O'Rahilly said of CUP, "I took the initiative in order to convince the College of the feasibility and desirability of the project".
O'Flaherty published three books through Cork University Press and remained a member of the CUP committee.
No amount of advertising will convince the average creamery manager that he should read The Psychology of Sartre or the psychologist that he should buy Commercial Methods of Testing Milk.
[citation needed] The titles published in O'Rahilly's time included James Handley's The Irish in Scotland (1945); O'Rahilly's own book, Money (1941); Daniel Corkery's Synge and Anglo-Irish Literature (1931); James Hogan's Election and Representation (1945); and Bridget G. MacCarthy's Women Writers (1944).
In O'Rahilly's time the Record served as a medium for the expression of his own cultural and educational philosophy.
[citation needed] After O'Rahilly's departure, the affairs of CUP were conducted by a committee of senior staff members.
This was a small inner circle to begin with, but became larger and more representative of the academic disciplines in subsequent decades.
A member of a distinguished scholarly and literary family, Gwynn was research professor of modern Irish history at UCC (1947–1963).
A discussion on general policy at a CUP committee meeting in 1956 ended in agreement that "it was the function of Cork University Press to undertake as far as possible the publication of scholarly books and pamphlets for members of the staff.
The same meeting expressed the opinion that the CUP "should exclusively undertake occasionally the publication of a first-class book of general interest and even one of some magnitude".
Although the CUP was not a fully commercial entity, the assessment of manuscripts was rigorous, readers were chosen carefully and were paid an honorarium.
At times, the CUP committee, experienced difficulties with publishing industry agents, advisers, and printers which could be costly.
CUP income included sales revenue, author contributions and an annual UCC grant.
Difficulties for CUP included poor catalogue design, outdated office equipment, inadequate packaging and distribution, high publishing costs and small turnover.
Alec McAulay, a publisher with Leicester University Press, was engaged to make an analysis of CUP and suggestions for improvement.
Recent publications include James Kelly's Duelling in Ireland (1995); Joep Leerssen's Mere Irish and Fior-Gael (1996); Kevin Whelan's The Tree of Liberty, 1760–1830 (1996); Fintan Vallely's Companion to Irish Traditional Music (1999); Terry Eagleton's Crazy John and the Bishop (1998); Michael Cronin's Across the Lines: Travel, Language and Translation (2000); and the Atlas of the Irish Rural Landscape (1997).