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One of many such 'give-away' items produced by the Co-operative Wholesale Society, the production arm of Britain's many co-operative retail societies, that would have been handed out at events or stores. It is a small format booklet, cheaply printed, with a colour cover showing a packet of the C.W.S. Sutox brand of shredded beef suet and pages of recipes using the ingredient. The booklet was, of course, printed at the CWS's own printing works at Longsight in Manchester.
Beef suet was a common larder commodity even in my childhood days and, for my family in Lancashire, a staple of many meals especially suet puddings and dumplings. As the booklet says; Suet for health and nourishment.
Compstall Co-operative Industrial Society Limited, Marple Bridge Branch of 1892. The building has now been converted to apartments.
The Co-operative’s own-brand Scotch whiskies have scooped a number of awards in international competitions.
Find out more at www.co-operative.coop/food/whats-hot/Food-news/Whisk-to-T...
Pine Feather Period marks the first of three exhibitions for the sixteen artists selected to participate in Coalition Gallery, a one-year, juried, co-operative exhibition program for emerging, contemporary Chicago artists. In the spirit of a debut, Pine Feather Period, a 1920's flapper slang phrase, describes the period of a debutante's coming out. This exhibition introduces the work of CAC's 2011-2012 Coalition Gallery artists who throughout the year will expand their exhibition, marketing, networking and professional development skills.
The 2011-2012 Coalitions Gallery artists are: Steve Amos, Marissa Lee Benedict, Barbara Blacharczyk, Angela Davis Fegan, Daniel Giordan, Amanda Greive, Carole Hennessy, Debra Kayes, Alexandra Lee, Cydney M. Lewis, Sandra Perlow, Erik Peterson, Renee Prisble, Brittany Ransom, David Wittig, and Jim Zimpel.
Coalition Gallery artists will be featured in dynamic exhibitions curated by Chicagoland area independent curators, Tempestt Hazel (Co-Founder of Sixty Inches From Center: The Chicago Arts Archive and Collective Project), Anna Kunz (Artist, Co-Founder/Director of Kunz, Vis, Gonzalez Chicago), Jamilee Polson (Artist, Curator, Writer, Founder/Director of Twelve Galleries Project), and the curator of Pine Feather Period, Jeff Ward (Independent Curator, Co-Founder, Threewalls).
About the Curator: Jeff M. Ward has worked as a curator and critic in Chicago since 2002, participating in the organization of numerous shows, including exhibitions at the Hyde Park Art Center; threewalls, of which he was a co-founder; and the Pond, a no longer extant artist-run space of which he was also a co-founder. He was a critic-in-residence at the Core Program of the Glassell School of Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and he has written for New Art Examiner and ArtLies magazines. He is currently Assistant to the Provost at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
3 Scientology operatives were lurking around during the anti-SLAPP hearing yesterday (4 Feb 2014) and taking pictures of me and others with their phones.
I spotted them taking pictures of me when I ran across the street to get a drink of water during a short break. During a second break I took these shots of them. I didn't have time to deal with them properly. They are low level DSA.
If I see you around again, OSA trash, I'm gonna get close-ups of all of you and fully out you on the Internet.
Storefront with an uncommon choice of a cedar shake roofed awning in Cortland. This is across the street from the Harrington Brothers shop. It wasn't clear if that shoe repair shop was still in business.
Looking from the houses towards the monument at the Chonsam Co-operative Farm, Wonsan, Kangwon, North Korea
Co-operative Travel win Holiday Extras Customers' Award for Best UK Travel Agent. Holiday Extras partnerships development manager Rebekah England (left) presents the award to Julie Gibson, head of commercial and marketing and Sue Reid (right) general manager travel and distribution at Midcounties Co-operative.
Credit: Professional Images
West Calder Co-operative Society moveable date stamp.
West Calder Co-operative Society was opened for business in 1875 by workers from the local shale mines and oil works. West Calder became part of West Lothian Co-operative Society in 1969 which in turn became part of Scottish Midland Co-operative Society Limited in 1982. The Society opened various branches in nearby villages, such as Tarbrax.
West Lothian Council Museums Service. http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/tourism/museumsgalleries/ums/information.
Copyright: West Lothian Council Museums Service.
If you would like more information about this object, please contact: museums@westlothian.gov.uk, quoting
WLDCM1994.012.001.
Co-op Superstore, Dumfries (Hoods Loaning?) June 1994
Uploaded to coincide with Co-operatives Fortnight, 19th June-3rd July 2010
At the welcome reception are Eric Calderwood, Director of the Co-operative Group and of Co-operatives UK; Louise Scott, founder of mediaco-op; Willie Coffey MSP, Co-convenor of the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Co-operatives; and Stephen Kelly, co-founder of Highland Wholefoods and chair of Co-operation and Mutuality Scotland.
Notes taken from the Book - Ballyfermot Building a Community 1948 - 2006 Ken Larkin
Joe Deasy R.I.P. 1922 - 2013
Inchicore and Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd
Inchicore Co-Operative Society Ltd began in the Workman’s Club in Inchicore in 1946 and traded in the Inchicore area successfully. They applied to the housing department of Dublin Corporation in 1949 for permission to open Sarsfield Co-Operative Society within Ballyfermot and to operate a grocery retailers. A petition of over 1,100 signatures to grant the Co-Op the tenancy on Decies Road was sent to Dublin Corporation along with the application. The people that signed the petition were all residents of Ballyfermot and clearly wanted the society opened. It read as follows.
We the undersigned Residents of Ballyfermot Housing area petition Dublin Corporation to grant Inchicore Co-Operative Society Ltd, the tenancy of one of the Corporation-owned shops on Decies Road in Ballyfermot housing scheme for the purpose of Co-Operative grocery retailing in the interest of the residents in Ballyfermot
As there were a small number of shops for such a large population in Ballyfermot the people felt that these shops were charging exorbitant prices. In 1949 permission was granted by Dublin Corporation, for the Ballyfermot Co- Operative Society to open at 41 Decies Road Ballyfermot. A shop manager and staff were employed and they began to recruit people to become members of the Society. As a member, they had to commit to paying one shilling per week. Unemployment was high so this was a big commitment to some people that had very little. There was a good response and approx 500 members joined and most of these were resident in Ballyfermot. It ran very successfully for three years. September 1952 the committee were holding an outdoor meeting near the Co-Op on Decies Road. The reason behind the meeting was to stress to the people how important it was to have a Co-Op in a working class area and to recruit new members. On the committee that was running the Co-Op, there were some non-political people; also, there were four people that were attached to the Irish Worker’s League, which had affiliation to Communism. The word Communist was a taboo subject in 1950s-60s not only in Ireland but also around the world. The four people involved in the Irish Workers Party were Joe Deasy, who was chairman of Ballyfermot Co-Op Jeffery Palmer, Maisy McElroy, and Sean Mcgee. During the meeting, there were interruptions, and barracking, by some of the public and the speakers were not allowed to speak.
Questions were asked from some of the people gathered for the meeting. One of the questions that were asked ‘Was it true that there were Communists on the Co-Op Committee’.
Joe Deasy answered ‘He did not intend to discuss any member of the Co-Op or their politics as they were irrelevant to the existence and promotion of the Co-Op movement’.
