For anyone looking to dive into the history of Ireland’s iconic Tayto crisp, Bobby Aherne’s The Story of Tayto: The Original Irish Crisp is a must read. The novel encapsulates the past 70 years of the crisp, diving into the beginnings of its creation and including fun graphics and pictures for the readers to enjoy.
Tayto was established by Joe ‘Spud’ Murphy in 1954 at a time when most crisps were imported from the UK and were unflavoured – bar the small blue bag of salt included in each bag to enhance the flavour. Spotting a potential niche in the Irish market, Joe Murphy set up his own crisp factory.
Credited with inventing the first ever Cheese & Onion flavoured crisps, the brand name Tayto has now become synonymous with crisps across Ireland.
Production of the Cheese & Onion flavour crisps started in a factory on Moore Street, Dublin, where after being packed by hand in waxed greaseproof paper, the crisps were delivered to the retailer in an airtight tin, to help maintain their freshness.
Aherne is a musician and writer of multiple books, and this latest one can be bought for €20.00 on The Lilliput Press website.
For each book sold, Tayto is donating one euro to their charity partner Alone, which provides support and security to older residents.
Bobby Aherne’s book on Tayto is available at Lilliput Press at the following link: The Story of Tayto: The Original Irish Crisp
