Concluding our examination of the placename Halfway House today, we showcase another wonderful building on the site, the commercial Ice House- the fridge freezer of the 19th Century. It utilised frozen water as a cooler area and a preservative for foodstuff –...
I'm indebted to David Carroll for this On This Day contribution to the blog today August 19th 2021. In it, David, who has written several guest features, explores the near-tragedy that occurred this day in 1988. Thankfully the keen eyes of a child playing at Dunmore...
The Halfway House site is one of the most densely populated sites of Lime Kilns that I know of. They were built to produce quicklime which had a variety of uses in agriculture and rural living in the 18th & 19th centuries. The site was chosen due to its location on the tidal Pill as I will explain. The operation of the kilns was a tough, physical task, but it could also be deadly as one young woman found to her cost at Halfway House.
Last week we looked at the operation of a saltwater mill, which harnessed the tides to power a mill wheel to grind local corn. This week, we will look at another innovative water-powered wheel, but this time it was freshwater, harnessed by man. Just off the main...
Introduction While last week we explored the origins of the placename, geographic location and the pub at Halfway House, this week I wanted to highlight two water mills that are on the site; the later Brook Lodge Mill, visable from the road, and a much earlier salt...
In an effort to have my say into the recent consultation on the expansion of Marine Protected Areas I drew on my own bitter experience of how the political system can treat those communities that lack political power. My fear about the expansion (although I welcome...
Halfway House For this year's Heritage Week event, and specifically Water Heritage Day I wanted to showcase a unique water-related site at the popular bar and restaurant known now as Jack Meades, but previously it was more commonly called Halfway House. Over the next...
Although in this day and age, multi millionaires look to the sky for their thrills, there was a time when they looked to the sea. One such example was an American millionaire named Howard Gould, who dropped anchor aboard his magnificent yacht Niagra at Passage East in...
A recent email from Donie Brazil with an image from Dunmore of a steamship caused a fair amount of research on my part. Donie had an image from his aunt's collection of a ship tied up at the East Pier in Dunmore, which could have easily been dismissed as a large...
Anyone walking or driving in Cheekpoint village, or indeed anyone entering the village park via the main gates will pass a very plain and unassuming piece of limestone. Plain as it is, it is a remarkable piece of Irish maritime history, for it is one of the last...
I was thrilled to be asked onto Tom MacSweeneys Maritime Ireland Radio Show to talk about my new book and to specifically talk about the Spider Light at the Spit bank, Passage East. Tom's show is published online, but it also goes out on 18 community radio stations...
Sunday 30th May 2021 dawned bright and breezy, a perfect day for my rescheduled fundraising walk to Dunmore East on behalf of the local RNLI lifeboat. The plan was simple enough in principle, to walk from Cheekpoint to Dunmore East, but as near to the water as...
The Irish newspapers of Christmas 1831 were alight with speculation after a ship sailed onto the sand banks of Bannow, Co Wexford with no crew. Aboard was a full cargo, some blood-stained clothing, a box of silver dollars and a dog. The ship was the La Bonne Julie of...
Due to the poor weather of late, I have decided to reschedule my fundraising walk to Sunday 30th May. Its disappointing after all the support and the meet ups I had planned, but I am hopeful that the following week will be just as good. Many thanks for all the...
I would like to thank David Carroll for this guest post on Captain Albert Bestic who served aboard the RMS Lusitania which was torpedoed on this day, May 7th 1915. Third Officer Bestic was one of those that survived. Over now to David for his account. Growing up in...
On a blustery Thursday afternoon, January 27th 1869, five Coastguard men said goodbye to their wives and children before leaving their homes in Dunmore East and traveling to Waterford city. The purpose was to collect a new lifeboat to be used at their station on the...
Decies is the Journal of the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society and is published in November each year. This years edition, #76, is packed with the usual high quality content but for those with a maritime history interest, it’s a particularly rich...
On Friday 16th April I appeared on Seascapes, the RTÉ Radio 1 maritime programme with Fergal Keane. Fergal very kindly interviewed me about my book Waterford Harbour Tides and Tales. We covered the background to my blogging and writing, discussed the importance of...
I'm delighted to be able to announce that all the residents of the Russianside, Cheekpoint, Co Waterford will receive the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 later this morning. Due to diplomatic considerations, a media blackout was insisted upon...
This month's blog comes from the pen of my cousin James and gives a fascinating glimpse into an era of history that many will have a general idea of and the Irish involvement. However, what was a surprise to me was the scale of Irish participation in the blockade...
A guest blog by David Carroll In 2024, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution will be celebrating two hundred years of saving lives of sea. The Royal National Institution for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck was founded in London on March 4th, 1824 by Sir...
It comes as a source of pride that Waterford has made such a unique contribution to the Irish national holiday. Ireland's oldest city staged the first parade in 1903, the first year the day became an official holiday. A citizen of the city, TF Meagher, flew the first...
A recent announcement that the Port of Waterford had commissioned a new pilot boat to be called the Portlairge II prompted a flurry of communication to me asking for details and some of the history of the pilots. So this months blog is a journey from 1816 to the...
A guest blog by David Carroll tells the tragic loss of the barque Venus B on Feb 21st 1885 at Ballymacaw and how it lived long in local folklore From 1937 to 1939, the Irish Folklore Commission enlisted more than 50,000 schoolchildren from 5,000 schools in Ireland to...
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