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Tides & Tales is a free-to-access site. We profile the best of Waterford and the surrounding areas’ maritime heritage.
Since 2014 we have continued to offer high quality content every month showcasing the richness of our maritime past. The story count is now exceeds 500 tales of ships, trades, people and the communities of the area.
This maritime heritage project is a community initiative which depends on the generosity of its subscribers and those who visit our site. If you feel that you’ve got value from the website, or if you would like to support the work into the future you can make a donation below, or ask for our details via the contact page.
Our Blog
Will the Barrow Railway Bridge ever open and close to shipping again?
This is my ongoing diary of the fate of the Barrow Railway Bridge. The details are shared below. To start, however, here's an introduction of what's covered to date (13/01/2026) July 1906 - opened to connect the new port at Rosslare with Waterford and on to the west...
Waterford Steamship Company Recollections
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...
Canada Street – the Emigration Connection
Although many will associate the famine as a time of mass emigration from Ireland, the fact is tens of thousands were fleeing the country for many years prior to the catastrophic events of the 1840s. Canada Street owes its name to this era, and in this blog, I want to...
Tragic end to the PS City of Bristol
The City of Bristol departed the quay of Waterford in November 1840 for her home port of Bristol in a gale of wind. Anxious to keep to schedule the vessel would sail into one of the worst storms that season. She would later run aground, break up and all but two of the...
Ringsend Sailing Trawlers – Book Review
Recently my good friend David Carroll made a gift to me of Cormac Lowth's newly published comprehensive and beautifully illustrated book - Ringsend Sailing Trawlers. With Some History of Boatbuilding in Ringsend. The book captures the maritime, fishing, and seafaring...
Freighting the Suir: Clonmel to Carrick 1906
In 1906 the River Suir was vibrant if weakening commercial thoroughfare transporting goods up and down from Clonmel to the sea on a daily basis, just like our motorways today. The boats used were flat-bottomed lighters (also called yawls above Carrick and barges) and...
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