David Carroll guest post Malcomson legacy Waterford’s maritime history remains intrinsically linked with the Malcomson family. Had the Malcomson conglomerate of enterprises, which included ship owning and building, continued to prosper, one can only speculate as to...
Geoffrey Spencer was the founder of the Spencer shipping operation which burst into life with an all or nothing bet on Waterford's quays in 1869. This story charts the family shipping enterprise that flourished for almost 50 years from the initial fateful risk on the...
Waterford has a long association with Bristol. Following the arrival of Henry II to Waterford in 1171 the harbor area was carved up by merchants, knights and religious, many with a connection to the inland port of Bristol in SW England. The city developed on a point...
Yet again, Heritage Week continues to be one of the busiest times of the year for the project and 2025 was no different. What follows is a brief overview of the Tides & Tales Heritage Week 2025 report One significant challenge was my work schedule with the OPW as...
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...
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...
For centuries navigation at sea was conducted with care, and attention but a certain degree of providence. Until the coming of steam power, this approach had a certain veracity – ships under sail tended to follow the winds and prevailing weather systems and thus...
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 expression...
On Saturday 06 November 1948 the Waterford Standard newspaper published a very interesting letter from a reader simply identified as JBW. Much of the vessels named are well known to the blog, but others less so. However I decided to publish the entire piece for others...
As a young fisherman I regularly passed a curious vessel at what we called CAP. The area also had a grander title - Bellevue - the French for a beautiful view, assigned to a then crumbling Georgian era mansion. The name was at odds with the reality of that time as it...
An official mail packet service ran between Milford Haven and Waterford from 1787 to 1848. The service often referred to at the time as the Southern Route, operated in competition with an earlier route between Holyhead and Dublin*. Although the Southern route was...
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...
On Saturday morning, 30th October 1875 the schooner Mino of Cheekpoint, Co Waterford was run ashore on the Wexford shore by her captain and crew. Aground on the sandy shoreline the first wave to break over her stern carried the timbers away and this was quickly...
I'm delighted to be featuring on the RTE Radio 1 Sunday Miscellany raido show. It will be bradcast Sunday morning, 17th November 2019 after the 9am news. This was my second attempt to submit a story to the very popular RTE Radio 1 show, now in its fiftieth year. My...
To generations of locals, the Clyde boats were a byword for employment, trade, emigration, and holidays and the final two that were often referred to at home were the Rockabill and the Tuskar. Two very different ships, two different personalities but two ships that...
Introduction In June of 1832 a ship anchored off Passage East, apparently to await favourable sailing conditions. However within hours her passengers would be fleeing ashore and the army was called out to exert control. For the passengers were escaping a deadly...
Òn Saturday evening, 23rd November 1872 the SS Kinsale grounded on the Wexford side of Waterford harbour at a spot known locally as the Hell Hole. It was an appropriate name for the events that were to follow and it resulted in one of the largest losses of life in the harbour that I am aware of.
On a bright but blustery dawn in June 1928 three vessels departed Waterford’s quays. Leading the small convoy was a powerful tug, towing two old sailing ships. Although the tug was a stranger to the city, the sailing ships were anything but. To anyone looking on the scene must have proven ironic if not ignominious. For these were the ports last sailing vessels Zayda and the Madcap; and they had given over fifty years loyal and trusted service to the city, only to be made redundant by steam power.
In 1864 Waterford finally had a new fully functioning landmark installed on its bustling quays. Construction had been a protracted, disjointed and often stormy affair as it was funded through an ongoing public subscription . The intention was to provide a clock that would be visible day and night to sailor and citizen alike in what was then Ireland’s busiest port. Perhaps reflecting the Victorian era, it was originally conceived as an Illuminated Fountain Clock. But to generations of Waterford people it became known as the Clock Tower.
In late November 1954 a three day weather event wrecked havoc on shipping in the Irish sea, leading to shipping casualties, astonishing survival and heroic rescues. It disrupted travel for thousands including the Waterford bound Great Western
A recent maritime related photo from my cousin James Doherty led me on a rambling search for the ship and her purpose. We identified her early on as the Stormcock, we knew it was in Waterford , but with precious little other detail as to the purpose of the visit or a...
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