The Co-Op movement was non-sectarian and non-political in the sense that anybody could become a member of the society or a member of the committee irrespective of their politics. One person from the crowd shouted if he could get up on the platform to address a few questions to Joe Deasy. So he emerged from the crowd and had prepared questions written out. He asked was the chairman a Communist and were there Communists on the committee. He said that he was representing the local clergy. Joe Deasy repeated what he said before and then the person was asked to leave the platform. The following day he got a phone call from a Mr McGowan who was on the Co-Op Committee but was not a member of the Irish Worker’s League and he wanted to clear the air from the night before. He asked Joe if he was a member of the Irish Worker’s League and Joe said that he was and so were three other people on the committee. McGowan was shocked by this information and he said to Joe that the clergy were behind the unrest and that he had experience of the clergy being opposed to something in the past for various reasons and that they will be determined to see this through to the end. Joe said that they would have no objection to any of the priest’s joining the Co-Op Committee but they would have been treated the same as everyone else on the committee and they felt that the priest’s did not want it on that basis.
The following Sunday in the three churches that served Ballyfermot and Inchicore the priest’s spoke from the pulpit about the previous outdoor meeting and how the chairman of the Co-Op was asked questions which he refused to answer. Therefore, as a result of this they decided that there were communist issues involved and the faithful were asked not to be members of the Co-Op or to patronise the shop in question. This had affected Joe personally arising out of being called off the altar not by his name but chairperson of the society and it was well known whom the priest’s were referring to. Joe’s parents who attended the church locally and who did good work in the area got an inclination of what was going to be said from the pulpit and decided that they would get mass in an outside parish of James Street. This episode was very painful for Joe, and caused great anxiety in their family.
Sean McGee’s parents who lived in Kilkenny were approached by the Garda and told what was happening in Ballyfermot and this meant a break in his relationship with his family for two years.
Sunday, the 2 November 1952, the Sunday Press wrote an article condemning the Co-Op Committee and their communist activities and calling for the Co-Op to be shut down. A letter followed this from the newly formed Sarsfield Tenants Association to the Alderman, Councillors, and T.D.s of the area condemning the exposure of communist activities within the Co-Op.
Letters Concerning the Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd
Figure 19
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01B
Everybody who knows the slightest thing about communist technique knows that its first objective is contact. What better contact than the unsuspecting members of a Co-Op. Here let us state that the other Co-Ops and the producer Co-Ops in the country escaped that evil influence. It was Ballyfermot’s misfortune to be selected for infiltration. How appropriate are the names of Ballyfermot, Sarsfield, Decies, and Cremona, they might have been changed to Lenin, Stalin, and perhaps Deasy Road.
Therefore, public opinion changed against them and a picket was put on the shop. To save the Co-Op the four people admitted that they were members of the Communist Party and offered to resign from the committee but they would not resign from the Association as they to do so they felt that it would go against their Civil Liberties. Tim Graham one of the committee members met with the Irish Civil Liberties Association and explained what was happening. They decided that there was not a Civil Liberty involved in this case. The Co-Op Association was very disappointed with their decision. They could not understand how the Pulpit was being used to destroy a Society or a Co-Op movement that was set up to help the people especially working class people. The Co-Op survived for a few months after this. April 1953 the Co-Op had to close as it was not getting enough custom to be commercially viable.
Figure 20
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01Be
The City Manager writing back to Sarsfield Residents Association about the
Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd.
Figure 21
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01B
Letter from Canon Troy, 23 March 1953 to Dublin Corporation Housing department in connection with the Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd.
Figure 22
Letter from the Assistant city Manager to Canon Troy in connection with the shop on Decies Road 28 March 1953.
Notes taken from the Book - Ballyfermot Building a Community 1948 - 2006 Ken Larkin
Joe Deasy R.I.P. 1922 - 2013
Inchicore and Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd
Inchicore Co-Operative Society Ltd began in the Workman’s Club in Inchicore in 1946 and traded in the Inchicore area successfully. They applied to the housing department of Dublin Corporation in 1949 for permission to open Sarsfield Co-Operative Society within Ballyfermot and to operate a grocery retailers. A petition of over 1,100 signatures to grant the Co-Op the tenancy on Decies Road was sent to Dublin Corporation along with the application. The people that signed the petition were all residents of Ballyfermot and clearly wanted the society opened. It read as follows.
We the undersigned Residents of Ballyfermot Housing area petition Dublin Corporation to grant Inchicore Co-Operative Society Ltd, the tenancy of one of the Corporation-owned shops on Decies Road in Ballyfermot housing scheme for the purpose of Co-Operative grocery retailing in the interest of the residents in Ballyfermot
As there were a small number of shops for such a large population in Ballyfermot the people felt that these shops were charging exorbitant prices. In 1949 permission was granted by Dublin Corporation, for the Ballyfermot Co- Operative Society to open at 41 Decies Road Ballyfermot. A shop manager and staff were employed and they began to recruit people to become members of the Society. As a member, they had to commit to paying one shilling per week. Unemployment was high so this was a big commitment to some people that had very little. There was a good response and approx 500 members joined and most of these were resident in Ballyfermot. It ran very successfully for three years. September 1952 the committee were holding an outdoor meeting near the Co-Op on Decies Road. The reason behind the meeting was to stress to the people how important it was to have a Co-Op in a working class area and to recruit new members. On the committee that was running the Co-Op, there were some non-political people; also, there were four people that were attached to the Irish Worker’s League, which had affiliation to Communism. The word Communist was a taboo subject in 1950s-60s not only in Ireland but also around the world. The four people involved in the Irish Workers Party were Joe Deasy, who was chairman of Ballyfermot Co-Op Jeffery Palmer, Maisy McElroy, and Sean Mcgee. During the meeting, there were interruptions, and barracking, by some of the public and the speakers were not allowed to speak.
Questions were asked from some of the people gathered for the meeting. One of the questions that were asked ‘Was it true that there were Communists on the Co-Op Committee’.
Joe Deasy answered ‘He did not intend to discuss any member of the Co-Op or their politics as they were irrelevant to the existence and promotion of the Co-Op movement’.
The Co-Op movement was non-sectarian and non-political in the sense that anybody could become a member of the society or a member of the committee irrespective of their politics. One person from the crowd shouted if he could get up on the platform to address a few questions to Joe Deasy. So he emerged from the crowd and had prepared questions written out. He asked was the chairman a Communist and were there Communists on the committee. He said that he was representing the local clergy. Joe Deasy repeated what he said before and then the person was asked to leave the platform. The following day he got a phone call from a Mr McGowan who was on the Co-Op Committee but was not a member of the Irish Worker’s League and he wanted to clear the air from the night before. He asked Joe if he was a member of the Irish Worker’s League and Joe said that he was and so were three other people on the committee. McGowan was shocked by this information and he said to Joe that the clergy were behind the unrest and that he had experience of the clergy being opposed to something in the past for various reasons and that they will be determined to see this through to the end. Joe said that they would have no objection to any of the priest’s joining the Co-Op Committee but they would have been treated the same as everyone else on the committee and they felt that the priest’s did not want it on that basis.
