A lime kiln is a structure that uses heat to break down limestone rock into limestone powder. The kiln sites that remain in the harbor are based on a similar design and probably date back to the mid-18th century. Most of these kilns are double kilns, meaning they have...
The Marquis de Bombells visited Waterford in November 1784, and over a week, made some observations on the area which he probably would not have had the time for, except that he was waiting on a ship to take him away. Similar indeed, to another foreign visitor we...
I’d imagine that for as long as humans have lived in the harbour of Waterford, men and women have gone to fish. Perhaps one of the most common and dependable species was the Herring. My first experience of the fishery was as a boy washing fish boxes and...
Waterford harbour, hasn't always be known as such. Historically there have been several names, some of them very colourful and descriptive. Of course many others must be lost to us in the pre-history of the nation. Patrick Power in his History of Waterford, City &...
As a child growing up in Cheekpoint, there were a number of curious features off the main quay known as Eel boxes. The Eels which were fished from the village were placed into the boxes to be kept alive, and when the buyers came the eels were removed, weighed...
As a child, Halloween was a lot simpler. There again in the early 1970's with one TV channel (RTE 1), the ability of advertisers or foreign TV shows to influence our daily lives was much less than today. Although they are very different countries between then and...
In the early decades of the 19th century, traditional fishing methods were turned on its head with the introduction of the Scotch Weir to Ireland. The origins are confirmed by the name, and the method of fishing is typified by what remains of the Woodstown weir near...
As part of this years Imagine Arts Festival, Deena and I were asked to lead a walk in our local community on a theme reflecting our heritage and arts. To do this we thought about the many songs, stories, poetry and prose that surround our area and reflect our rich...
This coming week will see another significant historic anniversary. For on the 16th of October 1171 Henry II launched his fleet which beached on the 17th at Crooke in Waterford Haven as the harbour was then known. As he stepped ashore he became the first foreign king...
Any walk we ever do that includes the Minaun and its stunning views, invariable leads to a mention of Oliver Cromwell and his vow to take Ireland by Hook or by Crooke. Looking out the harbour we have the Hook peninsula in Co Wexford on the left and Crooke below...
We celebrated the Waterford Harvest Festival recently which had a significant input from the local Grow it Yourself GIY project. Its a philosophy that I have subscribed to with my wife Deena for many years, and I have my grandmothers generation to thank for...
Last weekend there was a homecoming of sorts to Cheekpoint. Members of the extended Condon family, the offspring of Mary Doherty and Larry Condon who married in the first decade of the last century, had a gathering in the village. I was asked to come to one event...
In 1932, a Hungarian sea captain, Rudolph Udvardy, who was master of the MV Honved,was in the port of Waterford with a cargo of Maize. To free up berth space, the Honved dropped down to Cheekpoint, where she anchored while the ship waited for an outgoing cargo....
Comparisons, it's said, is the thief of joy. So when it comes to the two lighthouses at either side of the mouth of the harbour, I would suggest that it is silly to choose one over the other. Hook light is much better known as the oldest working lighthouse in Europe,...
On the 1st September 1942, the SS Irish Willow rounded Hook Head and steamed for Dunmore East. With her destination Waterford port, it was a familiar course. But rather than being met by the pilot boat, this time she was intercepted by the local life boat Annie...
The day after my fathers ninth birthday, 26th August 1940, he witnessed something that profoundly marked his life. Up on the hills around the village he caught sight of his first ever German air plane which was followed closely by the dropping of bombs on the small...
This Sunday 21st August my wife Deena and I will conduct a heritage walk through Faithlegg commencing at 12noon at the Church. Its the 11th year that we've organised something for Heritage Week . Faithlegg is probably best known now as a location for weddings,...
Floating mines were a feature of both World Wars. These menacing mines in Waterford Harbour were deployed at sea or around the coast. The target was primarily the shipping that sustained the Allied side or thwarted naval incursions. Although the sailors who suffered...
Standing on the breakwater at Dunmore East last night, I found it hard to try to cast my mind back to the scene 99 years ago to the day. For on August 4th 1917 just after midnight, an explosion ripped through the hull of a U Boat laying mines between Dunmore and the...
I recently recalled the selling of Salmon in Cheekpoint. In conclusion of that piece, I mentioned the practice of running fish, a means of earning a bit of extra cash for some of life's pleasures, which invariably meant drink and cigarettes. Because the...
This week marks the 110 anniversary of the opening of the Barrow Railway Viaduct, 21st July 1906. Built to connect Waterford with Rosslare, the bridge crosses the Rivers Barrow & Nore at Drumdowney in Kilkenny and Great Island in Wexford. The event was officiated...
Being from Cheekpoint, I've often met people both at home and abroad with positive memories about the village or its inhabitants. Its usually a connection with an individual but also recollections of views from the Minaun, the meeting of the three sisters, or a meal...
A picture paints a thousand words they say, and that was proven yet again recently when Catherine Heffernan posted to the Cheekpoint Faithlegg and Coolbunnia Facebook page. The photo was of the Morning Star II, the pilot boat that operated from Cheekpoint when we were...
As a salmon fishing village, Cheekpoint, like all the others in the harbour, had to have a means of selling their fish. In our case we either had to travel to sell them. Or, when we were children in the 1970's, the buyers traveled around to collect the...
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