Dock work was treated as casual labour in Dublin Port right up to the 1970s. As such, men would gather at the docks each day in the hope that they would be called to work by the foreman in a daily address known as 'The Read'. Foremen from different…

An outstanding coastal strip, the South Wexford Coast extends from the early 13th century lighthouse at the craggy, limestone tip of Hook Head in the west, to the gently rounded, granite headland of Carnsore Point in the east; a foreland called…

‘Where sea water meets the Spotted fields, a young Kurdish arm would neverUnhook the window handle to admit the openingfragrance of honeysuckle. Our Wexford peoplewould never eat our strawberries, drink our tea.’ ~ ‘Our…

For some 25 years I regularly took students from Bangor University to Ireland. We set off on the Friday afternoon boat from Holyhead and then settled into our lodgings. On Saturday we went south: to the south Dublin tombs, including Brennanstown,…

Bring the past to life and reimagine the present with a range of perspectives as diverse as the connections between Ireland and Wales across the Irish Sea. Developed by Mary-Ann Constantine and Cathrine Agnew of the Ports, Past and Present Project…

As my name suggests, I have crossed the Irish Sea many times. I first went to Ireland to pursue archaeology in 1960 when I was researching the North Wales megalithic tombs and needed to see the Irish ones as well. My memory of that first visit to…

The Nature Trail is just over a mile long, with varying terrain and should take around 40 minutes to complete. Beginning at the car park, follow the markers on the Port Places app. This experience will help to guide you round the trail and give you…

My Grandfather Charlie, his brothers, and their sister were all born at Hean Castle, Saundersfoot, in the second half of the nineteenth century. Whilst most of them stayed around the village, one left for Australia and another brother, Thomas, moved…

The original settlement called Dubhlinn took the form of a Gaelic monastery due south of the pool in what is now the Aungier Street district. This was a typical enclosure site, still partly preserved in the pattern of streets focused on medieval St…

At the time of the takeover of Dublin by Anglo-Normans in 1170, what is now Essex Street West may still have been serving as a place for loading and unloading ocean-going trading vessels. Before then, the archaeology of Wood Quay revealed flood…