Prong Archives - Tides & Tales

26/04/201926/04/2019

Rochestown roots, an Irish Homestead

This months guest blog is brought to us by Brian Forristal who remembers his ancestors in a small cottage in Rochestown, Co Kilkenny beside the fast flowing River Barrow. A family of boatmen and farm labourers, Brian’s recollections are set in the context of a walk, a few years back through the Rochestown townland. He stopped for a while outside the family homestead which prompted a flood of memories. Over to you Brian.

The zinc roofed cottage signifies the birth of the Forristal family from my perspective, as it was where my grandfather and great grandfather originated. Looking in on it now, its position emanates ‘homestead’ and I can feel the pull of my roots back to this hallowed spot. Passing by there on Saturday 17^th October 2015, I could still sense very strongly the serenity and tranquility of the place, as I peered through the gates and cast my eyes across the remnants of family history. My grandfather, Thomas Forristal was born on 23^rd June 1886 in the cottage in Rochestown, to the union of John and Mary Forristal nee Reddy. He was the fourth of five children.

His father is listed on his birth cert as a farm labourer, but on the 1901 census he was a boatman. This coincides with the stories of him working as a ferryman on the river, probably seasonal work, and more likely he worked for the local farmers during the winter months. Thomas is not listed on the 1911 census, which may infer that he was either out of the parish on that night, or had by then moved to Waterford city for work.

Brian’s hand drawn map of the area and the hunting ground of local fishermen

The five children born in the cottage include Thomas’ brothers James, Patrick, Jack and the eldest, a sister, named Bridget. When the then owner, Jimmy Walsh showed me and my dad around the cottage in the 1990’s (Dad’s first visit since its new occupants)we were amazed at how small the interior looked. What I found very interesting was where the fold down table was positioned; you could still see the brackets, a great space saver. There were hollows in the wall which held the pails of water, so you had to be very economical with the little space that was available. There was a small loft upstairs, which was a bedroom, and a room/shed next door was used for the same – which raises the question of where everyone slept?

Fishing and boating was in their blood and they fished on the Barrow. My grandfather and his brother Jack took part in many regattas over the years and were very competitive; I have a copy of a programme from a Waterford regatta from 1925 in which they were both listed along with other men from Glenmore and Slieverue, and I know from talking to people around the parish that Jack in particular was feared by many crews in competition.

1925 Waterford Regatta programme

Their brother James is listed at home in the 1901census but by 1911 he is in Clonmel where he is a boarder at house #4 in Gladstone Street. He is listed as 31 years of age and working as a clerk in a coal yard; he had joined the Irish Volunteers and was out in 1916. During the War of Independence he joined the 3^rd Tipperary Brigade and fought throughout that conflict, but played no part during the civil War. He died on 29^th May 1961 aged 78, and is buried in St Patricks Graveyard in Clonmel.

Landing place in the lower Barrow where boats were moored and a place of work, leisure and storytelling
*Brian Forristal*

John or Jack as he was more commonly known is also listed as a boatman in the 1901 census and may well have worked with his father during that period; he is listed as being 17 years old. He also worked in various labouring jobs around the townland, but is best remembered for his rowing prowess on both the Suir and Barrow rivers. Tommy Connolly (who Brian has introduced to us on the blog before) once said of him “By Christ, he was an oarsman” and in the only photograph I have of him he looks the part; tall, broad shoulders, wearing a cap and under his nose a sweeping moustache, fashionable at the time. Unfortunately Jack died a young man from peritonitis in the city infirmary here in Waterford city on 19^th July 1939 aged 55 years. Quickly and without warning, as a burst appendix does, a silent and deadly killer that stripped Rochestown of one of its favourite sons. At the present I am a year older now, than he was when he died, and that puts things into perspective.

A traditional boat of the lower Barrow, a prong with draft net ready to set on her stern. Brian Forristal

Paddy was by all accounts the quiet one of the family, I don’t know. He was the last of the family to live in the cottage, and in old age moved in with my Grandmother and grandfather in Morgan Street. I have a photograph taken with my grandfather and himself in the yard behind the house, in which he looks like he is smiling, and on the other hand grandad looks deadly serious. He was also supposed to be very curious in appearance, and liked to dress well and look after his clothes. Which brings me to Tommy Connolly telling me that if paddy walked down the mud to give a hand pulling a prong ashore, he would stroll back up onto the bank and there would not be a speck of mud on him. When I put it to Tommy that would not be unusual if he had wellington boots on, he retorted that that he was talking about when he had his shoes on! Surely impossible, but not according to Tommy, who stated that mud and dirt evaded him and he always looked clean and polished. I have no idea of what paddy worked at all his life, a farm labourer no doubt, dad did not mention it, and now in the mists of time I realise I should have asked him more details.