The following Sunday in the three churches that served Ballyfermot and Inchicore the priest’s spoke from the pulpit about the previous outdoor meeting and how the chairman of the Co-Op was asked questions which he refused to answer. Therefore, as a result of this they decided that there were communist issues involved and the faithful were asked not to be members of the Co-Op or to patronise the shop in question. This had affected Joe personally arising out of being called off the altar not by his name but chairperson of the society and it was well known whom the priest’s were referring to. Joe’s parents who attended the church locally and who did good work in the area got an inclination of what was going to be said from the pulpit and decided that they would get mass in an outside parish of James Street. This episode was very painful for Joe, and caused great anxiety in their family.
Sean McGee’s parents who lived in Kilkenny were approached by the Garda and told what was happening in Ballyfermot and this meant a break in his relationship with his family for two years.
Sunday, the 2 November 1952, the Sunday Press wrote an article condemning the Co-Op Committee and their communist activities and calling for the Co-Op to be shut down. A letter followed this from the newly formed Sarsfield Tenants Association to the Alderman, Councillors, and T.D.s of the area condemning the exposure of communist activities within the Co-Op.
Letters Concerning the Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd
Figure 19
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01B
Everybody who knows the slightest thing about communist technique knows that its first objective is contact. What better contact than the unsuspecting members of a Co-Op. Here let us state that the other Co-Ops and the producer Co-Ops in the country escaped that evil influence. It was Ballyfermot’s misfortune to be selected for infiltration. How appropriate are the names of Ballyfermot, Sarsfield, Decies, and Cremona, they might have been changed to Lenin, Stalin, and perhaps Deasy Road.
Therefore, public opinion changed against them and a picket was put on the shop. To save the Co-Op the four people admitted that they were members of the Communist Party and offered to resign from the committee but they would not resign from the Association as they to do so they felt that it would go against their Civil Liberties. Tim Graham one of the committee members met with the Irish Civil Liberties Association and explained what was happening. They decided that there was not a Civil Liberty involved in this case. The Co-Op Association was very disappointed with their decision. They could not understand how the Pulpit was being used to destroy a Society or a Co-Op movement that was set up to help the people especially working class people. The Co-Op survived for a few months after this. April 1953 the Co-Op had to close as it was not getting enough custom to be commercially viable.
Figure 20
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01Be
The City Manager writing back to Sarsfield Residents Association about the
Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd.
Figure 21
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01B
Letter from Canon Troy, 23 March 1953 to Dublin Corporation Housing department in connection with the Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd.
Figure 22
Letter from the Assistant city Manager to Canon Troy in connection with the shop on Decies Road 28 March 1953.
Notes taken from the Book - Ballyfermot Building a Community 1948 - 2006 Ken Larkin
Joe Deasy R.I.P. 1922 - 2013
Inchicore and Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd
Inchicore Co-Operative Society Ltd began in the Workman’s Club in Inchicore in 1946 and traded in the Inchicore area successfully. They applied to the housing department of Dublin Corporation in 1949 for permission to open Sarsfield Co-Operative Society within Ballyfermot and to operate a grocery retailers. A petition of over 1,100 signatures to grant the Co-Op the tenancy on Decies Road was sent to Dublin Corporation along with the application. The people that signed the petition were all residents of Ballyfermot and clearly wanted the society opened. It read as follows.
We the undersigned Residents of Ballyfermot Housing area petition Dublin Corporation to grant Inchicore Co-Operative Society Ltd, the tenancy of one of the Corporation-owned shops on Decies Road in Ballyfermot housing scheme for the purpose of Co-Operative grocery retailing in the interest of the residents in Ballyfermot
As there were a small number of shops for such a large population in Ballyfermot the people felt that these shops were charging exorbitant prices. In 1949 permission was granted by Dublin Corporation, for the Ballyfermot Co- Operative Society to open at 41 Decies Road Ballyfermot. A shop manager and staff were employed and they began to recruit people to become members of the Society. As a member, they had to commit to paying one shilling per week. Unemployment was high so this was a big commitment to some people that had very little. There was a good response and approx 500 members joined and most of these were resident in Ballyfermot. It ran very successfully for three years. September 1952 the committee were holding an outdoor meeting near the Co-Op on Decies Road. The reason behind the meeting was to stress to the people how important it was to have a Co-Op in a working class area and to recruit new members. On the committee that was running the Co-Op, there were some non-political people; also, there were four people that were attached to the Irish Worker’s League, which had affiliation to Communism. The word Communist was a taboo subject in 1950s-60s not only in Ireland but also around the world. The four people involved in the Irish Workers Party were Joe Deasy, who was chairman of Ballyfermot Co-Op Jeffery Palmer, Maisy McElroy, and Sean Mcgee. During the meeting, there were interruptions, and barracking, by some of the public and the speakers were not allowed to speak.
Questions were asked from some of the people gathered for the meeting. One of the questions that were asked ‘Was it true that there were Communists on the Co-Op Committee’.
Joe Deasy answered ‘He did not intend to discuss any member of the Co-Op or their politics as they were irrelevant to the existence and promotion of the Co-Op movement’.
The Co-Op movement was non-sectarian and non-political in the sense that anybody could become a member of the society or a member of the committee irrespective of their politics. One person from the crowd shouted if he could get up on the platform to address a few questions to Joe Deasy. So he emerged from the crowd and had prepared questions written out. He asked was the chairman a Communist and were there Communists on the committee. He said that he was representing the local clergy. Joe Deasy repeated what he said before and then the person was asked to leave the platform. The following day he got a phone call from a Mr McGowan who was on the Co-Op Committee but was not a member of the Irish Worker’s League and he wanted to clear the air from the night before. He asked Joe if he was a member of the Irish Worker’s League and Joe said that he was and so were three other people on the committee. McGowan was shocked by this information and he said to Joe that the clergy were behind the unrest and that he had experience of the clergy being opposed to something in the past for various reasons and that they will be determined to see this through to the end. Joe said that they would have no objection to any of the priest’s joining the Co-Op Committee but they would have been treated the same as everyone else on the committee and they felt that the priest’s did not want it on that basis.
The following Sunday in the three churches that served Ballyfermot and Inchicore the priest’s spoke from the pulpit about the previous outdoor meeting and how the chairman of the Co-Op was asked questions which he refused to answer. Therefore, as a result of this they decided that there were communist issues involved and the faithful were asked not to be members of the Co-Op or to patronise the shop in question. This had affected Joe personally arising out of being called off the altar not by his name but chairperson of the society and it was well known whom the priest’s were referring to. Joe’s parents who attended the church locally and who did good work in the area got an inclination of what was going to be said from the pulpit and decided that they would get mass in an outside parish of James Street. This episode was very painful for Joe, and caused great anxiety in their family.
Sean McGee’s parents who lived in Kilkenny were approached by the Garda and told what was happening in Ballyfermot and this meant a break in his relationship with his family for two years.
Sunday, the 2 November 1952, the Sunday Press wrote an article condemning the Co-Op Committee and their communist activities and calling for the Co-Op to be shut down. A letter followed this from the newly formed Sarsfield Tenants Association to the Alderman, Councillors, and T.D.s of the area condemning the exposure of communist activities within the Co-Op.
