An emigrants Christmas wish

by | Dec 23, 2016 | Christmas memories

To celebrate Christmas this year, I thought I’d bring you the words across the Irish sea, an emigrant’s lament, a cousin of mine from the Russianside, but one of my grandmother’s generation.  Fr Tom Doyle was one of two brothers to enter the...

Lime kilns of the harbour

by | Dec 2, 2016 | Built Heritage

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...
Waterford- November 1784; a Frenchmans view

Waterford- November 1784; a Frenchmans view

by | Nov 25, 2016 | Waterford History

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...

My first season of herring fishing 1983

by | Nov 18, 2016 | Ballyhack, Fishing Heritage

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...