Maurice makes the final cut
An era in Rush history came to an end on 4th Sept. when Maurice Cole hung up his clippers after 52 years of cutting the hair of the gentlemen of Rush. A barber all his life, Maurice started his career in Bramley Hill, Kent, aged 14, back in 1958 and he had to lie about his age to get his first job. He arrived in Rush in 1967, and started out in a long since demolished building where Dr. Marcus de Brun now has his surgery. From there, he moved to 63-65 Main Street (where Village Pizza is now), and after three years another move brought him a spot near the corner on the Skerries Road, which was memorable for the tricoloured bench outside. Maurice had hairdressing in his genes, following in the footsteps of his father, who worked as a barber in a shop near Supervalue, until he died suddenly in 1954, at the young age of 34 years. His father was handy with a shotgun, and he bagged so many rabbits that Maurice acquired the nickname, “Bunny” Cole. A visit to Maurice’s salon was like a trip into a bygone age. In contrast to the flashy, noisy, rip-off hair “factories” of today, there was always a premium placed on the value of conversation, recounting stories of times past, and it has to be said, the telling of a lot of “fishermen’s tales”, of dubious veracity, (Men’s Shed members, you know who you are) !
William Ryan has the honour of being the last person to sit “on the board” while having his hair cut by Maurice Unfortunately, due to being severely follically challenged myself, this writer has never had the need of Maurice’s services. So it is unlikely that I will have the opportunity to give Maurice’s replacement, Alex, much in the way of business. Alex has big shoes to fill, but if he keeps up the standards set by Maurice, he won’t go far wrong.
For the historical background to this report, I am indebted to Mick O’Brien and Colette Groome.
Maurice with a group of neatly coiffured clients on his last day in Rush L to R, Seán Byrne, Tubber Ryan, Maurice Cole, Tom Barrett, Tom Armstrong, Tony Brennan
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