Stories and Tales of an Enterprising Place - South-East Ireland

Waterford Watercolours: The Clock Tower

2010-08-25T09:00:00.000+01:00

The Clock Tower is an important landmark on the city quays opposite Barronstrand Street. Built of granite and limestone it was erected in 1861 for the benefit of shipping. Originally known as the Fountain Clock, it had troughs for working horses to drink from. The clock completed in 1864, contains four four-foot dials; the original mechanism was replaced in 1954.

This painting is part of a collection of watercolours of Waterford by local artist John O'Regan, commissioned by Waterford Civic Trust and sponsored by local bodies and companies. This particular painting was sponsored by the Granville Hotel.

The watercolours were published in a diary for 1992,'93 and '94 after which they were donated to the municipal art collection of Waterford City Council.

Waterford Watercolours: The Cathedral

2010-07-28T09:00:00.000+01:00

This was the first post - Reformation Catholic cathedral to be erected in the British Isles. The site was granted by the (Protestant) Corporation and adjoined the 'Great Chapel' of penal days. The building was erected in 1793 - 1796 and was the last work of the Waterford architect John Roberts, who is unique in having designed both the Protestant and Catholic cathedrals of a city. It was masked by houses between it and Barronstrand Street. These were demolished in 1893, when the present façade was added.

This painting is part of a collection of watercolours of Waterford by local artist John O'Regan, commissioned by Waterford Civic Trust and sponsored by local bodies and companies. This particular painting was sponsored by Fewer McGinley Associates.

The watercolours were published in a diary for 1992,'93 and '94 after which they were donated to the municipal art collection of Waterford City Council.

The Malcolmson's

2010-07-02T09:00:00.001+01:00

The founder of the Malcomson business empire was David Malcomson, who came to Clonmel as a boy in 1774, David was involved in cross channel trading in corn and cotton. He married Mary Ffennel of Cahir Abbey and their sons Joseph, Joshua, John and William became involved in the family business. The Malcomsons were astute entrepreneurs and became aware of streamer developments.

In 1836 they founded the Waterford Steam Navigation Co. By February 1843 they opened a repair yard on the Park Road, known as the Neptune Iron Works for their growing fleet of ships. Joseph took charge of the Iron Works; his wide ranging shipping interests gave him first-hand knowledge of the technical revolution that was happening in iron ship building. 40 steamships were built in Neptune's yard between 1846 and 1882, several of them were large trans-atlantic ocean liners.

The Malcomsons were reputed to be the largest steam-owners in the world in the 1850s and 1860s. With in twelve years the Neptune Shipyard had a workforce of 300 men under the leadership of master shipbuilders John Horn.

In 1849 Malcomson's shipyard recruited John Horn, an outstanding shipbuilder from the Clyde, to manage Neptune. Horn was a master shipbuilder, trained in England and head hunted by Joseph Malcomson. Horn had been trained by Robert Napier, one of the greatest marine engineer and shipbuilders of the era. Horn became foreman of Napier's marine engine works in the Clyde when he was only 18.

Horn understood and practised Brunel's construction techniques while adding his own innovations. He initiated a very ambitious and aggressive programme of shipbuilding making a mark at home and abroad. His leadership was extraordinary; the ships which were the largest being built in Ireland at the time were renowned for the strength of their hulls, one the SS Avoca was the first steamship to force the ice at Odessa.

Waterford Watercolours: The Bullpost, Ballybricken

2010-06-30T09:00:00.001+01:00

Large fairs were held here from early times down to the 1950s, and this was also the scene of the cruel but popular sport of bull baiting. Bulls were let into the ring one at a time and attacked by specially bred dogs, whose job was to pin them to the ground where they were dispatched by the city butchers to the cheers of the populace. This brutal form of entertainment was banned by law in 1798. Ballybricken has also been the scene of many stormy political meetings, and the Ballybrickener is still a very special type of Waterfordian.

This painting is part of a collection of watercolours of Waterford by local artist John O'Regan, commissioned by Waterford Civic Trust and sponsored by local bodies and companies. This particular painting was sponsored by Tom Murphy Car Sales.

The watercolours were published in a diary for 1992,'93 and '94 after which they were donated to the municipal art collection of Waterford City Council.

Annie Brophy: Waterford’s 20th century social historian

2010-06-16T09:00:00.000+01:00

Annie Brophy’s photographs play an important part in Waterford’s 20th century social history. Very few households in the city do not have at least one Brophy image, often proudly displayed in a frame on the mantelpiece or the sideboard. A visit to her studio at 9 Barker Street (just off Ballybricken) was an integral part of many “Big Days” in the lives of tens of thousands of the city’s people and many local people have “Annie Brophy” stories to tell. In 2005 Waterford City Council purchased her life’s work (over 60,000 negatives!) for deposit in Waterford City Archives.

Annie took a huge amount of photos of Waterford and surrounding areas from the 1920s to the 1970s, including pictures of local bands, teams, committees, family portraits, wedding parties and other groups. Annie also took a few more unusual photos including shots of the aftermath of the Jail Wall Disaster, that terrible event in March 1943 where 10 people were killed when part of the Jail Wall collapsed on their homes.

Donal Moore, City Archivist, stated: “Yet again we found the standard of the negatives in the Brophy Collection was very high. The images are a wonderful testimony to Annie Brophy’s methodical and professional approach to photography. Very few of the images had to be cleaned up or manipulated in any way. They say that every picture can tell a story so I think that this exhibition will be a large book for many Waterford people! I hope that the exhibition will bring back memories of a time gone by to many Waterford people.”

For further information on the exhibition or the Brophy Collection please contact Donal Moore, City Archivist, on 051-843123, 087-8185715 or archives@waterfordcity.ie

The Blue Plaque Trail: John Condon 'Boy Soldier'

2010-05-24T09:00:00.000+01:00

It is estimated that in excess of 400,000 Irishmen fought in the Great War. This figure includes those already serving in the regular British army in 1914 and those who volunteered for service in the new Irish Divisions formed following the outbreak of the war, the 10th, 10th and 36th, as well as Irishmen serving in the armed forces of other Commonwealth nations. Roughly 4,800 men from Waterford city and county served during the war and over 700 were killed.

Among those was John Condon, the 'Boy Soldier' of the Royal Irish Regiment who was killed in action on the 24 May 1915. From Wheelbarrow Lane, off Wellington Street, John Condon was only 14 years old when he was mortally wounded and was the youngest soldier to die in the war. Condon's grave in Flanders is one of the most visited of all the war graves and is regarded by many as a fitting symbol for the futility of war.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Waterford Watercolours: Scotch Quay

2010-05-13T09:00:00.001+01:00

In this peaceful and forgotten corner of Waterford City St. John's River, after meandering northwards from Kilbarry along the eastern flank of the medieval city, enters the Suir. We look past the crane and buoys and across the river to the woods that border the north (Kilkenny) bank at this point. Nearby are the premises of the Waterford Boat Club, the oldest sporting organisation in the city, established in 1878.

This painting is part of a collection of watercolours of Waterford by local artist John O'Regan, commissioned by Waterford Civic Trust and sponsored by local bodies and companies. This particular painting was sponsored by The Reginald.

The watercolours were published in a diary for 1992,'93 and '94 after which they were donated to the municipal art collection of Waterford City Council.

Waterford Watercolours: Hanover Street

2010-04-27T09:00:00.000+01:00

In the middle of the last century this huge warehouse belonged to Samuel White, iron merchant, ship owner, starch manufacturer and much else. He also ran a steam mill here. Part of the premises is now an auction gallery. Now the home of the award winning Waterford Museum of Treasures.

This painting is part of a collection of watercolours of Waterford by local artist John O'Regan, commissioned by Waterford Civic Trust and sponsored by local bodies and companies. This particular painting was sponsored by Frank English Electrical.

The watercolours were published in a diary for 1992,'93 and '94 after which they were donated to the municipal art collection of Waterford City Council.

Great Waterford Ships: The Maritana

2010-04-21T09:00:00.001+01:00

The last vessel to be built in Waterford at the Neptune shipyard was the famous steam yacht The Maritana in 1882.

It was 77 ft-long and weighed 30 tons and was build for Thomas Leger Atkins of Waterford.

The Maritana was magnificently fitted and won the prize for elegance at the Cowes Regatta in the Isle of Wright in 1884.

Unfortunately, I could not find any picture of the Maritana. The above picture is of another Steam Yacht of similar age a size.

