While out walking in the early morning sunlight last week, I spotted something that I haven't seen as clear and obvious ever before. The remains of what was once the Norman era tower house that is Buttermilk Castle. I've written about it before...
Its been a hectic week since my first blog last Friday in the new monthly format. Readership was well down, perhaps because people were out of the habit after a four week layoff. I don't know. Will definitely try whet the appetites before the next last Friday in July...
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.
I started 2019 with a pledge to publish a new book. Well I'm a lot of the way there, but there's been a hiccup and I wanted to give a brief update. As I said in January my working title was Stories from the Aft Oar and my chapters were based on stories I had heard...
In May I came to the difficult decision to change my weekly martime blog to a monthly publication. Several people have asked me why and so I thought it best to set out my thoughts and reasons. I first started blogging when in college as a mature student studying...
This mornings guest blog comes from Carrick On Suir but as with all things connected to the water, it travels fairly widely. Maurice Power, another of those supporters of my blog that I have come to rely on, introduces us to an institution on the River Suir in Carrick...
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.
As a child growing up in Cheekpoint, Dunbrody Abbey loomed large in our lives. It might have been in a different county, might have been separated by a fast lowing expanse of water, but it was a landmark that everyone knew, and I think, were proud of. We learned...
I started what has emerged into the tides and tales blog four years ago this month. It began with stories that concentrated on my youth in Cheekpoint, themes of life, occupation and structures or local features such as the quay, church and limekilns. My favourite...
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.
This months guest blog is brought to us by Brian Forristal who remembers his ancestors in a small cottage in Rochestown, Co Kilkenny beside the fast flowing River Barrow. A family of boatmen and farm labourers, Brian's recollections are set in the context of a walk, a...
During an eleven day siege of Waterford in 1495, a river bombardment by the cities defenders on Reginalds Tower, successfully sunk two and repelled nine other ships in an eleven day siege. A cannon from one of those sunken ships was discovered in Waterford in 1901, and to date it continues to be the oldest known cannon from an engagement in Ireland, perhaps not surprising as it was also the first known use of cannon in a conflict in Ireland.
Introduction The sinking of the RMS Titanic is a world renowned event. I was reared on the story either from local storytelling or the movie “A Night to Remember”. But it was only in recent years I even thought to research a local connection, when I came across a...
On January 23rd 1645 one of the most surprising victories of any Irish action against the English was realised, when an Irish force managed to sink the flagship of the English parliamentary navy at Duncannon Co. Wexford. The ship was the Great Lewis and she lies to...
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...
I wrote previously about growing up in Cheekpoint in the 1970’s and how the feast of St Patrick was primarily a religious occasion and a very welcome day off from school, if it fell in mid week. As I recalled in that piece getting to the nearest St Patricks Day...
We have recently explored the exploits of a noble New Ross sea captain, John Williams. This week I wanted to look into some of the activities of one of his ships, the Lady Bagot. The Lady Bagot was one of several vessels operated by the Graves family of New Ross and...
Today's guest blog comes from Roy Dooney who has previously delivered a facinating presentation to the Barony of Gaultier Historical Society on the building of Dunmore harbour. I'm indebted to Roy for typing up his presentation for sharing with the readership. I found...
On Tuesday 12th January 1926 the SS Valdura ran headlong onto the rocks west of Kilmore Quay at a spot appropriately known as The Forlorn (Crossfarnoge Point) She had sailed from Baltimore on December 29th and was bound for Liverpool. [1] Her holds were filled with...
Living beside a river, your neighbours often include those on the opposite bank. As rivers tend to be natural boundaries, these neighbours can be in different counties or indeed provinces and so it was between my grandmother in the Russianside Cheekpoint, Co...
Following the death of their captain, the men of the barquentine Herbina were described as an “unchristianlike” crew. Anchored off Passage East in February 1892, an inquiry was held in the village where their actions were examined and the judgement of their character passed. But was it fair, or even accurate?
Over a three-day period of January 22nd, 23rd and 24th 1862, a large number of shipwrecks and loss of life took place in Waterford Harbour and along the County Waterford coastline, making it probably one of the most catastrophic events in the maritime history of Waterford.
The Ballinlaw Ferry has a proud ancient history. It ran in various forms, probably from the early Christian era to the early 1960’s and must have transported tens of thousands of people in that time from the most exalted to the most humble and I’m confident that we will never really know the true extent of it.
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