Former Cork City Councillor, John Blair, who established Blairs Inn bar and restaurant in Cloghroe, has been remembered as a ‘gentleman’ who was unfailingly ‘dedicated and committed to whatever job he took on’. He is survived and sadly missed by his loving wife Anne, children Duncan, Judy and Richard, daughters-in-law Claire and Loretta, son-in-law John, grandchildren Jack, Charlie, Molly, Sam, Sophia, Harry and Billy, brothers-in-law, sister-in-law, relatives and friends. Historian Kieran McCarthy, who previously interviewed John for a book he wrote called ‘Inheritance: Heritage and Memory in the Lee Valley, County Cork’, said that following his education, Mr Blair took a job in marketing before being asked, in 1968, by his grandfather to take over the family pharmacy on Patrick Street. “John obliged and helped in the rebranding of the business especially the shortening of the name to Blair’s Chemist, moving the business forward,” Mr McCarthy explained. In the 1970s, Mr Blair became involved in local politics, becoming a member of the Fine Gael party being elected to the then Cork Corporation in 1974 at the age of 30, he was also President of the Junior Chamber of Commerce and President of Cork Business Association in 1974. Five years later, he ran in the European Elections but was unsuccessful and returned to local politics in the 1980s during which time he became a member of the Progressive Democrats. Following the decision to close Blair’s Chemist, John established the highly successful Blairs Inn with his wife Anne, which remains in the family now being run by his two sons Duncan and Richard. Speaking to The Muskerry News Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr Damian Boylan said, “John Blair was known as gregarious company, a man who enjoyed a laugh and a debate. His style was to give no quarter and expect none, but all in the name of quality discourse. The love of his family for him showed the measure of the man. That we may all be remembered that way would be a life well lived.”
