Sanguine Style Issue #14: Kealan Murphy & A Guide to Amsterdam
In this issue: Kealan Murphy reveals the secrets to good hair; a guide to Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Kealan Murphy is a barber from Cork City. He is based at 16a, a contemporary barbershop founded by Jordan Kavanagh in 2018. Barbering is a profession that we often take for granted, despite grooming being entangled with our self-perception and self-presentation, making Kealan a custodian of his clients’ appearance. He is amiable, direct, and quick-witted, and I’ve relied on him to make me look presentable for the last two years. If you’re based in Cork or the surrounding area, I suggest you try to snag an appointment with Kealan. In this issue, he gives an insight into his career.
What led you to become a barber?
After I left school, I did the classic Irish male thing: I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life, so I got a job on a building site. From day one, I knew it wasn’t for me - I’m way too pretty, and my hands are too soft for that craic. But I needed money and hadn’t a clue what else to do.
A great friend of mine, Leanne Edwards, who later became my boss at The Asylum Barbershop, was starting her journey in barbering. She needed open‑minded models willing to get scalped. That was where I took my first steps toward being more than just a customer. While sitting in the shop, immersed in the industry and listening to the educators teach, I thought, I could do this!
After a lot of humming and hawing about finding the time, I finally bit the bullet. I started classes, borrowed equipment, and begged everyone I knew to let me cut their hair. Then one day, while working on a cold, miserable building site in Limerick, I got a call from Leanne. She asked if I’d be her junior in her new shop: sweeping the floor, making tea and coffee, and being the general shop “bitch.” I took the plunge.
Nine years later, it’s still the best job I’ve ever had, and I couldn’t imagine myself away from barbering.
What do you like about working at 16a?
The environment at 16a is like no other. We all know each other better than our own families. When you spend countless hours a day in a room full of like-minded people, talking absolute muck, you build this weird bond.
Jordan, the owner of 16a, has handpicked some of the most amazing people Cork has to offer. We’ve become one big dysfunctional family, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Who has taught you the most about cutting hair?
There’s no single person I can point to as the one I learned most from. I’ve been blessed, since the start of my career, to work in some of the highest‑level shops in Cork, so I learned something from everyone around me.
What makes a good shop is the ability to ask the person on your left or right how they did something, and have them genuinely enjoy explaining it, so you can improve. In that kind of environment, everyone’s cutting at a high standard and nobody gets left behind.
What makes a good haircut?
I think it’s more than just the haircut itself. I’ve always taken the approach of getting to know my clients on a personal level. What they do for work, what their hobbies are, how they dress, is a huge one, and then cutting their hair to match their lifestyle.
So many people get caught up in buzzwords for haircuts that they overlook whether it will suit the person and how they carry themselves.
What trends are you noticing lately?
Long hair is hot right now! So many people are taking a step back from the humble skin fade we all know and love, and trying something new.
Irish men are slow to change in most aspects of life, and hairstyles are no different. It’s like we develop a sheep mentality from a young age. Just look at any gaggle of young fellas, and they all look the same.
I love it when someone wants to try something new, and 9 times out of 10, they don’t regret it.
What is one trend you don't like personally?
‘Burstfade’! The word itself makes my skin crawl. It’s the classic V-shaped haircut we all had as kids growing up, just with a fancy name. Honestly, it should’ve stayed in 2012.
It looks good for about 3 days, tops. And if you like it, you need to grow up. You hit a nerve with that question.
What hair product do you swear by?
I use Craft 21 products for all my pre-styling and styling. They have such a broad range for all hair types that you’re bound to find something that suits you.
Sea salt sprays, pastes, creams, and styling powders. They’ve got it all, and it all just works.
We also stock Craft 21 in-store. At this stage, we’ve tried and tested everything, but Craft 21 has stood out the most for me.
What's one thing most people do wrong when it comes to hair care?
What I find from talking to clients about their hair care routine is that so many fellas just grab whatever’s in the shower, slap it on, rub it in, and away they go.
It’s usually big supermarket brands that are full to the brim with chemicals. The kind that builds up on your hair and scalp and leaves your hair in bits.
Invest in a good quality shampoo. It will honestly change your life.
When it comes to styling, always remember: less is more. It’s easier to add a little more if needed, but a head full of product is never going to give you the result you’re after.
What's the best story a client has ever told you?
This one is tricky! If you’ve had the pleasure of sitting in 16a, you will hear some of the most outlandish conversations that I feel would get me 10 years in Cork prison if they were to be recorded and shared outside the sacred walls of a barbershop.
Kealan Murphy is based at 16a on Evergreen Street, Cork. You can book an appointment with him here. You can follow Kealan on Instagram.
A Guide to Amsterdam
When the opportunity arose to revisit Amsterdam within six months of my last trip, I jumped at the chance. That the city, which celebrates its 750th anniversary in October, has an endless amount to discover was not lost on me, despite the numbing sub-zero winter conditions that I faced when I last visited in January. To my delight, it was 25 degrees warmer at the beginning of July than it was in January.
