters is something that hasn’t changed to this day.
-o-
The brewery struggled in the early part of 20th century due to losing of the lucrative contract to supply army canteens as well as increased competition, well-publicised strikes, and raw material supply issues before finally closing in 1925 - the very same year as the maker of our bottle - with a portion of the extensive premises becoming a shoe factory and other parts becoming the cider factory for new firm of Magner’s, now known as Bulmers and a brand owned by C&C.
The brewery building erected on the quays still stands as testament to the once great brewery and employer in the town, as do other buildings previously owned by the firm, and if you stand with your back to the river you can see to the left of the imposing stone and brick façade of the brewery, the archway where once drays loaded with casks, and perhaps our bottle, left the brewery for parts unknown.
It's important to remember that once upon a time, we had another Murphy’s brewery…
Liam K
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