Paddy remained a bachelor, just like Jack, and died on the 11^th march 1953, aged 64 years, again laid to rest in the family plot in the Big Glen.

My grandfather Thomas moved into Waterford city to work, and from family recollections he worked on the Clyde wharf as a docker/checker. We found out that he was previously married before my grandmother came on the scene, and this was intriguing to me as I sought out this elusive woman, and what had happened to her.

Her headstone, at the back of the chapel in Glenmore, records her name as Catherine Roche, and she was from the townland of Scartnamore, not far from Rochestown. She was born in 1886, and died in 1923 at the age of 37 years. Family history tells me that she died whilst 7 months pregnant on their first child which was very sad. The following appeared in the Waterford Evening News on Saturday March 3^rd 1923. Death of mrs K Forristal, (37) We regret to announce the death, which took place yesterday at her residence, Morgan Street, of mrs Kate Forristal, wife of Thomas Forristal. The funeral will take place tomorrow in Glenmore.

What a sad time this was for granddad, to lose the love of his life so young and so tragically. Some years ago on one of our walks, dad and I went to Scartnamore, and we met Pat Grace who was able to show us the ruins of the house that Catherine once lived in. It was at one time a fine two storey country house set in off the lane in a medium sized haggard. The ruin is now down to one level and overgrown. It is situated near the end of the lane that comes in from the High Road and that runs towards Kilcolumn graveyard. So it was a very remote setting brimming with peace and quiet, and having only a couple of cottages around them.

I often think of that day, March 4^th 1923 with granddad standing at the graveside in Glenmore, a cold March wind in his face, and having to lay to rest the two most important people in his life. Life throws up many unfair challenges to everyone, but he probably thought ‘why did I get the cruelest of them all?’ What if they had survived? We would not be here today, and be able to talk about them and remember them. His life then took another journey when he met my grandmother Sarah Foran. He was working on the docks and she was employed in a shop in Patrick’s Street, over which she lived. They married and had five children and the story went on from there, and here we are. When I am in Glenmore graveyard paying my respects, I go to Catherine’s grave and say a prayer for her and her baby. I feel I owe that to granddad at least. Thomas Forristal died on the 29^th April 1955 aged 68 years.

Clyde Wharf, where Thomas was employed, viewed from the North Quays via Brendan Grogan

As a tail end to the above I managed to get copies if the 1901 and 1911 census returns and we find Catherine aged 14, and registered as Kate in the 1901 census, living with her father and mother in Scartnemore-Rathinure. Her parents John (farmer) and Kate Roche, her two brothers and two sisters. Interestingly they had on the night four lodgers who were all navvy’s presumably working on the construction of the Waterford to new Ross railway line. In the 1911 census she was still at home and aged 22? One has to be very careful about some of the entries as the ages sometimes do not add up. The navvy’s were long gone from the house at this time.

And so, last but not least, we come to the only sister to inhabit that household, my father’s aunt Bridget.

The only image I have seen of her was a photocopy of a print that Billy Forristal gave me many years ago. It shows Bridget standing outside the cottage, proudly wearing her hat, and overhead a magnificent canopy of reed thatch covering the roof. To her side a bicycle stands against the wall. All that I have been told of her by dad was that she was a lovely woman, proud and hardworking, who looked after the menfolk of the house, with diligence, family love and devotion, above and beyond the call. She never married and lived all her life there in Rochestown. Tommy Connolly told me a snippet of information about her, and that was that on the 1^st may every year she would go out into the yard, and having cut a bough of hawthorn, she would place it on the top of the dung heap or tie it to the nearest tree, and then set about decorating it in honour of our lady for the duration of the month. And so Bridget fades into the mists of time like so many others, and the faint memories leave their trace around the cross roads of Rochestown……and now we take to the road again…

Brians writing underscores the deep and lasting connection a sense of place creates. Its something I’m sometimes lucky enough to share with visitors to my own area. To see the old homestead, a grave, where a family member worked or went to school creates a deep bond with an area, a connection that seems to transcend time and place. But I’m also very conscious of those who are not remembered, who left no trace, not even the stones of their mud cabins remaining. Which brings to mindthe English poet Edward Thomas, and some specific lines from his poem Roads (1916)
“Roads go on
While we forget, and are
Forgotten like a star
That shoots and is gone.”