Annie Brophy and Kilkenny

2010-04-15T09:00:00.000+01:00

Extract taken from the Munster Express

It was very interesting to look at the photographs taken by well known Waterford Photographer Annie Brophy at the Waterford Library premises in Waterford recently. Looking at them took people back in the history of Waterford and South Kilkenny. Indeed many of the photos hanging in the beautiful settings were of South Kilkenny people. Ms Brophy took many family gathering of South Kilkenny people and indeed remembered well as a young lad going to Barker St. after making communion and confirmation Sacraments. She was a real professional and took great care in the execution of a photograph. Congratulations to all who put this great material for the general public to view.

Incidentally, South Kilkenny people are among a large number that use the Library service in Waterford. It is now a great building both inside and outside. The staff there is great and very supportive. They talk of boundary issues, It is a long time since the concept of a Kilkenny County Council funded Library centered in South Kilkenny was first made a political aspiration. It is well past its cell by date and to its credit Waterford City Council has accommodated all South Kilkenny who want to join and avail of a great service.

The Great Port of Waterford

2010-03-30T09:00:00.002+01:00

As a trading centre, Waterford Port can be dated back over 1,200 years to the arrival of the Vikings, who decided to make a permanent settlement in the city. In 1170 the Normans, lead by Strongbow, captured Waterford. King Henry II took control of the city the following year and many Vikings were expelled. As a result, trade in Waterford Port increased.

Over the following centuries, imports and exports were shipped from Waterford Port to and from England and the Continent to Spain, France and Italy. Exports consisted mainly of leather, wheat, flour, butter and other agricultural produce from the area around Waterford.

Today, the Port of Waterford is a modern commercial port. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week all year round, and is Ireland's fastest growing port. In 2005, Waterford City became the first Irish city to host the start of the Tall Ships' Race. Thousands of people arrived into the city to view the eighty-seven impressively tall ships berthed along the quays, including the 113.5 metre Russian Kruzenshtern and three Irish ships, the Dunbrody, Jeanie Johnston and Asgard II.

The Bridges of Waterford

2010-03-26T09:00:00.001Z

Waterford did not have a bridge over the Suir until 1794. The river at Waterford is wide and deep and it was regarded as a huge job to build a bridge across it.

Before 1794 access to Waterford City from many areas was by ferry. William III had granted this ferry (and fifteen others) to James Roche and by 1786 ownership had passed to Cornelius Grogan. The principal ferries, across the Suir were those at Waterford City, Passage East and Granagh. The ferries were of great antiquity and are mentioned in the Great Parchment Book of the Waterford Corporation.

Meanwhile the renowned bridge builder Lemuel Cox of Malden, Massachusetts was invited to Waterford to build the proposed bridge. In 1785 Cox built his first bridge from Boston to Charlestown, across the Charlestown River. Before coming to Waterford he had already built the Foyle Bridge in Derry which he finished in 1792. After Waterford, Cox went on to build bridges in New Ross, Wexford, Enniscorthy and Portuma

The site chosen for the bridge was opposite Love Lane (Bridge Street). The bridge was constructed out of American oak. The bottom of the river was levelled and trestles were placed on the river bed. Lemuel Cox was presented with the freedom of the City of Waterford in a silver box in recognition of his work on the bridge.

The bridge was a toll bridge. This was unpopular with the citizens of Waterford but despite public complaints, Timbertoes remained a toll bridge for over 100 years. In 1906 the Corporation promoted a 'Bridge Act' that empowered them to give notice to the Bridge proprietors to purchase the bridge. By 1907 the Corporation purchased the Toll Bridge for £63, 000, making it a toll free bridge from midnight on the 31st December 1907.

On Friday 20th December 1907 the editorial of The Waterford News reads, "The Bridge is now the property of the citizens of Waterford and on the first day of January, 1908 it will be a Free Bridge...it is safe to say it will materially increase the trade of Waterford City" The paper added, "the fight for the freedom of the bridge has been arduous and costly".

Waterford Watercolours: Franciscan Friary or French Church

2010-03-18T09:00:00.000Z

Waterford's Franciscan Friary was founded in 1240 by Sir Hugh Purcell. At the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII, the site was granted to a wealthy Waterford merchant named Patrick Walsh, who founded there an almshouse called the Holy Ghost Hospital for sixty indigent or sick men and women of the city. In 1693 the choir of the church was granted to French Protestant refugees and the Huguenot community worshipped there until the early 19th century. The church is now a ruin and contains some interesting 16th - 17th century tombs of Waterford citizens.

The Blue Plaque Trail: John J. Hearne

2010-03-02T09:00:00.000Z

John J. Hearne was born on 4 November 1893. His father was a Waterford boot manufacturer and mayor of the city on two occasions, in 1902 and 1903. He was educated at Waterpark College, Waterford, and at University College Dublin. Hearne joined the Department of External Affairs in 1929 as legal adviser and played a prominent role as a member of Ireland's delegation to the assemblies of the League of Nations and Commonwealth conferences of which Ireland was then a member.

However, Hearne's lasting legacy to the Irish state is as one of the drafters of the 1937 Constitution. In January 1935 he was appointed to a committee of three senior civil servants by de Valera to prepare the new constitution.

He was later appointed High Commissioner to Canada and in 1950 was appointed Ambassador to the United States, where he remained for the next ten years, retiring on the 4 November 1960 - four days before the election of John F. Kennedy as president. Hearne then served as a legislative consultant to the governments of Nigeria and Ghana, as these former British colonies emerged as independent nations during the 1960s. He died in Dublin in 1969.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Waterford Watercolours: Newtown School

2010-02-26T09:00:00.000Z

In 1798 the Society of Friends (Quakers) established a boarding school for boys and girls here in the former home of the Wyse family. The school is now interdenominational but has preserved its Quaker ethos. The Society of Friends has played a leading part in the commercial life of the city since the middle of the seventeenth century, particularly in milling and baking.

This painting is part of a collection of watercolours of Waterford by local artist John O'Regan, commissioned by Waterford Civic Trust and sponsored by local bodies and companies. This particular painting was sponsored by the Jurys Hotel.

The watercolours were published in a diary for 1992,'93 and '94 after which they were donated to the municipal art collection of Waterford City Council.

Annie Brophy and the people of Waterford

2010-02-18T09:00:00.000Z

The following extract is taken from 'An Irishmans Diary', published in the Irish Times.

IF YOU live in Waterford, there is probably an Annie Brophy photograph somewhere in your home - hanging on a wall, perhaps, or lurking in a box in your attic. Miss Brophy, as she was known, photographed the people of Waterford and the south-east for over half-a-century from 1915 until the 1970, writes Michael Kelly

Waterford City Council purchased Brophy's entire collection of nearly 60,000 negatives in 2005 and is currently exhibiting some of her wedding photographs at Christ Church Cathedral in the city. Some of the pictures were featured in this paper's Gallery supplement on Monday, September 8th.

Born in Johnstown, Waterford in 1899, Annie Brophy began her career in 1915 and established her own studio in Barker Street in 1922. At the time she was the only professional female photographer in Waterford (and possibly in Ireland). Ironically, Ms Brophy never married and finally retired in 1979 after a career that spanned more than five decades. She died in November 1986, aged 87.

"If you were organising a family event in Waterford, you always put aside your 'Annie Brophy money'," says city archivist Donal Moore. "Personally I believe that no two people paid her the same amount. In most cases they were her neighbours, so she knew them and their circumstances well. She was highly regarded as a portrait photographer so it was a big thing to go to her. Wedding couples would often be going to Tramore on their honeymoon and stop off with Miss Brophy on the way."

For the Weddings exhibition, Moore and his colleagues took a selection of 70 photographs from her sizeable collection. "We tried to ensure that every decade of her work was represented. The selection criteria we used were first and foremost the quality of the image - and of course we tried to get different styles and poses. Some of the photos were so rare that they selected themselves."

Putting names and details to the photographs was a mammoth task. Some were indexed but in many cases all the archivists had to go on was a surname. "It was a case of getting on the phone or calling people with the same name. A lot of it was local knowledge and thankfully Waterford is like a big village. For example, we had a photo from 1930 with the name Cummins. I reckoned the groom looked very like Senator Maurice Cummins, so I called him up and he said, 'that's my Uncle Willie!'"

In the first half of the century, according to Moore, there was typically only one photograph taken of the wedding couple and almost without exception the portrait was shot in the Barker Street studio. In later years couples insisted on wedding albums and Miss Brophy got out and about more, taking photographs in churches and hotels.

It is the little details that help the viewer to appreciate what life was like at the time. For example, while there are some photographs of impressive bridal parties, more typically the brides are decked out in plain dresses (probably home-made) while the grooms wear jumpers beneath their suit jackets.

