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...
Many of you will have heard of Freney the Highwayman, but Freney the river pirate? That's certainly a new one for me. Freney the Highwayman, Freney the Robber, James Freney the noblest highwayman in Ireland. These are just three of the titles I have encountered that...
The Tramore Coast Guard Station 1874 - 2024 by Ivan Fitzgerald Although small in scale (94 pages in all) this book packs a punch. Broken into twelve chapters, it covers the origins of the Coast Guard, the building of the Tramore station, and some of the life-saving...
The Tides & Tales Maritime Community Project has been selected as County Winner in the National Heritage Week Awards 2024 for our event Cheekpoint - A community of the Tides for the Waterford County Council local authority area. To say we are thrilled is an...
Cian Manning is one of Waterford’s most prolific writers and he has certainly scored again with his latest offering. This terrific book blends the immortal line of one of our favourite sporting heroes John Mullane. “I Love Me County – Waterford Sporting Stories”...
On the 8th of January 1890, the SS Torridon was showing distress signals off the Wexford coastline, at anchor in a SSW gale. Three days before the ship had been struck from behind by another vessel in the English Channel and had drifted helplessly for two days...
Congratulations to Ivan Fitzgerald for his new blog on the history of Tramore entitled Tramore of Yore. Ivan has long been a person I have followed and had several interactions with. There will be much maritime and general Waterford interest in his posts. Here's just...
Last month, we examined the foundation of the Duncannon Lifeboat station in 1869. This month, we will examine the station's service record and some of the shouts that the lifeboat, Richard and Anne Warner (sometimes the Warner was unused ), completed. We...
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...
By Damien McLellan Sunday, August 25th, 2024, concluded Ireland’s National Heritage Week, celebrating our cultural, historic, and natural treasures and resources. Of course, there were major national events, but mostly locals got together to share and enjoy perhaps...
1869 was an important date in the history of Waterford Harbour. In September of that year, a new lifeboat was placed at Duncannon, Co Wexford on the eastern shore of the harbour. Although it was only in place for 17 years and launched 8 times it saved 43...
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 introduce this guest blog, written by Avril Harris based on the diary entries of her father-in-law Ernie Harris of Waterford city. It gives a fascinating glimpse into the country of Ireland at the start of the 20th Century and a form of river traffic...
On Saturday 1st July 1902 the Paddle Steamer Ida ceased operation on the New Ross to Waterford run. The paddle steamers had commenced from the town in 1836 when the newly formed Waterford Steamship Company saw a means of getting agricultural produce to the city...
In June of 1837 Charlotte Elizabeth arrived at Bristol from London with her two sons, freshly released from their boarding school. They were to journey to Wexford via Waterford city and New Ross. To get there they needed to board a paddle steamer. They had already...
This year's Heritage Week event which runs from 17 – 25 August 2024 is titled Connections, Routes and Networks. The theme invites us to explore how we are connected through physical or cultural connections. Tides and Tales Maritime Community Project will mark this...
As part of the 2024 Mayday Mile fundraising efforts for the RNLI Team Dunmore East has been working away to raise donations towards this vital cause in a coastal community. This year my wife Deena and I have contributed by walking at least a mile a day for the month...
May marks our annual fundraiser for the local RNLI station that we depend on for so much- Dunmore East RNLI. This is our 4th year to participate and this time round we plan to do at least a mile a day for the month of May - 31 miles. My wife Deena and I will travel...
On Tuesday 30th April 2024 I was invited to speak at a gathering aboard the Cailin Deise river cruiser. My brief was to give a sense of the social aspect of the River Suir, and the people who resided upon it. Much of what others had to present was on the environmental...
May marks our annual fundraiser for the local RNLI station that we depend on for so much- Dunmore East RNLI. This is our 4th year to participate and this time round we plan to do at least a mile a day for the month of May. My wife Deena and I will travel about the...
In November 1842 the New Ross barque Ann, arrived at Passage East. An obligatory inspection by customs officials passed without difficulty and the ship anchored at Cheekpoint to await pilotage to her home port. However, once in New Ross another customs...
Distance 2km Difficulty: This is an easy going looped walk on grass and public roadway (predominantly bitumen and level but broken ground) Start: Commencing from Faithlegg Church car park notice board Welcome to Faithlegg. Nicholas Mahon Power, then landlord of...
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...
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