Next month Maurice Power takes us to Carrick On Suir where we meet a working boat and boat man, that in the fullness of time has almost become iconic. That of course is my view, next month you can decide

Submit a guest blog

If anyone reading this has a blog that they would like to submit for consideration they can email me at tidesntales@gmail.com to discuss. The blog should relate to the areas maritime heritage be 1200 words approximately. I’m always delighted to get new material, and would love to hear from younger readers too, who might have ideas to share. The purpose of the guest blog is to widen the scope and allow other local voices to emerge from around the harbour, coast or the rivers of the three sisters

05/01/201824/01/2019

The Waterford harbour ‘barrell boat’

For generations in the harbour here a small and awkward looking fishing craft was a constant feature. Called locally a Prong, it had a variety of uses which probably sustained its use for so long, but the origins of the craft are a mystery and almost now extinct, it is still remembered fondly in the villages and along the waterways where it was once renowned.

John Moran (New York) and for’ad John Joe Heffernan RIP both. 1950’s at Ryan’s Shore

The Waterford harbour prong was for generations a versatile and useful boat. Its primary advantage in the area was that because of their barrel shaped bottom (keel-less) she could slide out across the mudbanks in the rivers and as such gave access to the rivers at any stage of tide. Indeed many say the construction of a prong lends itself more to coopering skills than boat building. They could also float in a cup full of water. Brian Walsh of Hi-Lite TV captured a launch as part of an event in Cheekpoint in 2005. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb4htVrmEcE

Although no one knows for sure about the origins, the prong is arguably a descendant of the Norwegian Pramm, a seal hunting boat used in the frozen wastes of the Northern seas to traverse ice fields. Timber built with a transom stern and a distinctive sheer, the major difference is that the pramm/praem was generally clinker built. The Waterford variety is carvel built. (Locally it is said we changed to carvel bottom to reduce the noise while pooching salmon in the dark) My father had a tale when we were growing up of the first prong coming off a Norwegian schooner. As he told it, the schooner was moored off Cheekpoint, and the sailors came ashore to the pub. The locals thought it hilarious as the sailors left their boat in the dock as the tide was dropping. When the sailors emerged from the Suir Inn, the locals were at first astonished, and next very envious of their ability to regain the water. So much so, my father claimed, a plan was hatched to nab the boat and copy the design. Fact of fiction we may never know, but it was a good yarn.

Brian Walsh’s video was shot as part of a local initiative to celebrate the Ireland Newfoundland connections of 2005. We also hosted an exhibition of local maritime culture and I also set myself the task of trying to research and write up a local history of the Prong. We succeeded in making it locally avaialble at the time but I have now published this as an ebook and it can be downloaded from Amazon. (It will cost 0.99p which is the cheapest I can make. I had planned to make it free of charge, but apparently that is not in the Amazon business model)

One story that does not feature in the booklet however was one my grandmother told me. In the 1920’s when she was just a child (Nanny was born Feb 2nd 1919) her father went off to Waterford one day with fish to sell in the family prong (I’m fairly confident it is the same boat as photographed in the 1950’s). Later that evening he had not returned and the alarm was raised but as it was dark, little could be done except a vigil was kept through the night in the Russianside. At sunrise the next morning the local boats took to the water and the prong, which were always painted to blend in with the shoreline, was finally spotted. It was found having somehow drifted over the Shelbourne Banks and into the grass on the Campile pill. Fearing the worst they came alongside only to find her father sleeping off the effects of a mighty session. He had rowed out into the river and once the tide caught him, fell asleep in the bottom and allowed the prong to take him home!

A prong off Ryan’s Quay Buttermilk and Nuke in Wexford in the background

The prongs are now almost extinct, but a few remain, including my uncle Sonny’s which is in the National museum of Country Life in Turlough House, Castlebar, Co Mayo. The traditional skills building course in Waterford recently refurbished the prong featured in the video above, Paddy Doherty’s prong, which was paid for by his relatives. And Michael Bance with his pals rebuilt one in Woodstown as a project.

For more information see Traditional Boats of Ireland History, Folklore, Construction. pp 372-378

I also wrote about its use in the rivers previously

My book on growing up in a fishing village is now published.

Details of online purchases, local stockists or ebook store avaiable here

19/02/201606/12/2018

The Prong – curious and unique boat of the Three Rivers

As a child there was many sights that I took for granted in a traditional fishing community such as Cheekpoint. Sights like men repairing nets, beam trawls laid out on the village green, weir poles at high water mark and timber boats of all shapes and descriptions. Of the boats, the most curious and interesting was the Prong. A boat, shaped like a halved bottle and with a hull akin to a barrel, which every fishing family in the village had once owned.

Michael “Spud” Murphy & Chris Doherty rowing
Paddy Doherty’s Prong 2005

The uniqueness of the Prong, was that unlike the other boats, it didn’t possess a keel. The lack of this meant that although hard to handle to the inexperienced, it would sit upright when grounded on the typical mud banks on the estuary. It also allowed the Prong to move on the mud. Essentially the Prong was a boat that could be launched into the river at any time of tide once sitting on a mud bank. This made it ideal in areas upriver from Ballyhack and Passage East and all the way to New Ross on the Barrow and Waterford on the Suir. (Above these the cot reigned supreme). In uses the Prong was versatile. It was a fishing boat, a work boat, a transport vessel and used for social outings, and originally came in all manner of sizes.