I travelled with my friend Pádraig, who is a chef at Eleanore in Edinburgh, and we put our shared love, food at the top of our agenda. On our first evening, we landed on Kaagman & Kortekaas, where they have recently completed some excellent renovations. It was a slick undertaking that somehow blends bare walls with wooden floors and some modernist furniture with marble countertops. K&K think ambitiously and creatively about their menu. They will draw your attention to your perception of meat by plating up entrails with the flair of a French bistro. They can convince you of sweetbreads and deep-fried veal testicles easily. In both presentation and flavour profile, there was an element of surprise that felt as playful as menu ideation must be for the team there.
On Thursday, we checked out Fort Negen, a beloved local spot that came highly recommended to us. We both opted for bánh mì and iced coffees. The Vietnamese staple was served in a crunchy sourdough bread roll. (For a simpler and humbler breakfast, we had breakfast at café40 on Friday, which was conveniently near our accommodation.)
By the time we had walked it off, rolling from one store to the next, we settled in at Warung Spang Makandra in the De Pijp neighbourhood in search of Surinamese flavours. A favourite of the late Anthony Bourdain’s, the restaurant’s spicy and aromatic dishes reveal the multi-ethnic fusion of cuisines, with Indonesian influences. We started with lightly fried cassava with peanut sauce before sampling a supple beef rendang with steamed rice and a Spang Makandra Special, which entails fried rice and noodles tossed in hot, dry spices, puckered with a medley of chicken, long beans, egg, and potato sambal.
After sipping some pre-dinner Negronis at De Tros, we skipped across the street for dinner at Turbo, a wine bar with Asian-fusion small plates, where the service was lighthearted and professional. (The staff here looked effortlessly cool.) We opted for homemade pickles, mackerel tartare, smoked entrecote with lemongrass mayo, and barbecued pork skewers with char siu, peas, and broad beans, and ditched pairing for exploratory tendencies: I moved from cava to skin-contact to white to rosé. We merrily finished dinner with a caramel semifreddo, where bleu d’Auvergne posed a tangy counterpoint, and sumptuous soft-serve lacquered in butterscotch sauce and puckered with popcorn.
Our final culinary outing took us to BUFFET van Odette, on the recommendation of the waitress at Turbo. I chose the ravioli with ricotta, radish, and a lemon butter sauce. It was delicate and delicious. Lunch was accompanied by a Bloody Mary, iced americano, and water, completing a trifecta of Fun, Energy, and Hydration.
When I’m not indulging in culinary pursuits, I’m discovering the best a city has in terms of its shopping. Amsterdam delivered mostly positive results.
I was wooed by De Bijenkorf, Amsterdam’s grand dame department store, where luxurious flourishes were executed well. On the ground floor, I liked Dries van Noten cosmetics and Matière Premiére fragrances.
Niche boutiques like Afura (I loved their selection of Eckhaus Latta, Mfpen and Hereu) and Maha (MM6 Maison Margiela and adidas x Wales Bonner) stood out. But the assortment at Moise was the most compelling, featuring Dries van Noten, Acne Studios, and Lemaire, alongside Marie Adam-Leenaerdt and Rohé. The sales associate, dressed in new season Marie Adam-Leenaerdt, looked incredible.
After recent successes on Vestiaire, I was excited to sink my teeth into Amsterdam’s vintage stores. I was disappointed by them all. The narrow offering at doors like (IM)MATERIAL, Archive 1906, and POP18 Vintage was overpriced.
The main purchases that I made on this trip were essentials like Uniqlo t-shirts and socks, an Arket t-shirt, but inspired by Dutch street style, I bought brown satin pants from Cos. Elsewhere, I returned to Athenaeum Boekhandel, where I picked up the latest issues of L’Étiquette and Butt. If they were easy to transport, there would’ve been many, many more, but somehow, I resisted the urge. I guess that I’ll have to return again next year.
This weekend, Gareth Storey will arrive in Cork for a two-night pop-up dinner at plugd records, with Brian O’Connor’s Brian’s Wines supplying the wine list. Despite a full reservation list, some space will be reserved for walk-ins. Storey’s Cork stint will follow a sold-out collaboration with beloved Dublin haunt Assassination Custard, as they prepare to take over pizza hotspot Bambino this evening.
Over a decade later, Lena Dunham’s Girls remains one of the sharpest television series ever written. Her latest output, Too Much on Netflix, lacks some of the grit and truth that its predecessor had in bountiful amounts. In ways that ideas in Girls felt raw and visceral, they’re half-baked and cloying here. (I would like to air a personal grievance with the parodical costuming. I am deeply frustrated with most television shows’ inability to reflect their characters authentically.)
I implore you to purchase a copy of Robin Givhan’s Make It Ours: Crashing the Gates of Culture with Virgil Abloh, which I just finished. Givhan establishes the factors that facilitated Abloh’s ascent to the heights of the fashion industry and the legacy that he leaves behind. Next up, I plan on reading Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty that Shaped America by Michael M. Grynbaum, which peers into the modern era of the publishing house, from the late 1970s onwards. Meanwhile, October will see the release of It Girl: The Life and Legacy of Jane Birkin by Marisa Meltzer. After the recent auction of the ‘original Birkin’ at Sotheby’s, I would like to understand the making of the mystique behind fashion’s original ‘It girls.’