Bucking that austere trend was a wedding in 1944 for which two renowned Italian "fish and chip" families came together for the wedding of two of their own - Louis Forte of Belfast and Josie Delicato of Waterford. The photograph is all the more poignant given that the region from which both families emigrated - near Monte Cassino — was then at the centre of a crucial battle of the the second World War.

There is a startling image taken in the 1930s entitled "Colfer Wedding". The groom is sitting down staring into the distance while his bride stands behind him looking forlornly at the camera. It is hard to work out whether this is a study in unhappiness or the awkwardness that many couples feel at having to pose for the photographer. We will never know; but let's hope it was the latter.

Another intriguing shot was taken in the 1950s outside Ballinamona House on the outskirts of Waterford. At first glance the picture, taken outside the front door of a stately home, looks like a gentry wedding. But look closer and the regalia of the wedding party suggests something else.

"You look at the clothes and you realise that it's probably a wedding of household staff," says Moore.

Brophy hand-painted many of her photographs and this fact provides one of the exhibition's most compelling stories. When undergraduate student Eimear Doherty told her grandmother Anna that she had a summer job working on the Annie Brophy exhibition, her grandmother scuttled off to her room and returned with an Annie Brophy photograph of her own wedding. Taken in 1962 on the day of her marriage to Wexford farmer Mick Rowe, it was hand-painted by Brophy.

Given the skill involved in hand-painting photographs, the archivists decided to set a challenge to see if these skills could be replicated. Local photographer Terry Murphy used the Photoshop software programme on one negative, while Eimear's mother, local artist Maeve Doherty, hand-painted another. The three images stand alongside each other in the exhibition, a testament to Brophy's supreme skill as a photographic artist.

Some of those photographed were able to attend the opening night of the exhibition. Perhaps proudest of all was 92-year-old P.J. Rheinisch, who was able to gaze at his own wedding photograph, bearing the inscription: "Lieutenant P.J. Rheinisch May Morrissey, Dungarvan, 6th October, 1943."

The Blue Plaque Trail: Robert Boyle

2010-02-16T09:00:00.000Z

Robert Boyle was born in Lismore Castle, in County Waterford. Richard Boyle, Robert’s father, had arrived in Ireland in 1588 as an entrepreneur, and had amassed enormous landholdings by the time Robert was born. He is best known for the formulation of Boyle's law. He is regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders of modern chemistry. Among his works, The Sceptical Chymist is seen as a cornerstone book in the field of chemistry. Boyle is often referred to as the “father of modern chemistry”.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Cummisky's Self-Service Supermarket, 1950s

2010-02-10T09:00:00.000Z

In the early 1900s, South-East customers were served by shop assistants who helped them choose what they wanted to buy. Clothes were expensive and there were fewer clothes shops. Many people bought material and paper patterns and made their own clothes at home.At that time, shops were not self-service. Customers were waited on by serving staff and in many cases, the products on sale were kept behind the counter. Before this type of shop was replaced by modern supermarkets, the first self-service shops looked something like the one in the above picture picture.

The Blue Plaque Trail: John Collyn

2010-02-02T09:00:00.000Z

John Collyn was dean of Waterford in the latter half of the fifteenth century. He founded a Chantry Chapel, St. Saviour's and a hostel near the cathedral for poor men of the city known as the Good Men's House. This hostel was supported from the rents of property given to Collyn by some of the leading citizens of the city, including his great friend James Rice, eleven-times mayor of the city who granted Collyn '6 houses and gardens, 3 shops, 2¼ gardens, rents to the value of 30s and other tenements of unspecified value'.

One of the properties mentioned was on the site of the present Deanery Building, beneath which is an extensive undercroft. The importance of Rice's bequest was acknowledged in the rules of this alms house, as the inmates were required to rise in their beds three times a night to pray for John Collyn, James Rice and his wife Catherine Brown.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

A look at Waterford City

2010-01-29T09:00:00.000Z

Located on the sunny south east coast of Ireland, Waterford city was established in Viking times and still has an exciting medieval flavour and riverside bustle.

Visit the Waterford Museum of Treasures or take the Waterford Walking Tour to get a taste of this history. Prepare to be amazed by the exquisite craftsmanship on display in The Waterford Crystal Visitor Centre or vist Christ Church Cathedral Enjoy a traditional Irish music session in one of the many bar's in the city or savour fine Irish cuisine in one of the many restaurants.

Tramore has a truly spectacular beach, a fun park and the Splashworld indoor water park is fun for kiddies and parents alike. Dunmore East is a popular destination with a beautiful tranquil town and fishing harbour as well as water sports and the annual Bluegrass Festival.

Check out the exciting Spraoi festival over the August back holiday with its breathtaking street entertainment and don’t miss the Tramore Races. Enjoy a range of activities including, fantastic golf courses, angling, horseriding, cycling and walking. Waterford hosted the Tall Ships festival in 2005 and they’re back again in 2011!

A natural playground for cycling, golf, walking, equestrian, and watersports enthusiasts, Waterford offers the complete holiday experience.

For more information on visiting in the southeast region go to discover Ireland

Waterford Watercolours: De La Salle School

2010-01-25T09:00:00.000Z

The huge building, erected in 1892, dominates the suburb of Newtown. Built originally as a training college for lay teachers, it became a boarding and day secondary school for boys in 1949. It expanded rapidly and in addition to its academic achievements it has an impressive record in Gaelic football and hurling.

This painting is part of a collection of watercolours of Waterford by local artist John O'Regan, commissioned by Waterford Civic Trust and sponsored by local bodies and companies. This particular painting was sponsored by the Cooper & Lybrand Chartered Accountants Waterford.

The watercolours were published in a diary for 1992,'93 and '94 after which they were donated to the municipal art collection of Waterford City Council.

Oylegate Glenbrien A Look back in Time.

2010-01-21T09:00:00.000Z

Following extract taken from the Wexford Echo, regarding the book 'Oylegate Glenbrien A Look back in Time'

Oylegate, Wexford, is a parish of outstanding achievement. It has produced All Ireland winning hurlers, Ireland's best ploughmen, a racehorse trainer of international renown, distilling experts, an inventor of agricultural implements, a Circuit Court Judge, and many others whose various talents have gone into shaping the parish.

Edermine Mills came into the possession of Marshalstown-man, Pat Tobin, and his aunt, Kate Whelan, in the early 20th century. Pat Tobin was an inventor, an untrained man with a natural talent for draughtsmanship and structural design in concrete and steel, who went into business as a building contractor and inventor of agricultural implements, most famously the hammer mill. He died in 1964 at the age of 57 years.

The book contains many other stories of a similar nature all relating to the parishes of Oylegate Glenbrien.

The original concept for the book started as a fundraising idea for the new community centre in Oylegate, following a suggestion that a short history of the national school be compiled.

The idea was discussed at an Oylegate Community Centre Committee meeting in July 2007 and the minutes of the meeting referred to the project as a 'booklet'.

But what started life as a school history booklet has grown into a fully fledged 400page book on the history of the OylegateGlenbrien area, called 'Oylegate-Glenbrien, A Look Back in Time'.

'Whilst initially the main objective was to raise funds for the community centre, it soon became apparent that the project was much bigger and more significant than a simple fundraiser,' explains Mary McCauley, Secretary of the Journal Society.

'So we formed the Oylegate-Glenbrien Journal Society; some members from Oylegate, some from Glenbrien, some native and some new, ranging in age from a mere 24 to a stately 72-years-old!'

Due to the strong connection between the Powers family and the area, Powers Whiskey (Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard) joined the venture as sponsors; along with White's Hotel, Sean Quirke of New Ireland Assurance and Practice PR & Events.

To help the project's endeavours, C&R Print in Enniscorthy kindly agreed to do the layout of the book and its printing for cost price. Renowned Irish author Roddy Doyle, who has family connections to the area, has also contributed to the volume, writing the foreword. 'We all agree that it has been one of the best committees we have worked on and one of the most enjoyable too. Our early meetings consisted of brain-storming sessions, as we sought to identify potential articles. As more and more stories came to light, we came to realise the extent of the noteworthy and remarkable history of the area. To record, as best as possible, the folklore and history of our villages and townlands became our primary objective,' said Mary.

The book committee, comprising Carmel Maher and Tom Miller (Joint Chairpersons), Mary McCauley (Secretary), James Hayden (Treasurer), Padraig McManus, Maureen Somers, Aidan Quirke, Art Bennett, John Roche and Aidan Ryan, have endeavoured to include as many of the interesting stories as possible.