Letters Concerning the Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd
Figure 19
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01B
Everybody who knows the slightest thing about communist technique knows that its first objective is contact. What better contact than the unsuspecting members of a Co-Op. Here let us state that the other Co-Ops and the producer Co-Ops in the country escaped that evil influence. It was Ballyfermot’s misfortune to be selected for infiltration. How appropriate are the names of Ballyfermot, Sarsfield, Decies, and Cremona, they might have been changed to Lenin, Stalin, and perhaps Deasy Road.
Therefore, public opinion changed against them and a picket was put on the shop. To save the Co-Op the four people admitted that they were members of the Communist Party and offered to resign from the committee but they would not resign from the Association as they to do so they felt that it would go against their Civil Liberties. Tim Graham one of the committee members met with the Irish Civil Liberties Association and explained what was happening. They decided that there was not a Civil Liberty involved in this case. The Co-Op Association was very disappointed with their decision. They could not understand how the Pulpit was being used to destroy a Society or a Co-Op movement that was set up to help the people especially working class people. The Co-Op survived for a few months after this. April 1953 the Co-Op had to close as it was not getting enough custom to be commercially viable.
Figure 20
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01Be
The City Manager writing back to Sarsfield Residents Association about the
Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd.
Figure 21
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01B
Letter from Canon Troy, 23 March 1953 to Dublin Corporation Housing department in connection with the Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd.
Figure 22
Letter from the Assistant city Manager to Canon Troy in connection with the shop on Decies Road 28 March 1953.
A suspended 'G' in the centre of the lodge above the Masonic Altar.
The Masonic letter G
Source: Masonic Vibes
by Paul Foster Case
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. St. John 1:1.
All in all that is all there is to the letter G. But I have found that if you make things to simple people tend to take them as unimportant.
I have not been able to determine when the letter G was introduced into Speculative Masonry as a symbol.
The letter G is not derived from the Operative Masons of the Middle Ages, and formed no part of the architectural decoration of old cathedrals.
Whether it entered the symbolism under the influence of those Rosicrucian’s and Qabalists who joined the Order during the last half of the 17th century, or whether it was introduced at some time subsequent to 1717, when the first Grand Lodge was established at the Apple-tree Tavern in London, is impossible to tell.
The letter G is the initial of Geometry. This makes it a symbolic summary of the entire Masonic system. The heart of Freemasonry is a doctrine founded on the science of geometry. In the old Masonic Constitutions it is specifically stated that Masonry and Geometry are one and the same.
It is no secret that the letter G is a symbol for the Deity. It so happens that God is the English name of the Grand Architect of the Universe. The fact that G is the first letter of God is not the only connection between the symbol and the Deity.
Its Greek equivalent is the initial of Gaia, the earth Mother, eldest born of Chases, whose name is the root of the noun geometria, geometry.
Gimel, the Hebrew correspondence to G, is the initial of gadol, majesty, and of gebur, strong, words used to designate the Deity throughout the Hebrew sacred writings. Gimel itself is regarded by the wise men of Israel as being the alphabetical sign of the sacred wisdom which is founded on the science of geometry.
So basically we are back to St. John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
When I was raised to a Master Mason, I was told to learn the following lesions:
The Pot Of Incense Symbolizes man, the pot being the physical body, the Incense being the mind of man, and when they are lit, the heat given off being the spirit of man as given to him by God.
The Beehive Symbolizes unity of purpose, with just one leader, for life and just one goal, the betterment of the hive.
The Anchor And Ark The Anchor is an emblem of Jesus Christ who gave his life to ensure us a safe harbor to find rest in. The Ark is an emblem of God, that divine ark that carries us through a lifetime of trials and tribulations, and finally to our Heavenly home.
The 47th Problem of Euclid Is commonly excepted to represent the physical body, the psyche, and the spiritual, and this figure being the complete man. Let us just suppose the 47th problem of Euclid represented the life spirit, the human spirit, and the divine spirit. The life spirit being Friendship, the human spirit being Morality, and the divine spirit being Brotherly Love. This figure could represent the perfect man.
The Hour Glass Is an emblem of human life. Like the hour glass, when the first grain of sand falls it is a fact that the last grain of sand will fall too. When man is born it is a fact that he will also die. The difference being that man has control over how he lives his life and the sand only falls down.
The Sword Reminds us that we should be ever watchful and guarded in our thoughts, words, and actions, because all of these will be recorded in the Great Book of Life, that all men are judged by when" they die.
The Scythe Is used as an emblem of Death but it is in reality an emblem of transition from one life to another. Because as this mortal life comes to an end it brings with it the beginning of a spiritual life.
When I went through York Rite Masonry, it was explained to me the meaning of all these lesions.
When I went through my reception into Scottish Rite Masonry, even more lesions were taught and explained to me.
When I was admitted to the Thirty-Third Degree, came the Surprise of my life. No more lesions, no more explanations, I was only told to remember a few simple facts and to do one thing, which changed my whole outlook on life.
1. Any man who fails, in his duties to God, fails mankind and himself.
2. While you live, you should work to secure for all people their rights and voice in its government.
3. You must labor to enlighten and teach mankind.
4. To teach the people their power and their rights.
5. To let the enemies of mankind be your enemies.
6. Come to no terms with them, but complete surrender of their ways.
7. That even though I been exalted to the Thirty-Third Degree, I would still be among my equals in every Blue Lodge and that all “worthy” Master Masons are my Brothers.
Now the one thing that changed my life was, I was informed that it was not enough to just know or just understand the lessons of Masonry, I had to live the lessons of Masonry.
Believing this I feel that I will be “A life time Apprentice” my whole life. When the time comes to return this physical body back to the ground from wince it came.
The sprit that lived in this body will be returned to God as a “Fellow Craft” and then at the feet of God the labors of my sprit will be judged by God.
Then and only then, if God finds the work of my sprit as “true work, good work”, will my sprit be raised from a dead level to a living perpendicular on the angle of a square by God.
In this belief, I will live my life as “A life time Apprentice”, always trying to subdue my passions and learning to improve myself.
The Masonic letter G reminds us that our every act is done in the sight of the Great Architect of the Universe.
"By letters four and science five, this “G” aright doth stand, in due Art and Proportion; you have your answer, friend.”
What are the "letters four"? It is believed that they stand for "YHWH", the name of the Great Architect of the Universe (pronounced "Yahway". (sometimes pronounced Jehovah) in the ancient Hebrew language, from which the Bible was translated:
Which is the 5th science? Geometry.
The Letter G stands for "Geometry", which is the mathematical science upon which Architecture and Masonry were founded.
When did the letter G become part of the Square and Compass? No one knows exactly, but it is believed to be somewhere between 1730 and 1768, here in the United States. The "G" is not used in the center of the square and compasses in all jurisdictions around the world.
Letter G
In Hebrew, the language our Bible was originally written in, it is called Gheemel (or Gimel) and has a numerical value of 3.
Throughout history, we see reference to the number 3 when we speak of the Supreme Architect of the Universe... no matter which language we speak!
