That was the description of my paternal grandfather’s occupation in 1926, according to the newly released census. John Ferriter was a porter in Hayes Hotel on Liberty Square in Thurles, Co Tipperary and is listed alongside other staff: waiters, housemaids and kitchen maids. Perhaps that square did represent a liberty from the small Kerry townland just outside Dingle he had moved from, where he had been listed in the previous census in 1911 as a “general labourer”, one of a family of eight.

In those 1926 days, hotel guests could leave their boots outside their rooms to be cleaned by a porter; hence the description bestowed on him. And there would have been no shortage of muck and dung to scrape off given that Liberty Square was also the location for cattle fairs. Do I imagine him, then a single man, being delighted with his role and status, taking pride in his uniform and care in turning himself out impeccably? I can only speculate, as he died before I was born, but I do know that he stayed a porter in the same hotel for 46 years, and that he was there during the War of Independence period.

When he retired in 1963 he was interviewed by the local newspaper, the only account I have of his own words, and he recalled the Black and Tans making terrifying........

© The Irish Times