Throughout Wednesday 6th January 1937 and into the night, groups of men began arriving in the small village of Passage East in Waterford harbour. Some arrived in buses, others by car and as the day went on into evening their numbers swelled to an estimated 500. ...
The Royal Navy Press gangs were licenced kidnappers who operated with official sanction up to the early 19th Century. Their role was to remove sailors from shore or ship and impress them into the service of the Royal Navy. It was a recruitment policy that was...
In a new departure for me, I'm going to be one of the contributors at this years Booze, Blaas & Banter. The venue is Jordan's American Bar on Waterford's Quay. It's part of the Imagine Arts Festival and organised by Johnny Clunno on behalf of the Waterford...
There was once a village at Faithlegg. It stood on the left hand side of the road, past the church, heading for Waterford city. Locally it has always been said that the village was wiped out when the black death swept the country and such was the fear attached to the...
Mark Anthony was born in Waterford in 1786 and at fifteen joined the Royal Navy serving for close on twenty years until retiring to take up a post as harbour master at Dunmore East. Mark Anthony was born second in line to Joseph Anthony and his wife Juliet Lambert at...
Waterford’s Neptune Shipyard opened in February 1843 as a repair yard for the growing number of iron hulled steamers of the Malcomson fleet. The quaker family had started out in the milling business in Clonmel before branching out into textiles in Portlaw and...
On Monday 2nd May 1904, Waterford hosted a royal visit to Ireland's oldest city. The event is very well recorded in history books, but one aspect receives a lot less attention, and that is the naval presence. On a wet Friday evening on the 29th April(1) four Royal...
Last Saturday I had the good fortune to call over to Waterford Airport to see the materials that were uncovered by Noel McDonagh at Creaden Head, Co Waterford. While there we got into a conversation with Michael Farrell of the Barony of Gaultier Historical Society...
One of the most beautiful views, and quieter walks that you will find in in East Waterford is the Minaun, overlooking the Meeting of the Three Sisters and with panoramas over the counties of the SE, down the harbour and out to the Saltee Islands. My mother told me...
April's guest blog comes from a page regular, my cousin, James Doherty. Today he's talking about a topic that was very much part of some recent blogs and presentations I gave on the Paddle Steamer service that ran between the city and Duncannon. In this piece James...
While collecting my daughter from a bus recently I happened across a limestone slab set into the pavement behind the Waterford bus station. It was battered, damaged and out of place, but the inscription was legible. It reads In Memory of Louis C Lee of Aberdeen. ...
Generally, ships in distress receive a welcome in any port, but this was not so with the Liverpool barque Sparkling Wave. For the ship was carrying an explosive cargo, of such a quantity, the city fathers of Waterford could not permit her into their port for fear of...
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...
I was so looking forward to an event scheduled to happen in Faithlegg graveyard this morning. However, like so many other plans across the nation it has fallen victim to the weather. The weather I'm referring to, for anyone living abroad, is a snowstorm which struck...
As a child in Cheekpoint I was told that in the past I could have travelled to Waterford by paddle steamer. Christy Doherty RIP, one of the old school fishermen related stories to me of the paddle steamers calling to Cheekpoint quay, picking up passengers and heading...
When the 42 man crew of the Dutch-owned SS Beemsterdijk departed Greenock for Cardiff in January 1941 none of them could have known that all but three would ever see their families again. Those three fortunate men who survived had the keen eyes of the men in the...
Over the past month, I have commenced a new part-time role with Faithlegg House Hotel. Under the direction of the hotel's senior management team we have initiated a process including amongst other elements, gathering the stories of the residents/employees of the...
Last year I wrote about the astonishing flotilla that departed from Passage East for St James Fair in Bristol in 1635. I'd long been aware of this connection, particularly Faithlegg's connection with the English city dating back to the Norman conquest. That said I'm...
Next weekend in Waterford we will remember our greatest maritime tragedy when, within two days in December 1917, Clyde Shipping's SS Formby and SS Coningbeg were sunk by a U Boat. Of the 83 souls who perished 67 were from the city, the harbour and hinterland. It...
Following the Seahorse tragedy in Tramore bay in January 1816 an initiative was started to create a warning system about the dangers of confusing Tramore Bay with the entrance to Waterford Harbour(1). The system commenced with the placing of three towers on the...
Following the launch of my first book I received an invitation today to speak to the Waterford Archaeological & Historical Society annual lunch. I decided to give a short presentation about one aspect of the local heritage which is featured in my book, that of...
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...
When Waterford city was looking to create a river crossing to cater for the increasing trade associated with its dynamic port of the 18th Century the city fathers had a problem. A bridge was needed, but ferrymen operating between its quays on the Waterford and...
For many years I was intrigued by the copper mining at Bunmahon on Waterford's coast, but it was only recently I realised that the industry had a connection with one of this pages passions, ships. Bunmahon, on Waterfords coast is home now to the Copper coast Geo park...
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