The Blue Plaque Trail: Thomas Hussey

2010-01-19T09:00:00.003Z

Thomas Hussey was born at Ballybogan Co. Meath in 1746 and studied for the priesthood at the Irish College at Salamanca in Spain. In 1767 he was appointed as chaplain to the Spanish Embassy in London. Following his return to Ireland Hussey played a key role in the establishment of Maynooth College with government help and was appointed its first president in 1795. In 1797 he was consecrated Bishop of Waterford and Lismore. He lived for a time in an imposing house on Gracedieu Road. During his time as bishop he encouraged the establishment of Catholic schools in the diocese by the Presentation Sisters and also encouraged Edmund Rice in educating poor boys. He died in 1803 and is buried within the grounds of the Catholic Cathedral.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

The coming of the railways

2010-01-15T09:00:00.001Z

A busy railway ran from Waterford to Tramore from 1853 to 1960. It was 7 ¼ miles long and unconnected to any other line. There were no stops on the line between Waterford and Tramore. It took fifteen minutes to travel between the two stations.

Quakers started many of the industries in Waterford and they were also responsible for establishing the railway from the city to Tramore. They were shrewd business men who also wanted to help their fellow citizens. Quakers had already built the line fr om Waterford to Limerick in 1848 and it was so successful that they planned to build a further line to Cork via Dungarvan and Youghal but the money ran short and the line was never built.

The first sod was cut on the 10th September 1853 and the railway was completed by 2nd September of the same year. This was record time. The line was built using picks, shovels and horses; part of the track was built on bog by laying the rails on trestles of trees. The line only had two signals, one at Tramore and one at Bath Street crossing gates. There were no signal cabins as it was a single line of track.

Photo's of times past: Saratoga c1900

2010-01-13T09:00:00.000Z

The Saratoga is the first and only public house in Woodstown. Local folklore offers two possible explanations why the pub is so named:

(1) Named after a race-track in upstate New York by a returned emigrant who made good money in the U.S.A. and purchased the premises.

(2) Named after an American sailing ship breached in Waterford Harbour in early 19th century.

Shadows of the Past a photographic stroll through old Waterford began as an exhibition mounted by Waterford Civic Trust as part of the Tall Ships Festival in Waterford City during July 2005. The tremendous success of the Tall Ships for the city was mirrored in the success of the exhibition. The huge public response to these photographs prompted the Trust to publish Shadows of the Past.

The Blue Plaque Trail: William Hobson

2010-01-05T21:00:00.000Z

William Hobson was born in Waterford the son of Samuel Hobson in 1793. He joined the Royal Navy in 1803, serving during the Napoleonic wars and was later involved in the suppression of piracy in the Caribbean. He was promoted Commander in 1824, going on to serve in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. In 1837 he sailed to New Zealand in response to a request for help from James Busby the British Resident, who felt threatened by wars between Maori tribes. In 1840 William Hobson returned to New Zealand as its first Governor but died shortly after his arrival, on 10 September 1842 and is buried in the Symonds Street Cemetery in Auckland.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Shipbuilding

2010-01-01T09:00:00.002Z

In the 19th Century Waterford City was an important economic centre. Shipbuilding was a very profitable business in the city. The wealthy Quaker families of Penrose, White and Malcomson all had large shipyards. These shipyards provided a lot of jobs. When the industry was at its biggest, over 1,000 people were employed.

This booming business in the 19th century resulted in the growth in local ownership of ships. In 1853 at least 115 were registered and owned in Waterford Port. As you can see from the painting to the left, the river bank was always a hive of activity. All this trading and coming and going gave the city a vibrant maritime culture, which put it on the world map.

A look at County Waterford

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Experience true Irish culture by visiting Ring the Irish speaking area near Dungarvan.

Most recently, a section of the Waterford to Dungarvan railway line has been rebuilt. From this narrow gauge railway, travelling at 15km per hour visitors can experience the beauty of the Suir Valley as they take in the panoramic views of the river, rolling farmland, and mountains.

You can also enjoy views of the River Suir by taking a trip on the heritage train of Waterford and Suir Valley Railway.Also in West Waterford, close to the Comeragh Mountains, lie the towns of Lismore, Cappoquin, and Ballymacarbry. Areas such as Lismore with the unmissable Lismore Castle are steeped in history and is the seat of Lord Devonshire.

You’ll be amazed at the variety of outdoor activities, equestrian, walking, angling, water sports and cycling holidays.

For more information on visiting in the southeast region go to discover Ireland

Happy Christmas

2009-12-25T21:00:00.001Z

Due to the day thats in it we decided to post some great pictures of Christmases past taken from around the South-East.

Thanks to everyone for their continued support and Happy Christmas to all.

Happy Christmas.
The STEP team.

The Big Day Out

2009-12-24T09:00:00.001Z

With the season thats in it I thought the following story gives an indication of the great generosity and kindness that has existed in Waterford and the South-East over the centuries.

From 1928 to 1944 the local trades council and the employers of Waterford organised a yearly outing for deprived children from Waterford to Tramore by rail that became known as the 'Poor Children's Outing'. In Waterford at this time a lot of factories had closed down and there was a lot of poverty and unemployment in the city. Children from poor families would never visit Tramore.

The children going on the outing arrived outside the Courthouse grounds at half past eight - often there would be up to 2, 000 children. The children were lined up in groups and each was given a piece of cardboard with his or her name and address on it and this was attached with a safety pin.

Promptly at half past ten the mayor in his robes, the councillors and the Barrack Street Band arrived. The children moved in a procession up Catherine Street, along the Mall with the Barrack Street Band in front, followed by Mayor and councillors until they reached the special train waiting in Manor Street Station.

All the children taken to the seaside at Tramore left with happy memories. During the outing in 1930, huge amounts of food were consumed including; 420lbs of Ham, 282 long pans, 1,700 rock buns, 40 tins of sweets, 3,300 apples, seven stones of sugar and 40 gallons of milk.

The Blue Plaque Trail: Annie Brophy

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Annie Brophy was born in Johnstown in Waterford and worked for practically her entire adult life, from 1922 to 1978, as a professional photographer in her native city. She initially trained with Hughes Photographers, Manor Street before setting up her own business in her house at 9 Barker Street. She was the first female professional photographer in Waterford and one of the first in Ireland.

Although most of the images in the collection are family and individual portraits there are also many views of buildings and streets. Her photographic record is an invaluable source for the study of the changing streetscape of Waterford. Annie also photographed some of the important local events in the history of Waterford. Living in Barker Street she photographed the aftermath Gaol Wall Disaster in 1943. Her photographic collection, amounting to over 60,000 negatives and prints was acquired by Waterford City Council, and is now housed in Waterford City Archives.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Waterford Watercolours: County & City Infirmary

2009-12-16T09:00:00.001Z

In medieval times there was a leper hospital in Stephen Street endowed by King John and administered by the Corporation. It was closed in the late 18th century on the grounds that leprosy no longer existed in Ireland, but was then re-established as a private charity for the sick and maimed poor. The present building on John's hill is the work of local architect John Roberts and opened in 1785. It became the County and City Infirmary in 1897, and closed in 1987.

This painting is part of a collection of watercolours of Waterford by local artist John O'Regan, commissioned by Waterford Civic Trust and sponsored by local bodies and companies. This particular painting was sponsored by Waterford Castle Ltd.

The watercolours were published in a diary for 1992,'93 and '94 after which they were donated to the municipal art collection of Waterford City Council.

The Quakers

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In the early 1700's Quakers began settling in Waterford and by the end of the century they were emerging as the new entrepreneurs and industrialists. The Quakers consolidated their business and trade locally and nationally they became trusted for their honesty and integrity.

Their trade became rich and diverse and by the end of the century they prospered as traders, merchants and ship owners. The Quakers became synonymous with risk taking entrepreneurship in Waterford, playing a large role in the commercial life of the city - the ship yards at Waterford were an example of this.

By 1770 the Penrose family were among Waterford's leading Quaker merchants and the owners of many ships. In 1858 they opened their own shipbuilding and repair facility. Penrose's shipyard was on a very small scale and very little is known about it. Only three ships, the M.E.C., the Mayfly and the Heron can be traced to the Penrose yard which closed in 1880 due to the general decline in the building of wooden ships.

The Whites family were prominent Quaker entrepreneurs in Waterford with extensive shipping business interests in the city. They began trading in O'Connell Street (then King Street) in 1776 selling sugar and groceries. They were soon stocking imported goods such as tea, coffee, spices, sugar, hemp and tar, as the business grew they became ship owners and builders.

