Patsy Travers Mullins. The year is 1566 and a man named Tom Butler is standing in the courtyard of Ormonde Castle in Carrick-on-Suir. He is waiting for a ship coming upriver from Waterford. His focus is on a large semi-circular docking area for ships and barges built...
Deena and myself have found many ways to endure the Covid 19 lockdown, good food, plenty of exercise and some other daily habits such as watching the 9pm news to be informed and remembering to keep in touch with family and friends to break the isolation. One daily...
This month, I'm indebted to my good friend Mark Fenton for a story to bring a smile to people's faces. Mark like myself was reared in a home where the sea was in our blood and we wanted nothing more than to sail away into the wild blue wonder. Maybe thats why we got...
This mornings guest blog comes from Carrick On Suir but as with all things connected to the water, it travels fairly widely. Maurice Power, another of those supporters of my blog that I have come to rely on, introduces us to an institution on the River Suir in Carrick...
This months guest blog is brought to us by Brian Forristal who remembers his ancestors in a small cottage in Rochestown, Co Kilkenny beside the fast flowing River Barrow. A family of boatmen and farm labourers, Brian's recollections are set in the context of a walk, a...
Today's guest blog comes from Roy Dooney who has previously delivered a facinating presentation to the Barony of Gaultier Historical Society on the building of Dunmore harbour. I'm indebted to Roy for typing up his presentation for sharing with the readership. I found...
Over a three-day period of January 22nd, 23rd and 24th 1862, a large number of shipwrecks and loss of life took place in Waterford Harbour and along the County Waterford coastline, making it probably one of the most catastrophic events in the maritime history of Waterford.
The last guest blog of 2018 comes from the River Barrow and brings us back to simpler times in the company of the Connollys of Aylwardstown via the pen of Brian Forristal. The area of Aylwardstown is beside the river Barrow close to Glenmore on the Kilkenny side and...
Catherine Foley, the author, has kindly submitted a second guest blog feature to the page. It follows a hugely successful initial guest blog some months back, entitled Beyond the Breakwater which brought us back to the Passage East of her youth and Waterford city. For this blog, Catherine remembers with a loving fondness her uncle, Joe Walsh.
My guest blog this month is from a stalwart of the page, David Carroll. Like myself he has a passionate interest in the local maritime heritage story and his personal reflections and research into the stories make a significant contribution to our understanding. ...
This months guest blog is brought to us by Pat Nolan. Pat recently republished a piece in the monthly Marine Times magazine with the headline "A Lifetime Fishing, Billy Power Recalls. It was to coincide with Billy's recent retirement. Needless to say I've met Billy...
Catherine Foley is a proud Waterford woman who grew up initially in the city before moving to An Rinn in the Waterford Gaeltacht. Deena and I had known of her before, through her contributions to RTE Radio 1's Sunday Miscellany. However it was her cousin, and a...
For this latest guest blog, I'm delighted to welcome back David Carroll, who shares more memories of his childhood in Dunmore East in the 1950's & 60's. In a similar vein to his previous blog on the village, and his recollection of the ship wreck of the St...
An astonishing engagement during the Confederate wars in Ireland, saw an unlikely achievement by Irish rebels, when they sunk the flagship of Cromwellian forces at Duncannon. The loss of the Great Lewis must have been a significant boost to the confederate forces at...
This months guest blog is by Joe Falvey another long time supporter of the blog and a writer of many excellent articles about our local history. This months piece is a fine gathering of historical facts and anecdotes based around the visit of the Kennedys to...
In our first guest blog 2018, Brendan Grogan brings us this wonderful summary of the life and maritime career of Captain Richard Farrell. Captain Farrell, as I always heard him referred to, was highly respected in his role as Harbour Master, but then again having seen...
The last Friday of each month I try to source a contribution from a guest writer. This month, David Carroll gives another slice of his early life growing up in Dunmore East concerning the shipwrecked Saint Austell. It's a wonderfully researched account of a...
This months guest blog is courtesy of Fintan Walsh and I think it prepares us for the upcoming month of December, which for us here in Waterford is going to be about commemoration. For it was December of 100 years ago that Waterford's worst maritime tragedy...
I offer a platform for anyone who wants to write about Waterford harbour on the last Friday of each month. This month David Carroll joins us with a tale of ships and people from the port in 1960 and his experience of the impounded vessel the SS Macuto and how it...
Our guest blog today like last months looks back to a childhood holiday spent on a beach. However this month rather than Crooke in Waterford we get to accompany the Lloyd family holidaying at Duncannon Co Wexford and there is a Waterford connection too. I'd like to...
Today is the last Friday of the month and so it's guest blog day. I always love to share others thoughts and as the summer holidays officially start in our local national school, this reflection on school holidays from the 1960's is a real counterpoint to the...
This months guest blog looks forward to a significant anniversary this year when in June of 1867 a band of Fenian freedom fighters were landed in Waterford having journeyed across the Atlantic to join in a planned insurrection. The ship was commanded by a Waterford...
Today's guest blog, is from one of my earliest supporters and sources of encouragement, Brendan Grogan. Brendan has worked in the background and supplying photos, information and advice on my online mission to celebrate Waterford Harbours maritime tradition. This week...
This months guest blog is provided by James Doherty. It takes a look at the incidence of smuggling in the harbour from a historical perspective. Its a very exciting topic, and one that has not received much attention in the past. I sincerely hope people enjoy reading...
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