‘I don’t want a super- pub, I want music, a chat, a fireplace…’

The Blackman Bar, a country pub at the edge of Cork city, situated on the old road to Dublin, breathes colour and character.

Inside its deep red painted bar and its dark green coloured lounge, its photo-cluttered walls relay its story from the 1970s through to the present day.

Roy Healy has been part of that story almost from the beginning. His parents, who had been publicans in the city, took over the pub some 56 years ago.

“They were originally in Parnell Place. They had a pub there,” said Roy.

“My mother Maureen, was a Cronin from Crosshaven, and my father was from Mayfield. They met in town, but they decided the city wasn’t conducive to raising kids. There were seven of us.”

The Blackman was already a pub, but attached to it at the time was a shop and a post…