William White opened the shipyard in Ferrybank in 1820, many of their skilled workers and labours were recruited locally. Between 1820 and 1870 the craftsmen and artisans built over sixty wooden sailing ships. The work was of such a high quality that the reputation of Whites grew nationally and internationally, leading cross - channel ship owners in Britain including Beasley and Blyth ordered ships.

The nineteenth century shipping boom resulted in the growth in local ownership of ships. In 1853 at least 115 were registered and owned in Waterford Port. It was a maritime culture that was both international and vibrant.

Quakers families established the three shipyards in Waterford, Penrose, Whites and NeptuneThe shipyards provided a lot of skilled jobs, at its peak over 1,000 were employed. Waterford was becoming a centre for highly specialised industry with organised and skilled labour.

The Blue Plaque Trail: John Roberts

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John Roberts was born in Waterford in 1712, grandson of Thomas Roberts of Wales who settled in the city about 1680. John's father was a carpenter and builder who built the new goal in Waterford in 1727 as well as supplying water to the Quay in 1724. As a young man John Roberts studied in London. Among the buildings he designed in Waterford are the two cathedrals, the present City Hall, the old Leper Hospital on John's Hill and the Chamber of Commerce building in George's Street originally built as a town house for the Morris family.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Photo's of times past: Dunmore East c1900

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Developed as an upmarket seaside resort following the introduction of the mail packet steamers in the early nineteenth century. Thomas Gimlette who wrote the History of the Huguenots lived here in a thatched cottage. Dunmore East is arguably the prettiest seaside village in Ireland and was the setting for the highly acclaimed Maeve Binchy's TV series Echoes.

A look at Wexford

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Wexford, some 45-60 minutes drive to the east of the Airport, offers cosy coastal villages, sunny seashores with numerous and well presented beaches which are tranquil and inviting such as Courtown, Curracloe, Duncannon and Rosslare.

The International Opera Festival which takes place in June each year is of worldwide importance. Visitors can explore the county's unique history, culture and heritage attractions through its open air museum of ramparts and castles, abbeys, manor houses and one of the oldest operational lighthouses in the world, the Hook Lighthouse. Garden lovers will thoroughly enjoy the very famous John F. Kennedy Park and Arboretum celebrating the connection with the US President.

The Dunbrody Famine Ship replica in nearby New Ross offers visitors a full size, ocean-going recreation of the timber-built ship and the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of a group of Irish famine emigrants beginning their journey of hope across the Atlantic Ocean.

Co Wexford is Famous for the range and extent of bird life, it also features bird watch reserves, the most significant being that of North Slob, Wexford Wildfowl Reserve. Visitors can also walk on fabulous beaches such a Curraghcloe and in the evenings enjoy the wonderful hospitality of the people of Wexford.

For more information on visiting in the southeast region go to discover Ireland

The Blue Plaque Trail: Malcomson's Shipping Office

2009-11-24T09:00:00.001Z

David Malcolmson, who had established the cotton industry in Portlaw from 1826, was one of the founders of the River Suir Navigation Co. in 1835. As a result of the success of the Portlaw factory they also became involved in the cross-channel trade - importing cotton and coal for the Portlaw enterprise, thus laying the foundation of a world-wide shipping empire. From the mid 1850s to the mid 1860s the Malcolmsons owned the largest fleet of iron steamers in the world.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Photo's of times past: Jarveys wait in hope c1915

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Scene at Custom House Quay opposite the jetties used by Clyde Shipping Company vessels, some of which had passenger accommodation. The eager faces suggest a cross-Channel steamship has just arrived with the prospect of fares. Note the name "Whitty" on the nearest car.

The Blue Plaque Trail: Peter O'Connor

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Peter O'Connor was born in 1872 and grew up in Waterford. With a life-long interest in sport and especially athletics, he joined the GAA in 1896. His first world record, in the long jump was in 1901 and O'Connor was reigning British long jump champion until 1906. In the 1906 Olympic Games in Athens Peter O'Connor won a silver and a gold medal. Prior to independence Irish athletes took part in the games as part of the British team and during the medal ceremony O'Connor brandished a green flag to emphasise his Irish nationality. He remained involved in athletics all his life. He was a founder member and first Vice-President of the Waterford Athletic Club, and attended later Olympics both as judge and spectator. He practiced as a solicitor in Waterford and died in Waterford in 1959.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Waterford Watercolours: Coffee House Lane

2009-11-06T09:00:00.000Z

These former warehouses are situated at the back of the Quay in the core of the old Viking city, not far from the old Butter Market. They are a reminder of the days when Waterford's prosperity was based on the provision trade, especially in grain, dairy produce and salted pork.

This painting is part of a collection of watercolours of Waterford by local artist John O'Regan, commissioned by Waterford Civic Trust and sponsored by local bodies and companies. This particular painting was sponsored by FAS.

The watercolours were published in a diary for 1992,'93 and '94 after which they were donated to the municipal art collection of Waterford City Council.

A look at South Tipperary

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While it may be a long way to Tipperary, not so from Waterford Airport! Set around the Galtee Mountains, adorned by romantic and mysterious Slievenamon and a lush landscape, Tipperary has a wealth of history and heritage bound to please visitors together with a tradition of hurling and equestrian pursuits.

Tipperary is particularly rich in archaeological sites of interest including the Rock of Cashel in Cashel Heritage Town and Cahir Castle in picturesque Cahir Heritage Town. These traditional attractions are now complemented by the new Excel Centre in Tipperary Town which boasts an interpretative centre depicting Tipperary's past.

In Clonmel Town, the South Tipperary County Museum takes the visitor through the fascinating history of the county up to modern times. Walkers and outdoor enthusiasts are well serviced in this county of hills and vales.

For more information on visiting in the southeast region go to discover Ireland

The Blue Plaque Trail: John Horn

2009-10-27T09:00:00.001Z

John Horn was born in 1814 in Scotland and began his career in shipbuilding on the Clyde as an apprentice in 1826. He was trained by the famous engineer Robert Napier who was known as the father of iron-ship building. In 1849 he was appointed manager of the Neptune shipyard in Waterford, a position which he held until 1870. Under Horn's stewardship the Neptune yard prospered, and in its heyday built some of the largest ships in Ireland in those years, including the SS William Penn.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Waterford Watercolours: City Hall

2009-10-23T09:00:00.000+01:00

Built in 1788 by local architect John Roberts as the citizens' assembly rooms and theatre, this fine building has housed the municipal offices since 1813. Above the entrance is the city's coat of arms. The shield is charged with three lions and three galleys and supported by a lion and a dolphin. The crest is a lion supporting an Irish harp, and the motto is Urbs Intacta manet Waterfordia. The lions commemorate Waterford's historic independence of all feudal overlords save the monarch, and the galleys and dolphins symbolise her importance in maritime trade.

This painting is part of a collection of watercolours of Waterford by local artist John O'Regan, commissioned by Waterford Civic Trust and sponsored by local bodies and companies. This particular painting was sponsored by Waterford City Council.

The watercolours were published in a diary for 1992,'93 and '94 after which they were donated to the municipal art collection of Waterford City Council.

Waterford and Newfoundland

2009-10-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

The following extract is taken from the Stellar Project, which was undertaken by the Edmund Rice Primary School.

There are very strong historical. social, and cultural links between the Waterford region and Newfoundland,Canada. These links go back many centuries, mainly due to the fishing grounds situated off the coast of Newfoudland. In fact the Irish for "Newfoundland" is "Talamh on Éisc", which literally means the "Fishing Grounds". Fishing has played a signifiant part in the economic development of both countries but has shown a considerable decline in recent years in both areas, due to over fishing by large 'Factory ' ships from the continent of Europe.

Are you aware that practically all of the relatives of Irish Newfoundlanders came from Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny area in Ireland. The accent of downtown St. John's today is said to sound like that of a Waterford accent in Ireland. Mr. O'Neachtain told us that he thought the accent in some parts of Newfoundland was very like a Wexford accent. We watched a video about the people in Newfoundland made by RTE television about twenty five years ago called "The Forgotten Irish" . Brother Murphy who visited us had a strange accent. He even says "Well. boy", which is what you would hear in Waterford Ireland.You would not think that the people were from Canada. Irish music is very popular over there as well. Irishmen went over there on fishing boats from the 17th century onwards to prosecute the salt cod-fishing industry.

It would have taken about two months to sail over there in them days. The water around Newfoundland is freezing and fishing was a tough life as you had to pull in the nets by hand.They were tough men in them days.Waterford businessmen like John Kent, the second Prime Minister of Newfoundland, and who established businesses at St. John's,arranged ships that brought thousands of Waterford people across the Atlantic to Newfoundland. First only the men went during the fishing season but they got fed up making the long journey back and forth across the

Atlantic so they then brought over their families and they settled in small fishing villages around the coast of the island. They brought with them their customs, their music and songs , which remain on the island to this very day.