Gimel (in slightly different forms) is the 3rd letter of many Semitic languages including Phoenician, Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Syriac.
Phonecian: Gimel (11th century BCE)
Greek: Gamma (9th century BCE)
Aramaic: Gamal (800 BCE to 600 CE) (800 years Before Common Era
to 600 years after Common Era)
Hebrew: Gimel (3rd century BCE)
Syriac: Gomal / Gamal (2nd century BCE)
G Throughout the Centuries
B.C.E. means "Before Common Era". The Common Era (C.E.), also known as the Christian Era and sometimes as the Current Era, is the period beginning with the year 1 onwards.
The term is used for a system of reckoning years that is chronologically equivalent to the Anno Domini (A.D.), which is Latin for "In the year of our Lord".
Therefore, the 3rd letter of the Phonecian alphabet, "gimel", was in use 11 centuries Before the Common Era, which is 8 centuries before the Hebrew language...give or take a few hundred years.
Why give or take a few hundred years? While scholars who study languages are very thorough; we have to remember that they have very little from which to study.
Much of our knowledge of ancient languages comes from the study of hieroglyphics carved into stone and the subsequent attempt to determine which time frame they were carved; from mummies and their accompanying sarcophagi (carved wooden coffins), etc.
Note, however that while the letter G is the 7th letter in the English, Latin and Romanic alphabets, in Russian, and some others, it is 4th; in the Arabic the 5th, and in the Ethiopian language, the 20th.
These languages are much "younger" than the "ancient" languages and most, therefore, are propagations (changes that occurred) to the ancient languages throughout the centuries due to many factors.
The letter G in Freemasonry stands for both the Great Architect of the Universe and Geometry....or, to be more technically correct, it stands for Geometry under the Great Architect of the Universe.
Just as the Supreme Architect of the Universe watches the revolutions of the planets and stars in the sky, so does HE, who placed each of us here, watch each of our movements, hears not only our words, but our thoughts, as well ...and it is to HIM that we are ultimately responsible.
Today, Cantina di Soave still maintains the same basic co-operative philosophy, that of covering the entire cycle from vineyard to sales to defend and further the interests of all the members and to achieve a high level of flexibility in production planning.
Over the decades up to the beginning of the '60s, the co-operative continued to grow in terms of both members and wine producing capacity, with 434 growers contributing some 13,000,000 kilos of grapes.
In 1962 a new wine-pressing facility was built a few hundred metres from the original cellars and connected to them by an underground wine pipeline, which is still in use.
Over the decade following the opening of the new wine-pressing plant the capacity of the cellars gradually became insufficient, so at the end of the '70s the co-operative started to implement a policy of buying up small local wine businesses. In 1979 it acquired the Ruffo wine-making plant, where it concentrated certain highly specialized processes, such as that of classic sparkling white wine.
In 1993 work started on the construction of a new plant next to the wine-pressing facility. Here the various stages of the wine-making process are carried out, including bottling on the state-of-the-art bottling lines.
Finally, in July 1996, Cantina di Soave acquired and merged "Cantina Sociale di Valtramigna and in May 2005 also “Cantina di Illasi” that have permitted the company to reach its actual size and at the same time to enlarge the supply of grapes from its members.
La storia della Cantina di Soave iInizia nel 1898, quando nacque a Soave la prima cooperativa per la vinificazione, che nel 1906 aveva una capacità produttiva di 6.500 ettolitri. Fu la prima cantina sociale nata in Veneto ed ebbe vita alterna fino al 1930, quando si costitui' definitivamente con il nome di Cantina Sociale Cooperativa di Soave. I soci sottoscrittori, che all'inizio erano 115, si impegnavano a conferire ogni anno l'uva prodotta nei loro vigneti; la Società provvedeva alla vinificazione delle uve prodotte dai soci e alla vendita del vino con successiva spartizione dei ricavi, dedotte spese ed oneri. Ancora oggi la Cantina di Soave mantiene l'impostazione originaria di Cooperativa di primo grado, che significa la totale copertura del ciclo dalla "vigna" alla vendita, e che permette la totale convergenza degli interessi dei soci produttori e una grande flessibilità nella pianificazione della produzione. Nel corso degli anni, fino all'inizio degli anni '60, la Cantina Sociale continuo' a crescere sia in numero di soci aderenti sia in termini di capacità di vinificazione raggiungendo i 130.000 quintali d'uva conferita e 434 soci.
Co-op buildings in Tamworth.
This is The Co-operative Bank at 8 Colehill.
Grade II listed.
TAMWORTH
SK2004SE COLEHILL
670-1/7/63 (East side)
09/11/72 Nos.8 AND 9
(Formerly Listed as:
COLEHILL
No.9)
GV II
Two houses, now shops. c1820. Brick with ashlar dressings;
slate roof with brick cross-axial stack. Double-depth plan.
Georgian style.
3 storeys; 6-window range. 1st floor sill band and top
cornice; central brick pilaster. Ground floor has late C19
shop front to No 8, with polished granite plinth, windows with
slender colonnettes and small-paned upper glazing bowed to 2
recessed entrances, large fascia and canopy; late C20 shop
front to No 9 has triangular-headed central entrance and
panelled doorcase with pedimental gable, fanlight and glazed
door. 1st and 2nd floor windows have rusticated wedge lintels
with keystones over 4-pane horned sashes, those to 2nd floor
smaller, with sills. No 8 included for group value.
(Hamel E B: Illustrations of Tamworth, facsimile reprint:
Tamworth: 1986-: 14 AND 15).
Listing NGR: SK2089404076
heritagelodge730.ca/heritage_dunlop.htm
A suspended 'G' in the centre of the lodge above the Masonic Altar.
The Masonic letter G
Source: Masonic Vibes
by Paul Foster Case
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. St. John 1:1.
All in all that is all there is to the letter G. But I have found that if you make things to simple people tend to take them as unimportant.
I have not been able to determine when the letter G was introduced into Speculative Masonry as a symbol.
The letter G is not derived from the Operative Masons of the Middle Ages, and formed no part of the architectural decoration of old cathedrals.
Whether it entered the symbolism under the influence of those Rosicrucian’s and Qabalists who joined the Order during the last half of the 17th century, or whether it was introduced at some time subsequent to 1717, when the first Grand Lodge was established at the Apple-tree Tavern in London, is impossible to tell.
The letter G is the initial of Geometry. This makes it a symbolic summary of the entire Masonic system. The heart of Freemasonry is a doctrine founded on the science of geometry. In the old Masonic Constitutions it is specifically stated that Masonry and Geometry are one and the same.
It is no secret that the letter G is a symbol for the Deity. It so happens that God is the English name of the Grand Architect of the Universe. The fact that G is the first letter of God is not the only connection between the symbol and the Deity.
Its Greek equivalent is the initial of Gaia, the earth Mother, eldest born of Chases, whose name is the root of the noun geometria, geometry.
Gimel, the Hebrew correspondence to G, is the initial of gadol, majesty, and of gebur, strong, words used to designate the Deity throughout the Hebrew sacred writings. Gimel itself is regarded by the wise men of Israel as being the alphabetical sign of the sacred wisdom which is founded on the science of geometry.
