Giuseppe Cervi

Giuseppe Cervi
Born	(1860-03-11)11 March 1860 Picinisco, Frosinone Italy
Died	3 January 1927(1927-01-03) (aged 66) Dublin, Ireland
Resting place	Glasnevin Cemetery
Known for	Introducing the Fish and Chip cuisine to Ireland
Children	2

Giuseppe Cervi was an Italian fryer, best known for bringing the fish and chip cuisine to Ireland and opening the first chipper in the country.

Early life

Cervi was born on March 11, 1860, in Picinisco to Lorenzo Cervi and Angela Magiotta.^[1] Cervi ended up in Ireland by mistake. He accidentally got off a boat that was headed to America at the final stop at Queenstown now called Cobh.^[2]

Career

When Cervi reached Dublin he began work as a labourer until he could afford to buy a coal-fired cooker which he used to sell chips outside of various pubs.^[3] Cervi opened the first chipper in Ireland at 22 Great Brunswick Street now the location of the Dublin Fire Brigade headquarters. The chipper was named simply Giuseppe Cervi.^[4]

Cervi died on January 3, 1927, at the age of 67. He was interred into Glasnevin Cemetery.^[5]

References

1. "GIUSEPPE CERVI". ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
2. "Ever wonder where our 'one and one' came from?". independent.ie. 29 May 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
3. "How fish and chips enriched a nation". irishtimes.com. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
4. "A postcard, Giuseppe Cervi and the story of the Dublin chipper". comeheretome.com. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
5. "Cheese and onion crisp entrepreneur dies aged 78". Instagram. 5 November 2001. Retrieved 22 June 2025.

Further reading

• Hegarty, Shane (2009). The Irish (and Other Foreigners). Gill Books. ISBN 978-0717144518.
• Walton, John K. (1992). Fish and chips and the British working class, 1870-1940. Leicester ; New York: Leicester University Press. ISBN 0718513274.