Another Waterford businessman named, Sweetman, who also ran a business at Placentia, Newfoundland in the last century, transported several thousand Irish people from Waterford and surrounding area to the Placentia-St. Mary's Bay areas. In fact, the connection between St. John's and Waterford, Ireland was so strong that many parents of Irish origin, though their children were baptised at St. John's had them entered into the records of St. Patrick's Church, Waterford, Ireland.

The English merchants travelling to Newfoundland normally called to Waterford, on their way to fish off The Grand Banks of Newfoundland and along the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador. At Waterford, these merchants had warehouses and took on supplies before crossing under sail, the Atlantic Ocean every May or June.Jacob's,famous in Ireland for their biscuits set up their first factory in waterford. They made their money from developing a special "Ship's biscuit" which would not go soft on a long voyage.

There were Waterford merchants engaged in the fishery too. John Kent is said to have brought several thousand Irishmen to St. John's as immigrants. He had businesses at Waterford and at St. John's simultaneously. John Kent was the second Prime Minister of Newfoundland which received representative government in 1834 and Responsible Government in 1855. He was impeached by Governor Hoyles, an embittered English bureaucrat not willing to have a Roman Catholic P.M., here. Another Anglo-Irish Waterford merchant, Sweetland, brought about 3,000 Irish immigrants to Placentia, Newfoundland to settle there after the French had been driven out. Placentia, roughly 75 miles from St. John's was the old French capital of Newfoundland in the 17th century.

The Whites

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The Whites family were prominent Quaker entrepreneurs in Waterford with extensive shipping business interests in the city. They began trading in O'Connell Street (then King Street) in 1776 selling sugar and groceries. They were soon stocking imported goods such as tea, coffee, spices, sugar, hemp and tar, as the business grew they became ship owners and builders. William White opened the shipyard in Ferrybank in 1820, many of their skilled workers and labours were recruited locally. Between 1820 and 1870 the craftsmen and artisans built over sixty wooden sailing ships.

The work was of such a high quality that the reputation of Whites grew nationally and internationally, leading cross - channel ship owners in Britain including Beasley and Blyth ordered ships.

The quality of the ships was exceptional and by 1830 many ships were being built in White's own dockyard – helping to increase their trading abroad. White's trading was diverse, they often traded with exotic and far flung destinations such as Patagonia, Quebec or Calcutta. Passengers were carried from Waterford to Quebec and Montreal returning with a cargo of timber. Many ships carried passengers across the Atlantic during and after the famine.

White's imported cargo such as coal, timber, sugar, linseed and guano were lucrative, earning the company big profits. The captains of the vessels earned hefty commission on all the cargoes safely delivered, and many build large houses on the Quays, Lombard Street and William Street. William White, the founder of White's Shipyard died in 1834 at age 83. The business passed over to his two sons Albert and George.

Annie Brophy

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Annie Brophy was truly a legend! She photographed Waterford and its people from the early 1920s to the late 1970s. Most families in the city and surrounding area have samples of her work in their homes. Every bit as important as the photographs themselves are the memories people have of the day and time they were taken. Waterford City Council has purchased her life’s work-over 60,000 negatives-as a fitting tribute to the life’s work of this wonderful woman.

Annie Brophy was an artist as well as a photographer and the care and attention she gave to her work is evident in all of the approximately 60,000 photographs she took during her career of more than 50 years. She is best remembered for her wonderful images of the people of Waterford city and the surrounding counties

The Blue Plaque Trail: William Vincent Wallace

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Wallace was born at Colbeck Street in Waterford in 1812. His father was a regimental bandmaster and Wallace learned to play several instruments as a boy. He was the organist at Thurles Catholic cathedral and also taught piano at the Ursuline Convent in Waterford. In the 1830s he toured Australia and opened a music school in Sydney in 1836. In 1845 he returned to Britain and in November that year his opera Maritana opened in Drury Lane Treated to great success. Maritana was followed by Matilda of Hungary (1847), Lurline (1860), The Amber Witch (1861), Love's Triumph (1862) and The Desert Flower (1863). He also published a number of compositions for piano. In 1850, Wallace became an American citizen after a marriage in New York with Helen Stoepel, a pianist. He died in France in 1865.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Pat Reid: Escaping from Colditz

2009-10-09T09:00:00.000+01:00

General Goering of the Nazi Party boasted that security in the Colditz prisoner of war camp was escape-proof.

However, he hadn't bargained for the ingenuity of an Irishman, more specifically one from Carlow! Within weeks of his arrival with the first contingent of British prisoners-of-war, Pat Reid was masterminding the first escape attempt from the famous German fortress.

During his two and a half years at Bad Boys Camp, Pat was the British Escape Officer, planning many attempts. In his book The Colditz Story he recounts many exciting tales, culminating in his escape in October 1942.

Pat was first captured by the Germans in late May 1940. Ten days later, on 5 June, he was one of 200 men taken to Laufen, which could accomadate 1,500 men.

Pat shared this account of his welcome to Laufen:
"For the first time we were searched idividually and thoroughly. Our heads were shaven under riotous protest and we were each given a small aluminium disc with a number on it. Capt. Reid was Number 257. Our photos were taken and we were let loose in a small compound as fully recognised prisoners-of-war."

Within a week of his, arrival, Pat was planning an escape. At the time, he revealed his motivation to a friend called Rupert Barry : "I have a date for Christmas which I don't want to miss."

So the two men decided on digging a tunnel from the prison basement. With the help of six other prisoners, seven weeks and 24 feet later they reached the other side: a small shed adjoined to a private house!

The six escapees, all disguised as women, made their getaway at 6:30 a.m. on 5 September. Their destination was Yugoslavia, 150 miles away across the mountains of the Austrian Tyrol.

However, this time luck deserted the runaways and Pat's group was captured in the small Austrian village of Radstadt, five days after breaking free.

Back at Laufen, Pat spent a month in solitary confinement. He was given only bread and water and had to sleep on a bed of boards.

If this punishment was designed as a deterrent, it didn't work! Rather, it seemed to strenghten the resove of Pat to break free to get home sooner rather than later.

No one had managed to escape from Colditz during World War 1, when it also acted as a prison.
In his book, Pat gives this daunting description of the challenge that lay ahead for anyone who dared try:

"The garrison manning the camp outnumbered the prisoners at all times. The castle was floodlit at night from every angle. Not withstanding the clear drops of a hundred feet or so on the outside from barred windows, there were sentries all round the camp with a palisade of barbed wire. Beyond the palisade were precipices of varying depths."

However, life in the prison was not as rough as you might expect. It was the "showpiece" German prison and abided by the terms of the Geneva Convention.

Therefore inmates had opportunities to learn foreign languages, play sport, read and plot their escapes!

The first attempted escape led by Pat was made up of a group of 12 officers. It relied on the co-operation of a German guard. They hoped a bribe of £34 would persuade him to keep quiet.

The plan was to escape through the sewer system into an outer lawn of the prison. Then there was a forty foot drop to a 12 foot barbed wire wall - then freedom! However, they chose the wrong guard to bribe. He took the money but kept his bosses informed of the plan!

So it was back to solitary for Pat and friends: at least for a few weeks anyway.

For the next year and a half Pat Reid helped in many other failed and succesful escape attempts from Colditz. By 5 October 1942, he and three other inmates decided to risk all one more time. Following a marathon 11 hour escape route, involving a naked climb through a nine inch by three-foot chimney and a ten foot barbed wire wall, the little group made it out.

In less than four days Pat and one of the team, Hank Wardle, had made the long journey to Switzerland. This photo was taken in October 1942, shortly after his succesful escape. Here, he rejoined the British Intelligence Service and remained in Berne till the end of the war.

Pat's book on his adventures was published first in 1952. It was a sensational success, selling more than 500,000 copies. Inevitably, Hollywood also called and in 1955 the The Colditz Story was turned into a popular film.

He was also awarded an MBE from the Queen of England for his efforts in helping allied soldiers escape from Colditz. Before his death in 1991, Pat wrote four more books about his wartime experiences.

His original book still sells in shops today. There will probably never be another story like it.

John J. Hearne: Ireland's Thomas Jefferson

2009-10-07T09:00:00.000+01:00

Seventy years ago, in 1937, Bunracht na hÉireann, the Constitution of Ireland was put to the people of Ireland and passed by popular referendum. Since 1938 it has, and not without debate, remained the basic law of Ireland. The nature and extent of the state of Ireland, our electoral system, so recently again in operation, the Houses of the Oireachtas, the office of Uachtarán na hÉireann, the scope of the judiciary as well as a collection of social directives, the ‘Fundamental Rights’, very much of their time but subsequently controversial, are contained in this short document.

