A Cork hotel is on the hunt for four tradesmen after note from 1969 found in lobby walls

Irish Examiner

13-05-2025

A popular Cork City hotel is on the hunt to track down four tradesmen after their hidden note from 1969 was found in the lobby walls.
The 56-year-old note was found at the Metropole Hotel during recent refurbishment works.
Written on an old piece of wallpaper, it was left in the walls of the hotel when previous works were being carried out.
Dated July 1969, the message from the past reads "with love from" and lists the four men. They are: Tommy Ross (an electrician), Jerry Higgins (a carpenter), Steve Casey (a painter) and John Keogh (a plumber).
The hotel has put out a call to try and track down the four men, with the hopes of bringing them back to the lobby that they helped build.
The appeal for information on the quartet was put out on Facebook.
It read: "A hidden note. Four names. One incredible story.
"During our recent refurb, we discovered a message tucked into the wall of our lobby, left by four tradesmen in July 1969. Now, we're on a mission to find them.
"Do you know Tommy Ross, Jerry Higgins, Steve Casey or John Keogh? Help us bring them back to The Met to see the lobby they helped build, 56 years later."
General manager of The Metropole Hotel Louise McNamara.
Metropole Hotel general manager Louise McNamara said: 'The Metropole Hotel has been a very important part of the Victorian Quarter's history and culture since it first opened its doors 127 years ago and we love to hear stories from the past about who visited here or who worked here.
"It would be really exciting to hear the stories of the electrician, plumber, painter and carpenter who obviously worked on the lobby in 1969 and to see what they think of the refurb 56 years later."