With Waterford Harbour to the west, Slade Bay to the east, and the Irish Sea to the south, Hook Peninsula is the southern most point of County Wexford. Like a sentry guarding passage, Hook Lighthouse stands 100 feet high, with walls of remarkable…

Rosslare Harbour has undoubtedly been a mixed blessing since its construction, which began in 1867. However, for the community of people living in an area once known as Rosslare Fort, the downsides of the building of Rosslare Pier and viaducts…

In December 1917, a double tragedy was to befall the port of Waterford. Within a few days of each other two merchant ships the SS Coningbeg, and the SS Formby were sunk by a German U-Boat. The ships operated a twice weekly trade route between…

The Mariners’ Church, Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire) which is today the home of Ireland’s National Maritime Museum was once the principal Church of Ireland in the town. It was a thriving church throughout the nineteenth century with its local…

A Brief History: Arklow bay is home to a natural sea bank that stretches 10 miles, often referred to as ‘Arklow Bank’ which, due to its natural topography has been the ruin of many seafaring vessels. It is this bank that was one of the main reasons…

Peerless Jim Driscoll (1880-1925) was an outstanding boxer of Irish heritage. Driscoll is described as ‘a fighter who is always mentioned in lists of the greatest pugilists never to have won a world title’. Driscoll grew up in an extremely poor…

The bow of Crofton Road spans Dún Laoghaire harbour. Named for the nineteenth-century Harbour Commissioner, James Crofton, it is today a vibrant seaside address with a rich history. The 1901 census lists just over a dozen residences, but the…

Sailing ships needed large crews and a seafarer tradition became an important source of employment in Wexford in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The fishing industry thrived, and with it the prosperity of this coastal community. By 1788…

In the early twentieth century, coastal trading supported the movement of goods along the east coast of Ireland and the west coast of Wales and England. This was a centuries old activity and a way of life for many families on both sides of the Irish…

Along the river Barrow, nestled upon a Caledonian batholith, on the Kilkenny side of the bank, lies a little town named Graiguenamanagh. It is in this village that our story begins, with a man called Gorman who was busy cutting Granite on the Quay…