Book review: Tayto’s history is more than a matter of taste

Bobby Aherne’s affectionate, eye-opening 'The Story of Tayto' charts the vibrant history of one of Ireland's hallowed institutions

In 'The Story of Tayto: The Original Irish Crisp', Bobby Aherne tells the story of a snack brand that now processes about 10% of Ireland’s annual potato crop.

• The Story of Tayto: The Original Irish Crisp 
• Bobby Aherne 
• The Lilliput Press, €19.95 

While buying a packet of crisps in a grocery shop in Swords in the early 1950s, Joe Murphy told the shopkeeper — as he regularly did — that the crisps were stale.

“Well,” she replied, “why in blazes don’t you make them yourself, then?”

In 1954, from a two-room premises near Moore St, Murphy started washing potatoes in a bathtub, feeding them — one potato at a time — into a slicer, drying the slices in a clothes dryer, and cooking them in deep fat fryers.

Murphy’s fledgling crisp factory was the genesis of Tayto, the company credited with inventing cheese and onion flavoured crisps, and now an indisputable cultural fixture.

Musician and folklorist Bobby Aherne's light, playful tone in 'The Story of Tayto: The Original Irish Crisp' is complemented by a striking production design.

In the 70 years since its inception, Tayto has become a touchstone of Irishness, invariably chosen by emigrants as the food they miss most about home — a brand name so recognisable that it is synonymous with crisps in Ireland.

Bobby Aherne’s affectionate, eye-opening The Story of Tayto charts this hallowed institution’s vibrant history.

Central to its success has been its astute marketing, morphing from the Tayto Cup for Terriers at the Churchtown Dog Show in the 1960s, to brand partner to the Republic of Ireland’s men’s national team when they qualified for the 2012 European Championships.

To celebrate and in tribute to defender Richard Dunne, Tayto launched a sour cream and Dunne’ion flavour.

Initially available in three varieties — plain, cheese, and cheese and onion — today Tayto processes about 10% of Ireland’s annual potato crop and counts Oasis’ brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher and Star Wars actor Mark Hamill among its loyal customers.

The book is packed with fascinating trivia: The company name originates from Murphy’s son Joe Jnr, who as an infant loved potatoes but couldn’t pronounce the word. Instead, Joe Jnr demanded from his parents “more taytos”.

It also satisfies Tayto anoraks. For example, in 1964, to keep its crisps fresh for longer, the company introduced moisture-proof saran coated cellophane packaging material.

Equally, Aherne tackles the controversies that have embroiled the company.

In the 1960s, Tayto launched — before quickly withdrawing — two unpopular varieties: The crispy sausage; and, later, celery. It also pioneered cheese and onion soup.

The company’s most audacious, and divisive, offering was the Tayto milk chocolate bar with cheese and onion crisps (a 2013 limited edition).

Since his inaugural appearance in the corner of a newspaper advertisement in 1955, Mr Tayto, the company mascot, has since carved a place in the national consciousness.

A musician and folklorist, Aherne’s previous book, D’You Remember Yer Man?, was a portrait of eccentric Dublin characters.

His light, playful tone here is complemented by a striking production design.

With a palette based around Tayto’s quintessential red, yellow, and blue colouring, its wide-ranging photographs chronicle the evolution of the company’s advertising, packaging, and branding that reflects a changing Ireland over seven decades.

The alchemical ingredient in the Tayto narrative is the company’s charismatic founder.

Born, fittingly, the year the Irish Free State was established, 1923, Murphy once water-skied while smoking a pipe and reading an upside-down newspaper.

After selling a 75% stake in Tayto to an American conglomerate in 1964, Murphy became a millionaire and bought a new white Rolls-Royce with tinted windows.

When Murphy died in 2001, his ashes were scattered at sea. To float alongside his remains, mourners — to the sound of Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ — threw handfuls of Tayto cheese and onion overboard.

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