Growing Up Poor in Irish Boston
"Growing Up Poor in Irish Boston” is a podcast series, colored with humor, nostalgia and pathos. It’s about a Boston tenement kid, born in 1939, clawing his way out of poverty by being hard-working, creative, persistent, entrepreneurial and by taking risks often. There are also stories of my later life in Boston, Cambridge and New England. If you like old Boston stories or Irish-American stories or old Cambridge stories, this is your podcast. If you like Pull-Yourself-Up-By-The-Bootstrap type stories and/or down-to-earth philosophy with a Roman Catholic, funny and relatively conservative slant, then this is for you.
I am Roderick Patrick Murphy, born into a large, loving Irish family in Boston, widowed after 50+ happy years. So I am now doing some writing, volunteering and learning how to be a bachelor again.
- Update frequency
- every day
- Average duration
- 7 minutes
- Episodes
- 100
- Years Active
- 2025
Episode 24 Murphy & Milan Heroes
Episode 24 Murphy & Milan Heroes spells out in detail my family's military service contributions; Civil War, WW1, WW2, Korean War, etc.
Episode 6 Catholic Newspaper Drives
Episode 6 Catholic Newspaper Drives. During and after World War 2, Roman Catholic parishes in Boston and elsewhere raised money by organizing Newspaper Drives. Parishioners and others w…
Ep. 73 Not For PETA Types & Prohibition & Toy Soldiers
Ep. 73 Not For PETA Types & Prohibition & Toy Soldiers. Four different vignettes, the Watertown Abbatoir, Chicken stealing. Prohibition and Toy Soldiers.
Ep.13. Irish Spaghetti & Neighborhood Alcoholics
Ep. 13. Irish Spaghetti & Neighborhood Alcoholics. How not to make good spaghetti, Also a description of alcoholism in my 1950s neighborhood.
Ep 9. My Father's Friend, Phil Gustafson Stories.
Ep 9. My Father's Friend, Phil Gustafson Phil was a great friend of my father, Tom Murphy and some funny stories about Phil, the athiest and his contretemps with the very Catholic Murph…
Episode 57B My Journey From Salesman to Entrepreneur
Episode 57B My Journey From Salesman to Entrepreneur lays out my history working as a salesman for the man interspered with many entrepreneurial startups, culminating with Degreasing De…
Episode 57A My Journey From Salesman to Entrepreneur
Episode 57A My Journey From Salesman to Entrepreneur lays out my history working as a salesman for the man interspered with many entrepreneurial startups, culminating with Degreasing De…
Episode 20 Boston Kid Loose in Manhattan
Episode 20 Boston Kid Loose in Manhattan describes my 11 year old adventures staying in Brooklyn with my brother and walking all over Manhattan and Brooklyn during a Christmas vacation.
Ep. 71D Murphy's Comedy Club
Ep. 71D Murphy's Comedy Club provides another batch of Paddy Murphy jokes taking place in locations in Ireland and the the USA.
Ep. 68B Covid & Keeping Up with the Jones
Ep. 69 Covid & Keeping Up with the Jones. In this Episode you will find my criticism of today's mindlessness and conformity to government and media. I focus particularly on our complian…
Ep. 69 Advice on Starting Over
Ep. 69 Advice on Starting Over Ep. Some advice from someone who has started over more than once.
Ep. 56 Second Hand Stuff, Sallies & The Morgie
Ep. 56 Second Hand Stuff, Sallies & The Morgie. This episode details how my parents bought clothing, shoes, etc. for 7 kids on my Dad's meager income. Lots of detail on the 1940s and 50…
Ep. 29 Quincy Quarries
Ep. 29 Quincy Quarries. "Danger increases the fun for teen aged boys." Some really dangerous examples of what my youthful friends and I considered swimming holes fun.
Ep. 68A Troubles Era Letter From County Cork Cousin & An Irish Song
Ep. 68 Troubles Era Letter From County Cork Cousin & An Irish Song. An imagined letter from a cousin to his immigrated cousin about the Irish rebels and the Troubles with some humor, of…
Ep. 71B Murphy's Comedy Club
Ep. 71B Murphy's Comedy Club provides another batch of Paddy Murphy jokes in locations in Ireland and the the USA.
Ep. 71C Murphy's Comedy Club
Ep. 71C Murphy's Comedy Club provides another batch of Paddy Murphy jokes in locations in Ireland and the the USA.
Ep. 71A Murphy's Comedy Club
Ep. 71A Murphy's Comedy Club provides some Paddy Murphy jokes in locations in Ireland the the USA.
Ep. 31 Murphy Brothers' Bloodline Discussion
Ep. 31 Murphy Brothers' Bloodline Discussion discusses conversations between my bother, Garry and I about our County Cork grandfather, Patrick Murphy and our great grandfather, Con Murp…
Ep. 39 Living Free at the Boy Scout Camp
Ep. 39 Living Free at the Boy Scout Camp relates how my parish's Boy Scout camp in then rural Bedford provided such wonderful and freeing, outdoor experiences for us, Boy Scouts in the …
Ep. 67C My Conflict with Quebecois Separatists
Ep. 67C My Conflict with Quebecois Separatists. This episode reflects my fiery meeting with Quebecois who wanted independence from Canada.