As a child, Halloween was a lot simpler and cheaper. There again in the mid 1970's with one TV channel and limited radio, the ability of advertisers or foreign TV shows to influence our daily lives was much less than today. Although they are very different...
As a young boy fishing in the river, the one thing I hated more than anything, was keeping up to the nets with an oar. Pity the boy that let his mind wander and the boat blow off the nets, or worse, onto the mud on the flood tide on the coolagh (cool ya) mud. I first...
Pat Murphy of the Green always told me that according to Aggie Power of Daisy Bank House (Susan Jacobs Grandmother) the Reading Room was built in 1895, the year a horse called The Wild Man of Borneo won the Grand National. Mrs Adelaide Blake, (originally...
We have never had a visitor to the house that we haven't brought to the Minaun. That said, if it was good enough for the local landlord Cornelius Bolton who brought Arthur Young to the summit during his tour of Ireland in the 18th Century, it should be good enough...
Where would we have been without the Suirway bus? In the Cheekpoint of the 1960's to the 80's when cars were scarce and escape from the village was required the choices were few; shanks mare, boat or the Suirway bus! Suirway Bus has been serving the area since 1928...
I'm not sure when exactly Civil Defence started in the area but I joined in 1978 just as I began first year in De La Salle secondary school. At the time, Peter Power of Faithlegg was the unit leader and each Tuesday night if memory serves we would go up to the...
As a child growing up in Cheekpoint the two most obvious built landmarks, in terms of scale and impact were the Great Island Power Station and the Barrow Bridge. The power station was a noisy, dirty and rambling edifice that we knew we had to endure. The bridge...
It must have been at around the start of 4th class that we were first began learning our trade as it were on the altar in Faithlegg. It was a big affair. As youngsters we were up at the front of the Church for Sunday mass and any and all religious services and days...
On Saturday night, 12th Nov 1955 my Father, Bob Doherty and two others from Cheekpoint, my Uncle John and Jimmy (O'Dea) Doherty, were departing Liverpool as seamen aboard the MV Ocean Coast in dense fog. They were carrying general cargo and were bound for Falmouth....
When I was a child I used to come to the cottage on the Green on Sundays, long weekends and summer holidays. It was my Grandparents, Tommy and May White's house and it was always full of cousins, aunts and uncles and lots of gatherings and parties were held there. ...
SS Pembroke - AH Poole Collection NLI The SS Pembroke was built of steel by Laird Brothers of Birkenhead, in the year 1880 and was originally a paddle steamer. The Pembroke was registered at the Port of Milford. In 1896 the ship was altered by the shipyard into a...
The Cheekpoint Fishing Heritage Project will host a social evening in the Reading Room Cheekpoint on Saturday 23rd Aug 2014 at 7.30 - 10pm. The event has a charge of €5 but senior citizens and children are free. Funds raised will go towards the running costs of the...
Politicians in Ireland are currently at each others throats on the matter of water charges. Whatever your political views, which probably lie on or between two polar opposites – that water is a human right and should be provided free out of existing taxes, to water...
In 1937, the Irish Folklore Commission visited Faithlegg National School, then situated on the Old Road. They asked pupils in the boys class to go home and interview their relatives or elderly neighbours and to write down the stories about the village or area...
As a child in Cheekpoint there were various rhythms to the year. One was a boring repetitive one- school. There were others however, which were much more pleasant and one of the more interesting and natural was the fishery. I mentioned before the way of the tides...
With the coming of the Normans to Ireland a man named Aylward was granted the lands of Faithlegg in 1177 and this led to the establishment of a parish. At the heart of this parish system was an early church close by to which was a Motte and Baily castle. This would...
As a child growing up in a small southern Irish village, I have to say the 12th July "celebrations" in the North of Ireland seemed a long way away and very confusing. 12th July marked the defeat of England's James II by his Dutch son in law William III (King...
Anyone growing up in Cheekpoint, or anyone that visits can't but be impressed with the Barrow Railway Viaduct. Stretching from Co Kilkenny to Co Wexford across the Rivers Barrow and Nore (which join above New Ross) it's 2131Feet in length and up to the 1990's was the...
I'm not sure how many know of the Faithlegg Ice House. Like Limekilns, the purpose of them appear to have been forgotten. As a teen I remember walking in what we called locally the Oak Wood (although at the time all that remained were stumps under a...
I've spoken before about my maternal grandmothers feelings about emigration which put simply was a matter of great pain and loss. Last week got me to thinking about it more, as I met with cousin Ed and his family at a gathering in Crooke. Ed had travelled from...
Pat Murphy told me recently that as far as he knew the Cross on the Green was originally erected in 1913 by the local community. The Cross 2010 my niece Laura and daughter Ellen It followed a visit by a priest from the missions who came to preach in the parish. A...
Cheekpoint is located 7 miles downstream from Waterford City. It has been an important navigation point for the ports of Waterford and New Ross as it is located at the meeting point of the three sister river network, the Barrow, Nore and Suir. Between them the drain...
We all have particular clocks that we need to respond to. For farmers I guess it’s the dawn, when its light enough to see what your doing and which stretches to the dusk. All in all a long day in the height of the summer, but is balanced by the dark of winter. For...
I wrote last week about the earlier origins of Kilns and this post focuses on the design and methods employed. The local design is of a block shaped building of cut stone into which is built a firing chamber, lined with firebricks and insulated with rubble and clay. ...
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