Modern Ireland has perhaps been rather negligent in honouring the creators of our state. One of these men, and they were nearly all men, Waterford-born constitutional lawyer and diplomat John J. Hearne, the ‘Boy Orator’ of post-1916 politics in the city, was Eamon de Valera’s right hand man and technical advisor during the drafting of the 1937 Constitution. In photographs, Hearne’s small frame, youthful if melancholy looks, neat blond hair and well-cut dark suits suggest both the dashing diplomat and the detail-conscious draughtsman. In the opinion of the historian and editor of Executive Editor, Documents on Irish Foreign Policy, (Royal Irish Academy) Dr. Michael Kennedy, Hearne was Ireland’s Thomas Jefferson.

In this anniversary year of the drafting of Bunracht na hÉireann, Waterford Civic Trust decided to mark Hearne’s birthplace at 8 William Street in Waterford city in a long overdue tribute to one of the unsung figures who secured the framework of Irish democracy in the troubled years between the world wars when so many European states turned to fascism.

Born on 4 November 1893 John Hearne was the fourth son of Richard and Alice Mary Hearne. Richard Hearne was a Waterford boot manufacturer and Mayor of the city on two occasions, in 1902 and 1903. He was educated at Waterpark College, Waterford, and at University College Dublin.

Hearne joined the Department of External Affairs in 1929 as Legal Adviser. He played a prominent role as a member of Ireland’s delegation to the assemblies of the League of Nations and at the conferences of members of the Commonwealth, of which Ireland was then a member. Hearne’s legal skills were invaluable to de Valera in his negotiations with Britain to revise and ultimately replace the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty.

Hearne’s lasting legacy to the Irish state is as one of the drafters of the 1937 constitution of Ireland. In January 1935 he was appointed to a committee of three senior civil servants by de Valera to prepare the new constitution, and when it was completed, Hearne was recognised as one of its main architects.

When Ireland opened diplomatic relations with Canada in 1939 Hearne was appointed High Commissioner to Ottawa. He tried to use his relationship with Canadian Prime Minister William MacKenzie King explain Ireland’s wartime neutrality to the Allies in an attempt to get Canada to influence Allied policies towards Ireland.

Hearne’s final years in Ottawa saw him present during the official visit to Canada in 1948 when his former colleague as Attorney General, now Taoiseach (Prime Minister), John A. Costello announced that Ireland was leaving the Commonwealth.

Hearne left Canada in March 1950, to become Ireland’s first Ambassador to the United States. He developed important contacts with Presidents Truman and Eisenhower and his reports to Dublin captured astutely the American political environment of the 1950s.

Retiring on 4 November 1960, his 67th birthday, and four days before the election of John F. Kennedy, Hearne then served as a legislative consultant to the governments of Nigeria and Ghana, helping these two young states to develop their democracy as he had done for Ireland in the 1930s. Sadly, African democracy proved less stable than its Irish counterpart.

He died in Dublin in 1969, MacKenzie King had described Hearne as ‘typically Irish in his persuasive ways’, though the continued that Hearne was ‘warm hearted toward friends, bitter towards England’ over the partition of Ireland. John Hearne was first and foremost an Irish nationalist and his lasting bequest to his country is in the articles of Bunracht na hÉireann.

On Tuesday, 5 May 2007, the day of the unveiling of the plaque in Hearne’s honour, , the Mayor of Waterford, Cllr. Cha O’Neill hosted a Mayoral reception for the relatives of the late John Hearne, who travelled to Waterford for the occasion. These included, his daughter Mary Berlinger who travelled from Zurich, his daughter-in-law, Bernadette Hearne, and grandson John travelling from Dublin, Alice Bowen, his cousin from Cork, and Mary Flynn, his Waterford cousin. Also present were Alice Bowen’s son John and daughter-in-law Teresa.

Mr. John Bowen very generously sponsored the erection of the plaque by Waterford Civic Trust, and was warmly praised by the Mayor for his very civic minded generosity. The Mayor also complemented the Chairman of Waterford Civic Trust Mr. Padraig O’Griofa for taking the initiative on having the plaque erected. He also thanked Arthur and Mary Blake, for allowing the erection of the plaque on their premises at 8 Lombard Street, the birthplace of John Hearne.

The Mayor expressed the hope that by the 75th anniversary of the drafting of our constitution that we would see in Waterford a suitable commemorative sculpture. The Mayor went on to thank Dr. Michael Kennedy for his assistance to Waterford Civic Trust in researching the life and times of John Hearne

The Quay to Waterford's success

2009-10-05T09:00:00.002+01:00

Waterford's Quays have always been an important part of the city. They are a mile long, making them the longest street in Waterford.

In the early 1700s, the council decided to demolish the city walls facing the river. They used the remains of the walls to widen the quays and open them up for more commerce. More merchants settled in Waterford, as trade boomed and diversified. Waterford became a leading producer and exporter of bacon. Trade in butter and corn was also important and large stores were built along the Quays.

Markets grew in the area selling hay and straw, potatoes, fresh fish and vegetables. By the end of the eighteenth century, trade with Newfoundland, a large island off the east coast of North America that now makes up part of Cananda, was increasing in importance.

Nearly seventy boats sailed over and back from Newfoundland every year with about 5,000 people travelling from Waterford and the adjoining areas. As a direct result of the trade in the Port, many new jobs were created in the city. Goods were deposited along the quays before there were cars or trucks, so many people were needed to offload, upload and transport the produce around the quays.

Shipbuilding was also a major industry in Waterford City between 1820 and 1882. White's Shipyard and Malcomson's Ironworks Shipyard were the most prominent.

By 1929 the chief imports into Waterford were coal, maize, artificial manure, flour, cement, sugar and wheat. The chief exports were timber, oats, bacon, butter and livestock. The harbour was greatly improved in the 1950s. During the 1940s and 1950s coal, grain and timber were imported by ship.

In the 1960s and 1970s, cattle boats were regularly seen on the quays. Bell Lines Ltd. operated a successful container business on the Ferrybank side of the harbour for many years. In 1992, the Port was moved to Belview, a new location 4 kilometres downstream from the city on the northern bank of the river.

Photo's of times past: The People's Park

2009-10-01T09:00:00.000+01:00

The People's Park, in area about 15 acres, was laid out in the period 1855 to 1857 during the mayoralty of Thomas Blake. The park was planned as an amenity for all the people of the city hence its name. Thanks to modern improvements,, in particular the development of a children's play area, it is as popular today as it was one hundred years ago.

The Blue Plaque Trail: Waterford - Nefoundland

2009-09-29T21:00:00.001+01:00

Trade between Waterford and Newfoundland was of prime importance in the development of the city in the eighteenth century. By 1770 this route absorbed between 10% and 15% of the city's exports. Waterford merchants provisioned English ships sailing from Bristol and the West Country ports to Newfoundland for the fishing season and Waterford people migrated there also in search of employment. Thousands from Waterford and the south east traveled to fish the Grand Banks from the second half of the eighteenth century. In time many of those who worked on the fisheries became permanent settlers and by the beginning of the nineteenth century Newfoundland was referred to as 'merely Waterford parted by the sea.'

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

A look at Kilkenny

2009-09-25T09:00:00.000+01:00

With Ireland's Medieval Capital at its heart, County Kilkenny offers some of the South East's finest countryside, a pretty, rich farmland dotted with medieval ruins, solid stone walls, charming villages and a host of historic monuments including Jerpoint Abbey, one of Ireland's finest monastic settlements.

There are forest parks, natural wonders and some of Ireland's finest studio workshops clustered in the scenic valley of the River Nore. A fine sporting tradition with hurling at its heart makes Kilkenny an interesting location for sporting enthusiasts…Mount Juliet, one of the finest golf courses in Ireland which has hosted several international golf competitions. Good food, lively restaurants, popular pubs and nightclubs are also important in a county that offers everything for an enjoyable and memorable holiday.

For more information on visiting in the southeast region go to discover Ireland

101 reasons to love Waterford

2009-09-23T09:00:00.000+01:00

Updedeise.com give their 101 reasons to love Waterford, the gateway and capital City of the South-East.

