Maeve Fleischmann

Two generations of the Fleischmann family were involved with the promotion of the culture of music and singing in the city of Cork. Maeve Fleischmann, daughter of Aloys Fleischmann, recalls the history of her grandfather and his arrival in Cork. This recording was made while sitting in the family home surrounded by many books and manuscripts connected with the work of her father, Aloys. Maeve recalls many anecdotes about her father during her childhood. At that time they lived in a grand house in Goulding’s Glen, originally a mill house, about 20 minutes walk from Patrick’s Hill and she recalls her father working on his compositions. Strangely, not a lot of music was played in the house, but many artistic people came and went. She witnessed her father’s deep devotion to his work, and his ambition to ensure that music teachers would work in every second level school around Ireland. It was fascinating to record a story about Maeve’s grandfather, who was taken prisoner in the First World War, and spent five years of his life in a prison camp in England, leaving her grandmother in Cork to provide for her family by giving piano lessons and playing the organ in the Cathedral. This recording provides a fascinating insight into the history of the Fleischmann family in Cork.