The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Tralee’s Bertie out to shine light on local business here in Kerry
A TRALEE film-maker, turned historian, has embarked on a very special project this week as he looks to preserve and share the stories of local businesses that may not survive for the next generation to enjoy.
Acclaimed local creator and director, Bertie Brosnan, teamed up with John McCormick of the ‘Top of the Rock’ video store for the first iteration of the project, with the documentary and John’s interview being published on YouTube last Sunday.
“I saw Top of the Rock one night when passing on Rock Street and was amazed that this type of business was still going. This type of establishment was so prevalent in my childhood and teens that it’s hard to believe that now we just take for granted that we have movies on demand at any time now,” said Bertie, speaking on the project.
“I wanted to find out more about this business and the person behind it and so the idea of ‘The Last Of: Documentary Series’ was born. Now, with the release of this episode ‘The Last Of: Top of the Rock’ I am very keen to see if other businesses are out there and who want to meet me for a chat,” he finished.
In the video, which can be viewed on the ‘Bertie Brosnan Creative’ channel on YouTube or on The Kerryman Facebook page, John talks about how he and his family first got into the video rentak business - selling videos door to door, house to house and pub to pub.
“We would sell them for £1 each. I would get 50p out of it and so the harder you worked, the more money you’d make. Pubs in those days, they’d watch movies in there so we would walk up and the streets to the pubs, dropping movies into them,” said John.
Aside from being a shop to pick up your favourite films however, Bertie learns that it is also a community centrepiece - where locals to come chat and hear the news.