Working Ryan’s Shore

by | Dec 5, 2014 | Uncategorised

As a child there was a popular song by Glenn Campbell called Rhinestone Cowboy.  Somehow, it wound its way into the local parlance, often sang about the exploits of a certain fisherman who worked Ryan’s shore (or the shore) for a living.  It could have...

Who was Adelaide Blake of Faithlegg

by | Nov 28, 2014 | Uncategorised

Adelaide Blake was the third daughter of Nicholas Mahon Power, landlord of Faithlegg from 1819 to 1873.  His youngest child, she was forty before she married John A Blake MP. Part of her legacy was the establishment of the Reading Rooms, Cheekpoint and the stained...

A fishy Tail!

by | Nov 21, 2014 | Cheekpoint memories, Fishing Heritage

It was a March evening in 1993 and my brother Robert had joined me with Pat Moran and Dermot Kavanagh as they sorted oysters on the back of a trailer in the Mount Avenue car park.  It was promising to be one of those frosty evenings, dry and cold and very...

Views from Cheekpoint Village

by | Nov 14, 2014 | Built Heritage, River Lore

Cheekpoint is a traditional fishing village 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...

Snowhill House and Quay

by | Nov 7, 2014 | Built Heritage, River Lore, World War I

Snowhill was, until recently, a mystery to me.  As a child I assumed it had to do with snowdrops, the late winter/early spring blooms that lift your spirits and reassure you that warmer, longer days are on the way.  Later I was told it’s origins related to an...