Catching the first glimpse of the green fields of Ireland on the skyline is one of the highlights of a sea crossing bound for the port at Rosslare Harbour. While many different vistas present themselves to the traveller depending on the angle of…

“If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”―Rudyard Kipling. I love visiting Museums. You’ll always hear Writers and Storytellers say that stories, in whatever form, bind us and that we can only really learn how…

The gun tower in Front Street, Pembroke Dock, is commonly referred to as the 'Martello tower'. However, when it was built it was known as a Cambridge Gun Tower. Emperor Louis Napoleon III was building a Second Empire of France in the 1840's, and was…

The veneration of saints and their holy wells has a long tradition across Wales. The wells around Holyhead are no different. Their former use and importance reflects centuries old traditions and changes in attitudes towards life and folk…

One of the most fascinating and certainly the largest objects on display at the Museum is the Franta Belsky mural that once graced the Forward Lounge on the Holyhead ship MV St Columba. The vessel was named after the sixth century Irish monk who…

A cold dark night in December 1920 saw the most celebrated of the Fishguard’s many lifeboat rescues. The boat in question was Charterhouse, funded by the school of that name and presented to the RNLI station in 1908. The boat was built for rough…

The Duke of Northumberland lifeboat was revolutionary in that she used water jets instead of propellers. Water was drawn in through the forward section of hull and forced out at great pressure through the vents in the side of the boat. This made it…

Much has been written on the sense of displacement that stems from the diasporic experience. Growing up in Britain with a firm sense of Irishness, identity has always resided in something of a halfway-house. In Britain, you’re part of ‘that Irish…

At the beginning of 2020, Rosslare had 6 sailings a week to and from continental Europe. By the end of April 2021, this number had increased to 34. This unprecedented increase in direct sailings was a direct consequence of and response to the form…

Gillian has put a little mistake in this poem! Listen carefully. Can you spot what it is? What word would you use instead? “C’mon, we’ll go down The Mermaid and collect some firewood on the way.” They’re my Grandma’s words. She lived in…