So basically we are back to St. John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
When I was raised to a Master Mason, I was told to learn the following lesions:
The Pot Of Incense Symbolizes man, the pot being the physical body, the Incense being the mind of man, and when they are lit, the heat given off being the spirit of man as given to him by God.
The Beehive Symbolizes unity of purpose, with just one leader, for life and just one goal, the betterment of the hive.
The Anchor And Ark The Anchor is an emblem of Jesus Christ who gave his life to ensure us a safe harbor to find rest in. The Ark is an emblem of God, that divine ark that carries us through a lifetime of trials and tribulations, and finally to our Heavenly home.
The 47th Problem of Euclid Is commonly excepted to represent the physical body, the psyche, and the spiritual, and this figure being the complete man. Let us just suppose the 47th problem of Euclid represented the life spirit, the human spirit, and the divine spirit. The life spirit being Friendship, the human spirit being Morality, and the divine spirit being Brotherly Love. This figure could represent the perfect man.
The Hour Glass Is an emblem of human life. Like the hour glass, when the first grain of sand falls it is a fact that the last grain of sand will fall too. When man is born it is a fact that he will also die. The difference being that man has control over how he lives his life and the sand only falls down.
The Sword Reminds us that we should be ever watchful and guarded in our thoughts, words, and actions, because all of these will be recorded in the Great Book of Life, that all men are judged by when" they die.
The Scythe Is used as an emblem of Death but it is in reality an emblem of transition from one life to another. Because as this mortal life comes to an end it brings with it the beginning of a spiritual life.
When I went through York Rite Masonry, it was explained to me the meaning of all these lesions.
When I went through my reception into Scottish Rite Masonry, even more lesions were taught and explained to me.
When I was admitted to the Thirty-Third Degree, came the Surprise of my life. No more lesions, no more explanations, I was only told to remember a few simple facts and to do one thing, which changed my whole outlook on life.
1. Any man who fails, in his duties to God, fails mankind and himself.
2. While you live, you should work to secure for all people their rights and voice in its government.
3. You must labor to enlighten and teach mankind.
4. To teach the people their power and their rights.
5. To let the enemies of mankind be your enemies.
6. Come to no terms with them, but complete surrender of their ways.
7. That even though I been exalted to the Thirty-Third Degree, I would still be among my equals in every Blue Lodge and that all “worthy” Master Masons are my Brothers.
Now the one thing that changed my life was, I was informed that it was not enough to just know or just understand the lessons of Masonry, I had to live the lessons of Masonry.
Believing this I feel that I will be “A life time Apprentice” my whole life. When the time comes to return this physical body back to the ground from wince it came.
The sprit that lived in this body will be returned to God as a “Fellow Craft” and then at the feet of God the labors of my sprit will be judged by God.
Then and only then, if God finds the work of my sprit as “true work, good work”, will my sprit be raised from a dead level to a living perpendicular on the angle of a square by God.
In this belief, I will live my life as “A life time Apprentice”, always trying to subdue my passions and learning to improve myself.
The Masonic letter G reminds us that our every act is done in the sight of the Great Architect of the Universe.
"By letters four and science five, this “G” aright doth stand, in due Art and Proportion; you have your answer, friend.”
What are the "letters four"? It is believed that they stand for "YHWH", the name of the Great Architect of the Universe (pronounced "Yahway". (sometimes pronounced Jehovah) in the ancient Hebrew language, from which the Bible was translated:
Which is the 5th science? Geometry.
The Letter G stands for "Geometry", which is the mathematical science upon which Architecture and Masonry were founded.
When did the letter G become part of the Square and Compass? No one knows exactly, but it is believed to be somewhere between 1730 and 1768, here in the United States. The "G" is not used in the center of the square and compasses in all jurisdictions around the world.
Letter G
In Hebrew, the language our Bible was originally written in, it is called Gheemel (or Gimel) and has a numerical value of 3.
Throughout history, we see reference to the number 3 when we speak of the Supreme Architect of the Universe... no matter which language we speak!
Gimel (in slightly different forms) is the 3rd letter of many Semitic languages including Phoenician, Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew, and Syriac.
Phonecian: Gimel (11th century BCE)
Greek: Gamma (9th century BCE)
Aramaic: Gamal (800 BCE to 600 CE) (800 years Before Common Era
to 600 years after Common Era)
Hebrew: Gimel (3rd century BCE)
Syriac: Gomal / Gamal (2nd century BCE)
G Throughout the Centuries
B.C.E. means "Before Common Era". The Common Era (C.E.), also known as the Christian Era and sometimes as the Current Era, is the period beginning with the year 1 onwards.
The term is used for a system of reckoning years that is chronologically equivalent to the Anno Domini (A.D.), which is Latin for "In the year of our Lord".
Therefore, the 3rd letter of the Phonecian alphabet, "gimel", was in use 11 centuries Before the Common Era, which is 8 centuries before the Hebrew language...give or take a few hundred years.
Why give or take a few hundred years? While scholars who study languages are very thorough; we have to remember that they have very little from which to study.
Much of our knowledge of ancient languages comes from the study of hieroglyphics carved into stone and the subsequent attempt to determine which time frame they were carved; from mummies and their accompanying sarcophagi (carved wooden coffins), etc.
Note, however that while the letter G is the 7th letter in the English, Latin and Romanic alphabets, in Russian, and some others, it is 4th; in the Arabic the 5th, and in the Ethiopian language, the 20th.
These languages are much "younger" than the "ancient" languages and most, therefore, are propagations (changes that occurred) to the ancient languages throughout the centuries due to many factors.
The letter G in Freemasonry stands for both the Great Architect of the Universe and Geometry....or, to be more technically correct, it stands for Geometry under the Great Architect of the Universe.
Just as the Supreme Architect of the Universe watches the revolutions of the planets and stars in the sky, so does HE, who placed each of us here, watch each of our movements, hears not only our words, but our thoughts, as well ...and it is to HIM that we are ultimately responsible.
THE WORSHIPFUL SOCIETY OF FREE MASONS, ROUGH MASONS, WALLERS, SLATERS, PAVIORS, PLAISTERERS AND BRICKLAYERS
Notes taken from the Book - Ballyfermot Building a Community 1948 - 2006 Ken Larkin
Joe Deasy R.I.P. 1922 - 2013
Inchicore and Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd
Inchicore Co-Operative Society Ltd began in the Workman’s Club in Inchicore in 1946 and traded in the Inchicore area successfully. They applied to the housing department of Dublin Corporation in 1949 for permission to open Sarsfield Co-Operative Society within Ballyfermot and to operate a grocery retailers. A petition of over 1,100 signatures to grant the Co-Op the tenancy on Decies Road was sent to Dublin Corporation along with the application. The people that signed the petition were all residents of Ballyfermot and clearly wanted the society opened. It read as follows.
