Paul Grant The Poet Patrick Kavanagh once said “The man that knows his own half acre knows the world”. The older we become the more nostalgic we become. The summers were warmer, the grass was greener, life was simpler. We need to be careful not to look back with rose...
David Carroll Shanoon, Sean Uaimh – “Old Cave” Canon Patrick Power, Place names of the Decies Pedantic people might tell you that Shanoon, the rugged stretch of high cliff that overlooks the harbour at Dunmore East is strictly not within the ‘Three Sisters Family’ of...
Joe Dunphy I was born within two throws of a stone from the “sweet valley of the Nore” in Grennan, Thomastown that I believe sums up the Nore in all its best aspects. I refer to its beauty, its value and its centuries of history in the lovely region we are blest to...
Maria White Doyle contributes this article as a contribution to Heritage Week November 2015, the weather had been typically miserable. Heavy rains had eroded the cliffs along the coast, washing the clay and grass from above down to the rocks below but this particular...
Heritage Week continues with Myles Courtney, and the Salmon Ponds of New Ross The ebb and flow of a river, its rising and falling tides can instill a sense of ease and relaxation in an observer. Since my retirement, I have had time to be more observant and...
Deena Bible The Green in the village of Cheekpoint, Co Waterford is, as its name suggests, a grassy area close to the quays and situated beside the rivers edge. If you stand in the middle of the Green you can see the boats tied up around the quays, people coming and...
Author: Fintan Walsh Passage East in the era described On the banks of the Suir that flows out to the seaLies a quaint little village that’s like heaven to meSteeped in our history and also Ireland’s folkloreIt is called Passage East and it’s a place I adore In these...
Patsy Travers Mullins. The year is 1566 and a man named Tom Butler is standing in the courtyard of Ormonde Castle in Carrick-on-Suir. He is waiting for a ship coming upriver from Waterford. His focus is on a large semi-circular docking area for ships and barges built...
For Irelands Heritage Week 2020, Deena and I will host a series of guest blog posts each day on the Placenames of the Three Sister Rivers, the Barrow Nore and Suir. Starting on Saturday 15thAugust, we will post each day culminating in publishing a new...
Irish placenames are intriguing and sometimes confusing. Many originate from our early history. They may have been shaped by historic events, or relate to geographical characteristics. Some have been confused by language from our history of conquest. But they can also...
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...
I've a long association with Moran's Poles, it's provided me with some of my happiest times, and to date, the scene of the worst tragedy in my life. As a child, it was a working space, where the fishermen hauled out their punts and prongs to dry them out over winter...
The local regattas of Waterford, New Ross and the harbour have a long tradition, and the season of events in 1893 was as widely attended and as fiercely competed as any other years. To the victors went the spoils and the bragging rights, to the losers disapointment and a determination to do better at the next event. But tempers sometimes flared, plans went awry and drink added fuel to already tense situations. 1893 would prove to be a lively racing season.
As we enter another bank holiday weekend in lockdown, David Carroll has put together this maritime history quiz of the SE area to give you a bit of a distraction. The questions have a maritime/historical basis and any of my regular blog readers will have a good...
Deena and myself have found many ways to endure the Covid 19 lockdown, good food, plenty of exercise and some other daily habits such as watching the 9pm news to be informed and remembering to keep in touch with family and friends to break the isolation. One daily...
In recent weeks planning permission was sought by SSE Airtricity to begin the process of removing the old heavy oil producing power plant located on Great Island Co Wexford. In older times before decommisioning and construction of the new gas fired station. Courtesy...
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...
Today is a historic and unprecedented first I believe. Due to the spreading pandemic of Corona Virus, the national Irish holiday of St Patricks Day is effectively cancelled. No parades, the pubs where people traditionally "wet the shamrock" are closed and people are...
The appearance of a ghost ship on the Cork coastline during the recent Storm Dennis raised many eyebrows and prompted a flood of questions. The vessel was the cargo ship MV Alta abandoned in the mid-Atlantic in 2018 when ten crew members were rescued from the ship by...
I'm delighted to be featuring on the RTE Radio 1 Sunday Miscellany radio show again this week. It will be broadcast Sunday morning, 23rd February 2020 after the 9am news. This is my second appearance on the show, and unlike my previous...
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.
Whilst researching a story recently I happened upon a small snippet in the Passage East Jottings in the Munster Express dated 25th January 1963. It was just a mention of my father who was unmarried at the time, and he had just joined a ship at New Ross after spending...
Since I started blogging in 2014 I have set aside a blog for Christmas. It's a break from my normal fare, but isn't Christmas a break from routine too! At least for those of us lucky enough to have a job that doesn't involve pulling a shift over it. So for this year I...
I would like to wish all my readers a happy and peaceful Christmas and hope everyone will have a healthy, prosperous and productive 2020. Looking forward to more blogs and of course the publication of my second book in April. Take care for now.
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