Veale’s Brigantine Melina An email query about the Veale seafarers of Waterford brought me to the Waterford Museum of Time this week in search of a painting of a Waterford vessel, the Melina. In the company of Cliona Purcell and Donnchadh Ó'Ceallacháin of the Museum,...
As Waterford and the Port of Waterford celebrate 1,111 years this year, and to mark the occasion, Ireland’s oldest Port has launched a brand new podcast series ‘Port of Waterford 1111’ which explores the Port’s rich and varied maritime heritage. The new podcast series...
The story of the Elvira Camino is one deeply woven into the maritime fabric of Waterford. Sparked by a postcard sent over Easter by Liam Ryan, the image of the ship alongside Waterford’s busy quay led to a fascinating dive into its long and storied past. This blog...
Like every port in Ireland and beyond - there are rules. Many of these are standard, but others are unique and specific to a given port, primarily due to its geographic location. Waterford had many such specific rules and one category was for the Pilot Boat Master. ...
Jim Murphy - the Early Years Jim Murphy was born on the 6th of February 1945. Born to a maritime family, in a maritime community, it's perhaps not surprising that he chose the sea for a career. Settling in Liverpool in the mid-1960s he steadily rose through the ranks...
This December marks 106 years since Waterford endured its worst maritime tragedy. The Clyde Shipping Company steamers Formby and Coningbeg were sunk by a U-boat in the Irish Sea in 1917. Tragically, 83 lives were lost, including 67 from Waterford and its surrounding...
By Tomás Sullivan This guest blog is brought to us by Tomás Sullivan. It is a glimpse into the days of sail in the harbour. It is also a tragic tale so common in seafaring communities. The story is of Captain Daniel Sullivan of Coolbunnia, Cheekpoint and his vessel...
I'm delighted to say that I will be appearing on RTE 1 TV's very popular walking series Tracks and Trails this coming Friday night, 5th April 2024 at 7.30pm. I will be guiding Crime journalist, Nicola Tallant who follows the cliff top trail starting out from Dunmore...
On St Patrick's Day 1880 the Waterford-owned sailing vessel Geraldine lay in New York. Under British registry, the ship was supposed to fly its national flag, a requirement of any ship in a foreign port. However as it was St Patrick's Day, the crew in an...
Today, March 8th is International Women’s Day. To celebrate it, we have a guest blog from David Carroll to recall the life and times of Daphne French, a yachtswoman who lived in Dunmore East during David’s childhood in the 1950s and 60s. David was the son of the...
Occasionally a blog falls literally into my lap. So it was with this account when a partial and very faded 19th-century sailing ship log was handed to me recently. But what would the tattered pages of the document reveal? An incredible amount as it happens...
For this years Imagine Arts festival I am doing two talks - both in Jordans on the Quay and both on the theme of Waterford Maritime History. The first is "In the Great Westerns Wake" - a reminisce of the ship that traded from the early 1930s to the mid-1960s from the...
Captain Tom Donohue of Co. Waterford was a sea captain who sailed throughout the Irish Emergency to keep the country supplied with basic foodstuffs and other essential supplies. He survived many scrapes including one of of the most famous rescues at sea in the era by the MV Kerlogue crew
On the 18th of November, a significant piece of local maritime history was created when the new pilot launch Port Láirge was received by Port of Waterford at Dunmore East. ‘Port Láirge’ is a name well known in the maritime heritage in Waterford. The previous namesake...
On a dark December night off the coast of Dunmore East, the pilot boat Gannet spotted an incoming steamer and sailed on a line upriver to intercept. The action would lead to the loss of the pilot boat and an unholy row in Waterford that would see the court of...
Halfway House For this year's Heritage Week event, and specifically Water Heritage Day I wanted to showcase a unique water-related site at the popular bar and restaurant known now as Jack Meades, but previously it was more commonly called Halfway House. Over the next...
On Friday 16th April I appeared on Seascapes, the RTÉ Radio 1 maritime programme with Fergal Keane. Fergal very kindly interviewed me about my book Waterford Harbour Tides and Tales. We covered the background to my blogging and writing, discussed the importance of...
A recent announcement that the Port of Waterford had commissioned a new pilot boat to be called the Portlairge II prompted a flurry of communication to me asking for details and some of the history of the pilots. So this months blog is a journey from 1816 to the...
A guest post courtesy of Liam Cheasty and Pat Sheridan A centenary is defined as the one hundred anniversary of a significant event and in 2021 there will be many related to the War of Independence and partition of Ireland in 1921. However, while conflict and strife...
The arrival of Dauntless Courage, Celebrating the History of the RNLI Lifeboats, their crews and the Maritime Heritage of the Dunmore East Community was greeted with a wave of conflicting emotions this week. Joy at seeing the book finally in print, tears of relief...
On Saturday night, 12th Nov 1955 a collision in the River Mersey involving three ships saw one ship sink, 9 crewmen struggle for an hour without lifejackets in freezing water and a dramatic rescue which included three young seamen from the village of Cheekpoint Co...
There is a fine rectangular headstone in Faithlegg Graveyard that is very distinctive both in design and definition. On the face is etched the names of two sea captains, Edward and Samuel Grandy. The grave hints at their commercial success, but their story...
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 months blog started with an intriguing photograph of an unidentified naval vessel anchored at Passage East, Co Waterford at the start of the last century, her likely identity and the purpose of her visit; recruitment of young men from the area into the navy.
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