The project had a very busy Heritage Week a report of which is now on our site. One event that was missed however, was the unveiling of a Blue Plaque at the Fishermen’s Hall, Dumore East. The building has a long association with the village and is woven into the fabric of the community.

The Buildings of Ireland describe it thus: “Detached five-bay single-storey hall, c.1850 (my latest information is that  the present building was nearing completion in 1899), on a cruciform plan with single-bay single-storey gabled higher projecting bays to west and to east having single-bay single-storey flat-roofed lower flanking porches to west, and single-bay single-storey canted elevation to south.” The east-facing gable has, of course, a wonderful old clock that I have long admired, which in its day could let the fishermen below on the quay know the time. 

The east-facing gable, now the location of a coffee dock

Much like the Reading Room in Cheekpoint, the Hall has seen all manner of service.  Originally, it seems, it had a role as a reading room for fishermen and seafarers and under the strict rule set down by its Quaker founder, alcohol was prohibited. It was also referred to as Malcomson Hall and from at least 1905 the two phrases were used interchangeably. But down the years it has provided accommodation for dances, concerts, plays, meetings, net mending, courses, a morgue I believe, accommodation for shipwrecked sailors, sales of work, craft fairs, keep fit and a venue for various children’s activities, most recently a preschool and after-school. In a nod to its original purpose, it also hosts the Waterford City & County Library service.

For this month’s blog I asked David Carroll, who grew up in Dunmore, to give a sense of the origins to the building. 

1887 was a sad year for Dunmore East and the surrounding area, as it was that year that Joseph Malcomson from Villa Marina died at the very young age of 25 years. He was known to the fishing community as ‘Master Joe’ and was very popular.

Joseph was the only son of David and Nannie (nee King) Malcomson. He was born in Mayfield, Portlaw on May 12^th,1862. His father, David had ‘Villa Marina’ built in Dunmore East, which is the modern-day Haven Hotel. Between the years 1861- 1866, other members of the Malcomson family also engaged in a flurry of house building on a grand scale. John commissioned ‘Elva’ at Ardkeen, near Waterford. Robert had ‘Minella’ built in Clonmel with Fred and George having ‘Clodiagh House’ and ‘Woodlock’ built in Portlaw.

Fishermen’s Hall

A modern-day perspective

The Malcomsons, a Quaker family, were astute entrepreneurs. They had industrial success in the corn trade in the Clonmel area, led by David Malcomson, and subsequently with cotton, based in Portlaw.  In 1837, David handed over the running of his business to his seven sons and from that time the business was known as Malcomson Bros. After his father’s death, Joseph, the eldest son, became head of the firm.

Blue Plaque erected by Waterford Civic Trust Sunday 24th August 2025. Photo courtesy of Waterford City & Co Libraries

In Waterford city, the Malcomson’s owned their own iron shipbuilding yard, called the Neptune Iron Works. Established originally to repair their own ships, forty steamships were built in the Neptune Shipyard between 1846 and 1882.   They built vessels of all sizes and all were known for the strength of their iron hulls and excellent steam engines. The yard employed about 400 men. It was claimed in the House of Commons in 1868, that the Malcomson family were the largest shipowners in the world with 90 of their vessels registered in Waterford. (1)  That claim, reported in a local paper in that year, gives a good indication of the power and influence of the family.

In 1867, David Malcomson died and his only son, Joseph or ‘Master Joe’ as he was affectionately known in Dunmore grew up at Villa Marina, with his widowed mother. ‘Master Joe’ did not immerse himself in the affairs of the family businesses but as a memorandum relating to the Fishermen’s Hall states:

He was particularly at home with the fishing fraternity in Dunmore. He had his own fishing boat which was crewed locally. Joseph organised cricket matches between the soldiers garrisoned in Waterford and local selections. They were said to have been enjoyable occasions- neither the soldiers nor the fishermen had been known to complain of thirst at the close of the day’s play! (2)

There is no doubt that ‘Master Joe’ packed a great deal into what was sadly to become, just like his father, a very short life. Glancing through newspapers of the period give an indication of the role that he played at the heart of the maritime community of Dunmore East. He was very active in the affairs of the lifeboat, both at the committee level and through generous patronage. He was a member of the Regatta Committee and was involved with the local horticultural society, which organised very successful flower shows annually in the Park, opposite Villa Marina. He was the owner of a magnificent yacht, the 65-ton yawl Loadstar, the crew of which acted as pallbearers at his funeral.