We the undersigned Residents of Ballyfermot Housing area petition Dublin Corporation to grant Inchicore Co-Operative Society Ltd, the tenancy of one of the Corporation-owned shops on Decies Road in Ballyfermot housing scheme for the purpose of Co-Operative grocery retailing in the interest of the residents in Ballyfermot
As there were a small number of shops for such a large population in Ballyfermot the people felt that these shops were charging exorbitant prices. In 1949 permission was granted by Dublin Corporation, for the Ballyfermot Co- Operative Society to open at 41 Decies Road Ballyfermot. A shop manager and staff were employed and they began to recruit people to become members of the Society. As a member, they had to commit to paying one shilling per week. Unemployment was high so this was a big commitment to some people that had very little. There was a good response and approx 500 members joined and most of these were resident in Ballyfermot. It ran very successfully for three years. September 1952 the committee were holding an outdoor meeting near the Co-Op on Decies Road. The reason behind the meeting was to stress to the people how important it was to have a Co-Op in a working class area and to recruit new members. On the committee that was running the Co-Op, there were some non-political people; also, there were four people that were attached to the Irish Worker’s League, which had affiliation to Communism. The word Communist was a taboo subject in 1950s-60s not only in Ireland but also around the world. The four people involved in the Irish Workers Party were Joe Deasy, who was chairman of Ballyfermot Co-Op Jeffery Palmer, Maisy McElroy, and Sean Mcgee. During the meeting, there were interruptions, and barracking, by some of the public and the speakers were not allowed to speak.
Questions were asked from some of the people gathered for the meeting. One of the questions that were asked ‘Was it true that there were Communists on the Co-Op Committee’.
Joe Deasy answered ‘He did not intend to discuss any member of the Co-Op or their politics as they were irrelevant to the existence and promotion of the Co-Op movement’.
The Co-Op movement was non-sectarian and non-political in the sense that anybody could become a member of the society or a member of the committee irrespective of their politics. One person from the crowd shouted if he could get up on the platform to address a few questions to Joe Deasy. So he emerged from the crowd and had prepared questions written out. He asked was the chairman a Communist and were there Communists on the committee. He said that he was representing the local clergy. Joe Deasy repeated what he said before and then the person was asked to leave the platform. The following day he got a phone call from a Mr McGowan who was on the Co-Op Committee but was not a member of the Irish Worker’s League and he wanted to clear the air from the night before. He asked Joe if he was a member of the Irish Worker’s League and Joe said that he was and so were three other people on the committee. McGowan was shocked by this information and he said to Joe that the clergy were behind the unrest and that he had experience of the clergy being opposed to something in the past for various reasons and that they will be determined to see this through to the end. Joe said that they would have no objection to any of the priest’s joining the Co-Op Committee but they would have been treated the same as everyone else on the committee and they felt that the priest’s did not want it on that basis.
The following Sunday in the three churches that served Ballyfermot and Inchicore the priest’s spoke from the pulpit about the previous outdoor meeting and how the chairman of the Co-Op was asked questions which he refused to answer. Therefore, as a result of this they decided that there were communist issues involved and the faithful were asked not to be members of the Co-Op or to patronise the shop in question. This had affected Joe personally arising out of being called off the altar not by his name but chairperson of the society and it was well known whom the priest’s were referring to. Joe’s parents who attended the church locally and who did good work in the area got an inclination of what was going to be said from the pulpit and decided that they would get mass in an outside parish of James Street. This episode was very painful for Joe, and caused great anxiety in their family.
Sean McGee’s parents who lived in Kilkenny were approached by the Garda and told what was happening in Ballyfermot and this meant a break in his relationship with his family for two years.
Sunday, the 2 November 1952, the Sunday Press wrote an article condemning the Co-Op Committee and their communist activities and calling for the Co-Op to be shut down. A letter followed this from the newly formed Sarsfield Tenants Association to the Alderman, Councillors, and T.D.s of the area condemning the exposure of communist activities within the Co-Op.
Letters Concerning the Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd
Figure 19
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01B
Everybody who knows the slightest thing about communist technique knows that its first objective is contact. What better contact than the unsuspecting members of a Co-Op. Here let us state that the other Co-Ops and the producer Co-Ops in the country escaped that evil influence. It was Ballyfermot’s misfortune to be selected for infiltration. How appropriate are the names of Ballyfermot, Sarsfield, Decies, and Cremona, they might have been changed to Lenin, Stalin, and perhaps Deasy Road.
Therefore, public opinion changed against them and a picket was put on the shop. To save the Co-Op the four people admitted that they were members of the Communist Party and offered to resign from the committee but they would not resign from the Association as they to do so they felt that it would go against their Civil Liberties. Tim Graham one of the committee members met with the Irish Civil Liberties Association and explained what was happening. They decided that there was not a Civil Liberty involved in this case. The Co-Op Association was very disappointed with their decision. They could not understand how the Pulpit was being used to destroy a Society or a Co-Op movement that was set up to help the people especially working class people. The Co-Op survived for a few months after this. April 1953 the Co-Op had to close as it was not getting enough custom to be commercially viable.
Figure 20
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01Be
The City Manager writing back to Sarsfield Residents Association about the
Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd.
Figure 21
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01B
Letter from Canon Troy, 23 March 1953 to Dublin Corporation Housing department in connection with the Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd.
Figure 22
Letter from the Assistant city Manager to Canon Troy in connection with the shop on Decies Road 28 March 1953.
Pictured: Blaydon Co-operative store manager Gary Conway with pupils from Blaydon West Primary School
One of the oldest Co-operative's in the country, The Co-operative Food store on Church Street, Blaydon, has unveiled a smart new look following a £450,000 refit.
The North Eastern store was the second Co-operative to open in the UK when it launched more than 150 years ago, although it is no longer on its original site.
The store has been transformed with contemporary décor, a new entrance with ‘Access for All’ automatic doors, new shelving, flooring and eco-refrigeration plus a more shopper-friendly layout.
“We provide a much valued service for the local community and I am confident our shoppers will be delighted with our improved store and wider selection of goods which will better meet all their daily grocery needs,” said store manager Gary Conway.
A few years later than the earlier design and a more striking graphic image appears on this BECS - Brighton Equitable Co-operative Society - flour bag.
Co-operative Travel win Holiday Extras Customers' Award for Best UK Travel Agent. Holiday Extras partnerships development manager Rebekah England (left) presents the award to Julie Gibson, head of commercial and marketing and Sue Reid (right) general manager travel and distribution at Midcounties Co-operative.
Credit: Professional Images
Liverpool Co-operative Society, Branch number 128, Pilch Lane, Liverpool.
A typical suburban Co-op store of the time.
Very up to date--"self service"!
Photo 1955.
An earlier building of the Royal Arsenal Co-operative, Powis Street, Woolwich. Is the figure Holyoake? Each for all and all for each.... The profits were returned to the society members, rather than exported to tax havens or dumped into the bank accounts of the already rich. I didn't have the rght lens at the time, and have clipped the ......Halls part of the tableau. Century? Centenary?
former CRS LIVING Department Store
Closed July 1999 by CRS, sold to T.J.Hughes Department Store. Closed 2011
Notes taken from the Book - Ballyfermot Building a Community 1948 - 2006 Ken Larkin
Joe Deasy R.I.P. 1922 - 2013
Inchicore and Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd
Inchicore Co-Operative Society Ltd began in the Workman’s Club in Inchicore in 1946 and traded in the Inchicore area successfully. They applied to the housing department of Dublin Corporation in 1949 for permission to open Sarsfield Co-Operative Society within Ballyfermot and to operate a grocery retailers. A petition of over 1,100 signatures to grant the Co-Op the tenancy on Decies Road was sent to Dublin Corporation along with the application. The people that signed the petition were all residents of Ballyfermot and clearly wanted the society opened. It read as follows.
