I’m regularly asked three questions – One: Is the origin of the phrase By Hook or by Crooke local. Two: How did the Portlairge end up in Wexford? And finally three: When is Waterford getting a maritime museum?

The first has been mentioned in several blogs here, the second is in my book but the third is a little more complex. I may be accused of sitting on the fence on this one, but to be honest, although I would adore a maritime museum, is it a case that we actually just need to reinterpret what is already here…I actually believe so.

A small section of the Museum of Time features this image of the Veale family ship Melina. There are numerous examples of this maritime history throughout this and the other museums in the city.

Now there are a few points I would state at the outset, this is not something I have thought about on a whim – Waterford is a maritime city and formerly a port from at least the arrival of the Vikings up to the moving of the port to Belview in the 1990’s. So almost any aspect of our past has a maritime context. The major events, the buildings, the streets, the industries – for example, the Penroses went into crystal based on the profits made from the Newfoundland provisioning trade. The second point is that we already have several top-notch museums. Some argue we have too many, while at the same time they bemoan the fact that none of them celebrate the maritime. But for me these museums offer another asset to be harnessed. For again in considering our first point can you wander the Bishops Palace or Treasures without making the inevitable link to our maritime past? And in many cases, it’s very overt, it just ain’t marketed that way.

I have spoken to people involved with museums and the one thing they will tell you is that it’s not about a lack of content to showcase it’s the space to do it. Another challenge is how to get people to come back once they have seen it. How do you keep it fresh, updated and relevant? And lastly, how does a local community benefit from this? How do people in Cheekpoint benefit from a maritime museum in the city? How do I with my walking tour offerings or boat trips? So those are the questions that have informed what I am about to say.

Waterford’s maritime history reminds me of my youthful self…lacking in confidence and with no self-belief. I could only see what ways I was lacking…I could not see the positives, the assets I had, the strengths. In time I woke up to at least some of my potential and began to appreciate that I had much to be proud of and thankful for.

So if we were to look at Waterford and our maritime heritage from a strengths-based perspective what would we have?

My own approach to awaking this potential is that we need a fresh pair of eyes to explore the possibilities of our maritime heritage and to capture the extent of it. I would start with what is already there in museums, in buildings, in streets, bridges, the quays, Johns River and the industries. I would ask what can we do with what is here, now and with little or no major cost. I would want to know who is responsible for them, who do we need to talk to, how likely is it that this will be achieved.

I would also like a base from which our Maritime History is presented. Not a museum – a reception point from where local and visitor alike is guided towards the city with maritime eyes.

I would expect that this would not just include the city, but it would include anything maritime related along the three sister river network and the coast, and include the harbour villages of Cheekpoint, Passage East, Ballyhack, Arthurstown, Duncannon, Woodstown and Dunmore East. And why stop there, the coastline is dripping with heritage and history, Tramore, Dungarvan and Ardmore and the villages dotted between.

Although a maritime museum will eventually come, my basic argument is that with fresh eyes and a new approach, the maritime heritage of this wonderful county could be showcased in a way that keeps visitors returning, and most importantly to me – shares the footfall with the county and region…

Knock it if you will, point out the flaws, and tell me where I am wrong…but as much as I appreciate the current museum offerings, tell me how does a coach tour calling to the House of Crystal directly benefit Cheekpoint or Ballymacaw or Ring. It’s not that these museums are not needed, but why not a new approach to the maritime…one that highlights, preserves, develops and lifts the county, our rivers, and region.