Joseph died on December 14, 1887, aged 25.

FUNERAL OF JOSEPH MALCOMSON Esq.

The remains of this highly esteemed young gentleman whose death is sincerely regretted, at the early age of 26, were interred on Monday in the Cemetery, John’s Hill. The funeral was very largely and respectably attended. The pall-bearers were the captain and crew of the late Mr Malcomson’s yacht Loadstar viz. John Power (captain) and William Mackey, William Power, James Power, Thomas Gloady, and Patrick Power.  Three walked on one side, and three on the other.  Following the coffin were the chief mourners, viz. -William King, uncle, George P Malcomson, JT Medlycott, DL, JP, George Morris, JP, Master George Morris. The office-bearers of the Dunmore East Horticultural Association then came, and included the Hon Dudley F Fortescue, C Perceval Bolton, P Harney (who with the late Joseph Malcomson acted as hon secretary of this year’s show) and Rev Mr Gillmor. Representing the harbour and fishermen etc of Dunmore were- The Harbour Master Mr Dunne, Mr FG Kent, Sergeant Sutcliffe, RIC; William Jones, Patrick Power, John Coonan, James Hennerberry, William Power, John Mackey, James Edmonds, M    O’Donnell, M Walsh, E Dickens, Mr George Kent, Mr J Kent etc. (3)

Mrs Malcomson – Nannie

His mother Nannie had the Fishermen’s Hall in the village built in his memory. She died herself in 1900, shortly after it opened. Her portrait is still to be seen in the hall.

1. Shipbuilding in Waterford 1820-1882, Bill Irish, 2001
2. http://www.odwyer.net/~dunmore/places_fishermans%20all.htm
3. The Waterford News, December 23, 1887

Waterford News July 12th 1878 – shared by Barbara Hoblit on Facebook post publication suggests there was an earlier building and the involvement of the Rev Dr Gimlette in the build.

Postscript

Following the newspaper clipping from Barbara Hoblit I hit the newspapers to see what further information I could glean. There was a lot. I can say that another newspaper report of 1899 states that the present Malcomson Hall was nearing completion. The earliest mention I have of an event in the present building is 1901. Certainly, both Malcomson/Fishermen’s Hall were used in newspapers from 1905 to describe a number of events, from plays, concerts and meetings. However, it is now apparent to me that there was an earlier building. It provided several functions too, based on contemporary reportage. But despite checking the older maps, I can only locate the present building. This was described as a fishing/sailors’ hall and seems to have a place of rest and relaxation for men of the sea, very likely in the tradition of keeping the men from the pub and the demon drink.

Hopefully, someone will know if this was located on the same spot and was replaced by a grander building. But i did find a church bazaar in the Protestant school in Dunmore in 1898, which was trying to raise funds to refurbish the then Fishermen’s Hall. In 1905, another newspaper article stated that the Reading Room associated with the Fishermen’s Hall was then reinstated in Malcolmson Hall. Perhaps the names suggest an amalgamation of the functions, or perhaps they were located on the same site and the names were aligned over the years.

David Carroll emailed me subsequently to say that his own theory was “that the small hall that was beside St Andrew’s Church must have been known as the Fisherman’s Hall, which probably makes sense as most of the fishermen at that time came from Devon, Tenby, Scotland, Cornwall etc and worshipped in the church….The hall and a school ( closed c 1918) were in the same complex – later converted to a house.”

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