We the undersigned Residents of Ballyfermot Housing area petition Dublin Corporation to grant Inchicore Co-Operative Society Ltd, the tenancy of one of the Corporation-owned shops on Decies Road in Ballyfermot housing scheme for the purpose of Co-Operative grocery retailing in the interest of the residents in Ballyfermot
As there were a small number of shops for such a large population in Ballyfermot the people felt that these shops were charging exorbitant prices. In 1949 permission was granted by Dublin Corporation, for the Ballyfermot Co- Operative Society to open at 41 Decies Road Ballyfermot. A shop manager and staff were employed and they began to recruit people to become members of the Society. As a member, they had to commit to paying one shilling per week. Unemployment was high so this was a big commitment to some people that had very little. There was a good response and approx 500 members joined and most of these were resident in Ballyfermot. It ran very successfully for three years. September 1952 the committee were holding an outdoor meeting near the Co-Op on Decies Road. The reason behind the meeting was to stress to the people how important it was to have a Co-Op in a working class area and to recruit new members. On the committee that was running the Co-Op, there were some non-political people; also, there were four people that were attached to the Irish Worker’s League, which had affiliation to Communism. The word Communist was a taboo subject in 1950s-60s not only in Ireland but also around the world. The four people involved in the Irish Workers Party were Joe Deasy, who was chairman of Ballyfermot Co-Op Jeffery Palmer, Maisy McElroy, and Sean Mcgee. During the meeting, there were interruptions, and barracking, by some of the public and the speakers were not allowed to speak.
Questions were asked from some of the people gathered for the meeting. One of the questions that were asked ‘Was it true that there were Communists on the Co-Op Committee’.
Joe Deasy answered ‘He did not intend to discuss any member of the Co-Op or their politics as they were irrelevant to the existence and promotion of the Co-Op movement’.
The Co-Op movement was non-sectarian and non-political in the sense that anybody could become a member of the society or a member of the committee irrespective of their politics. One person from the crowd shouted if he could get up on the platform to address a few questions to Joe Deasy. So he emerged from the crowd and had prepared questions written out. He asked was the chairman a Communist and were there Communists on the committee. He said that he was representing the local clergy. Joe Deasy repeated what he said before and then the person was asked to leave the platform. The following day he got a phone call from a Mr McGowan who was on the Co-Op Committee but was not a member of the Irish Worker’s League and he wanted to clear the air from the night before. He asked Joe if he was a member of the Irish Worker’s League and Joe said that he was and so were three other people on the committee. McGowan was shocked by this information and he said to Joe that the clergy were behind the unrest and that he had experience of the clergy being opposed to something in the past for various reasons and that they will be determined to see this through to the end. Joe said that they would have no objection to any of the priest’s joining the Co-Op Committee but they would have been treated the same as everyone else on the committee and they felt that the priest’s did not want it on that basis.
The following Sunday in the three churches that served Ballyfermot and Inchicore the priest’s spoke from the pulpit about the previous outdoor meeting and how the chairman of the Co-Op was asked questions which he refused to answer. Therefore, as a result of this they decided that there were communist issues involved and the faithful were asked not to be members of the Co-Op or to patronise the shop in question. This had affected Joe personally arising out of being called off the altar not by his name but chairperson of the society and it was well known whom the priest’s were referring to. Joe’s parents who attended the church locally and who did good work in the area got an inclination of what was going to be said from the pulpit and decided that they would get mass in an outside parish of James Street. This episode was very painful for Joe, and caused great anxiety in their family.
Sean McGee’s parents who lived in Kilkenny were approached by the Garda and told what was happening in Ballyfermot and this meant a break in his relationship with his family for two years.
Sunday, the 2 November 1952, the Sunday Press wrote an article condemning the Co-Op Committee and their communist activities and calling for the Co-Op to be shut down. A letter followed this from the newly formed Sarsfield Tenants Association to the Alderman, Councillors, and T.D.s of the area condemning the exposure of communist activities within the Co-Op.
Letters Concerning the Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd
Figure 19
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01B
Everybody who knows the slightest thing about communist technique knows that its first objective is contact. What better contact than the unsuspecting members of a Co-Op. Here let us state that the other Co-Ops and the producer Co-Ops in the country escaped that evil influence. It was Ballyfermot’s misfortune to be selected for infiltration. How appropriate are the names of Ballyfermot, Sarsfield, Decies, and Cremona, they might have been changed to Lenin, Stalin, and perhaps Deasy Road.
Therefore, public opinion changed against them and a picket was put on the shop. To save the Co-Op the four people admitted that they were members of the Communist Party and offered to resign from the committee but they would not resign from the Association as they to do so they felt that it would go against their Civil Liberties. Tim Graham one of the committee members met with the Irish Civil Liberties Association and explained what was happening. They decided that there was not a Civil Liberty involved in this case. The Co-Op Association was very disappointed with their decision. They could not understand how the Pulpit was being used to destroy a Society or a Co-Op movement that was set up to help the people especially working class people. The Co-Op survived for a few months after this. April 1953 the Co-Op had to close as it was not getting enough custom to be commercially viable.
Figure 20
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01Be
The City Manager writing back to Sarsfield Residents Association about the
Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd.
Figure 21
Gilbert Library. Pearse St. File 153/01B
Letter from Canon Troy, 23 March 1953 to Dublin Corporation Housing department in connection with the Ballyfermot Co-Operative Society Ltd.
Figure 22
Letter from the Assistant city Manager to Canon Troy in connection with the shop on Decies Road 28 March 1953.
The Co-operative gave away free packets of seeds to visitors at World Food Day 2010. Stéphanie Mizon, Peter Marshall and Jane Town were among those on the supermarket's stall at the Winter Gardens, Margate
New Co-op store in Catshill, Bromsgrove, opened in an old pub, almost opposite an old ex co-op branch. April 2016.
Prototype day
The Churches Conservation Trust is trying out a new concept to bring St Laurence’s church on St Benedict Street, Norwich into re-use. It is a called The Common Room. Working in collaboration, 00:/ and Social Spaces are introducing the idea to the local community by bringing it to life for a day,
And we would love you to be part of it…
What is The Common Room?
The Common Room could transform St Laurence’s church into a new type of shared space, made and shaped collectively by the community, and run on the principles of collaboration, connection and resourcefulness. Working through a co-operative membership model you could have access to the space, to meet people, experiment with ideas and start new projects for a small regular membership cost.
More than a coffee shop, restaurant, gallery or theatre alone - more than a traditional community centre, club house or office. You might pop in to make yourself a cup of tea have a chat and read your emails. Bring a dish and share a meal with others. Learn how to fix your bike, or the toaster. Or try and build your next big invention.
The idea of the Common Room is that it could be a social engine room for developing your ideas and projects.
What happens here would be up to you.
Logo Design and artwork by Sarah Hollingsworth