A Prong in the City early 20th C
via Paul O’Farrell WHG

In the eighties the Prong was a diminishing craft. As much because of the decrease in men fishing as much probably as men who could repair them. One man who fished until he retired was Paddy “batty” Doherty who daily went to his eel pots throughout my childhood and it’s Paddy launching his Prong from below the lower quay at Cheekpoint that I recall the most.

Via Andy Kelly on Cheekpoint FB site
Animal transportation at Little island early 20th C

Typically the men would walk out through the mud, retrieving the anchor and mooring line as they went. The Prong was then rocked to break the grip between hull and mud. This done the bow was turned until it faced the river and then the men, or man in Paddy’s case, would sit astride the gunwale near the stern and push off. The Prong would slide down the mud bank and enter the river with a splash. The mud was washed off the boots before they were brought aboard and then away to fish.

My gran uncle Willie Moran retired from New York in the late eighties and I still recall that conversation one day between Paddy and my Father on Ryans shore, as Willie effortlessly rowed the Moran Prong up to Moran’s Poles with a boat full of driftwood. “Begod” said Paddy with some respect, “the yanks couldn’t take the river out of that man”

Moran’s Prong 1950’s

I once asked my Father about the origins of the Prong. He had a tale that the first Prong in the harbour came from a Norwegian sailing ship. The crew were at anchor at Cheekpoint and came in to gather shellfish to eat. They landed the Prong, and the tide went out, to the amusement of the locals. A crowd gathered to laugh at the Scandinavians, but mouths fell open when the sailors stepped aboard and pushed off to the River. The value was immediately realised. My Father of course in typical fashion went on to relate how they planned a way to separate the Norwegians from their craft, but he was probably telling me a yarn. It may all have been, but I like to think there’s a grain of truth to it, as there inevitably was in any story he told us.

Paddy Doherty’s Prong was patched up by Pat Moran in 2005 as part of a cultural exchange with Newfoundland. We managed to get two other Prongs to make a launch re-enactment and race which was kindly recorded by my friend Brian Walsh of HiLite TV. It still gives me a lift to see it, and I would dearly love to see it done again before too long.

A prong in the foreground of this interesting scene SS Rathlin
aground at Little island. Via Tomas Sullivan W Martitime page

When researching the Prong in 2004 the closest boat internationally that I could find was called a Prame. Chatham’s Dictionary of the Worlds watercraft gives about two pages to boats of the same or similar name. Although Scandinavia is included as a place of origin, so too is Holland, the Baltic, France, and as far as the Balkans. Most accounts describe a similar boat, although many are clinker built. Again, in Cheekpoint is an old story that some of the earlier Prongs were clinker built, but were discarded because they made to much noise when fishing at night. Interestingly, I came across an account of the Cheekpoint Regatta recently in the Munster Express of 14/9/1895 which lists the winners of a Praem race! Of the name used in the area of the Three Sisters, I can only imagine that it is a phonetic derivative of the original.

Blessing of Boats Cheekpoint 1930’s, note very large Prong

A booklet I edited in 2004 was referenced and used in the Traditional Boats of Ireland specifically in a section dealing with the Traditional Boats of Waterford Estuary. In recent times a successful effort was made by Micheal Bance, John Gossip, John Murphy and Peter Mulligans to build a prong. Again Brian Walsh was on hand to record it. More on the Woodstown Prong building here. And most recently again, the Connolly family, who inherited Paddy Doherty’s prong have started to have the boat restored. My Uncles, Sonny Doherty, Prong now resides in National Museum of Country Life in Mayo.

Prongs, punts and yawls were a hallmark of Waterford harbour. They have died out as the uses, and the men who used them, have. They were culturally significant, if not unique and to loose them from the water is to my mind a heritage loss. We’ve now started to realise the value of our churches, graveyards and built environment, Hopefully the value of our fishing communities in the harbour will be too.

I publish a blog each Friday. If you like this piece or have an interest in the local history or maritime heritage of Waterford harbour and environs you can email me at russianside@gmail.com to receive the blog every week.

My Facebook and Twitter pages are more contemporary and reflect not just heritage

and history but the daily happenings in our beautiful harbour:

F https://www.facebook.com/whtidesntales T https://twitter.com/tidesntales

References:
Mariners Museum. A Dictionary of the Worlds Watercraft. 2000 Chatham. London.
Críostóir Mac Carthaigh Ed. Traditional Boats of Ireland. 2008. Collins Press. Cork