1 Waterford is the oldest city in Ireland

2 Lismore is the most beautiful town in Ireland

3 The quay in Waterford is easily the most attractive in the country

4 We have one of the best gardens in the world i.e. Mount Congreve

5 We have the most historically significant school in the country (possibly the world) in Mount Sion, founded in 1802 by none other than Edmund Rice

6 We have the best indigenous food in the country called the blaa; just magnificent and incomparable to any other type of bread product

7 Waterford Crystal, the original and still the best, everything else is just a cheap copy

8 A Waterfordian named Thomas Francis Meagher invented the tricolour Irish Flag

9 We have Europe's most significant Viking site in Woodstown, Co. Waterford

10 Waterford has 6 amazing towers still standing in the city dating back 1000 years

11 Waterford has Ireland's oldest civic building, Reginald's tower, fantastic building, 1200 years old

12 We have produced one of the world's most renowned scientists in Robert Boyle (Boyle's Law)

13 Knockeen Dolmen is the finest example of a Dolmen in Ireland

14 We have the best IT in the country, which must become a University

15 We have produced one of the greatest light opera composers of all time in William Vincent Wallace

16 Ardmore Tower is a famous ecclesiastical site founded by St. Declan (county motto: Up Declan and the Deise)

17 Stradbally is one of the most beautiful towns with one of the most beautiful beaches in the country

18 The Comeragh Mountains are a spectacular range with amazing character

19 We have some of the most amazing coast in the country from Tramore to Ardmore and beyond; must be driven to be believed!

20 We have some of the best hurlers and hurling in the country

21 Garrarus is an amazing untouched beach that has to be visited

22 Tramore beach is a fantastic 4 mile beach with a huge back strand

23 The sand hills in Tramore are the best example of Sand Dunes in the country

24 Gaulstown Dolmen is another fabulous Dolmen that is very accessible and well maintained, you can actually sit inside it and make a wish

25 We have the best slang in the country, so we do boy (just check out the slang section on the site)

26 We have the magic hill, which defies gravity; an amazing phenomenon

27 We have the beautiful Mahon Falls, very accessible and very beautiful

28 We have the amazing Com Seangan for all you hill walkers, this is a sight to behold!!!

29 We have the Metal Man protecting ships from our coast, the only one in the country…

30 We have some of the oldest pubs in the country (e.g. T&H Doolan’s)

31 We have some of the best restaurants in the country (critically acclaimed)

32 We have a brilliant night life in the city with late bars and night clubs galore

33 We have a the lovely public People's Park with facilities for the little ones

34 The town from Johnstown & Michael Street to Barronstrand St. & O'Connell Street (long old walk)

35 Abbeyside Reference Archives

36 We have a lovely clock tower on the quay in the city

37 We have the biggest and most accessible port in the country

38 We have the island on the river with the beautiful Waterford Castle situated on it

39 We have produced the country's finest magician in Keith Barry

40 We have produced amazing soccer talent in the likes of Beglin and O'Shea

41 We have the best street festival in the country, Spraoi, on the August bank holiday weekend

42 We have Ireland's fastest flowing river

43 We have the Suir valley railway so that people can appreciate the beauty of the valley

44 The Knockmealdowns mountain range present a fantastic spin in The Vee drive

45 Mount Mellary is a very famous and equally beautiful grotto and monastery

46 We have the best 2 chippers in Ireland, Cunninghams & Johnnie Walkers

47 We have the finest 18th century ecclesiastical building in Ireland (Christ Church Cathedral)

48 We have coined the best phrases e.g. by hook or by crook and pay through the nose

49 The amazing Copper Coast

50 Tourin House & Gardens are contained on a 17th century estate 3 miles south of Cappoquin

51 The Kilmac viaduct with spectacular view and beautiful picnic area

52 Lismore Castle and the grounds are a must see

53 The city walls and 3 towers on castle street are amazing to see in a modern city

54 The Granary (Waterford Treasures) Museum is a internationally acclaimed museum

55 Passage East has an amazing view

56 Woodstown is a lovely beach with beautiful forestry nearby

57 Dunmore is brilliant for the craic and the summer festivals

58 Sauleens a different beach experience, sand for miles

59 Newtown has a great view for parking ;)

60 Kilfarassy has character abounding

61 Kilmurrin a lovely little beach, captures the sun in an unbelievable way

62 Annestown, the only town in Ireland without a pub, has a wonderful beach

63 Boatstrand a lovely beach with great fishing nearby and a pier for the kids to jump off

64 Bonmahon, great beach for camping and caravan holidays

65 Clonea, yet another lovely beach

66 Fornaught, Portally, Rathmoylan, Ballymacaw, Whiting Bay, Creaden, Ballydwan, Ballyvornay… did I mention we had beaches…

67 Crubeens (from Rockett's)

68 Greyfriars, a ruin in the city centre that you could spend the day just looking at

69 The very fine Theatre Royal

70 Waterford City shopping

71 We have BlackFriars just opposite city square, hidden in the city, what other city has so many sites that they can be ignored like this

72 Towers in Lismore is an amazing sight!

73 The view from Helvic Head

74 The lovely town of Dungarvan

75 Driving across the bridge after being away on holidays (the bridge of emotions)

76 Stalling yungwans behind the glass

77 The great history of soccer in Waterford, the legends of the past and the recent successes

78 The excellent golf courses of the Deise, from Dunmore East to Lismore

79 Dog racing in Kilcohan, an alternative Saturday night

80 Tramore Racecourse, excellent events

81 The Light Opera Festival, a brilliant alternative to the flicks!

82 Trá Fest

83 Fresh water angling on the Suir and Blackwater, and the various lakes and reservoirs

84 Sea angling off the coast from Dunmore to Dungarvan and beyond

85 An Rinn, Waterford's Gaeltacht; out of this world!

86 Downes No. 9, still blended in the 200 year old pub!

87 John Robert's architecture in City Hall and the two Cathedrals (which are quite different)

88 The square named after the man (a lovely open city centre)

89 Rally Connection in Dungarvan - Great for rally driving and off road karting

90 Ardmore Diving based in the village of Ardmore. The enclosed bay offers ideal conditions for sheltered inshore diving

91 West Waterford Monastic Trail - Ardmore - Clashmore - Molana Abbey - Knockanore - Tallow Glencairn Abbey - Lismore - Mount Melleray - Dungarvan

92 Walking Trails - River Brickey Walk, Colligan Walk, Cruachan Walk, Famine Walk, An Coinigear Walk, Helvick Head Walk, The Ardmore Cliff Walk to name but a few.

93 Dungarvan Museum

94 Mothel Abbey (13th c.) near Rathgormack

95 Hullabaloo International Childrens Festival

96 The Galley cruise on the Suir (wow!)

97 On the Comeragh Mountains & Nire Valley Drive are the standing stones, fulachta fiadh (cooking pits) and cairns around Kilbrien, and Knockboy Ogham Stones near the village.

98 The Harrison Megalithic Tomb is a noted pre-historic monument near Killea on the East Waterford Gaultier Coast Drive

99 Curraghmore Estate, Portlaw. The Home of Lord Waterford

100 Waterford has the best county pride website in the country - www.UpTheDeise.com ;)

101 Dat's de why!

Waterford Watercolours: Christian Brother's School, Mount Sion

2009-09-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

Mount Sion is the home of the Irish Christian Brothers, founded in 1802 by Edmund Ignatius Rice. A native of Callan, Rice was a prosperous Catholic merchant of Waterford who was profoundly moved by the plight of the poor children of the city. From the first struggling school he founded in the city grew the mighty religious order which has spread far beyond Ireland and provided a major contribution to Catholic education.

This painting is part of a collection of watercolours of Waterford by local artist John O'Regan, commissioned by Waterford Civic Trust and sponsored by local bodies and companies. This particular painting was sponsored by the Bank of Ireland.

The watercolours were published in a diary for 1992,'93 and '94 after which they were donated to the municipal art collection of Waterford City Council.

Pioneering women from across the globe

2009-09-17T09:00:00.000+01:00

The following extract was written by Shaun Bishop and was taken from Mercury news.com, 10th August 09. I chose this article because I thought it could be a source of inspiration for women in the South East.

Palo Alto resident Kathy Levinson isn't apt to back down from a challenge. As a three-sport varsity athlete at Stanford in the 1970s, she fought for female athletes to have equal access to good facilities and experienced coaches.

She worked her way through Silicon Valley's male-dominated financial services industry, eventually becoming the president and chief operating officer of E-Trade during the dot-com boom.

This week, the 54-year-old Levinson is playing racquetball in the 2009 National Senior Games despite having surgery less than three months ago on a torn meniscus in her right knee.

But she doesn't use that as an excuse, despite losing her first two matches in the 50+ division on Monday by close scores.

"I feel like I gave 'em a good match and I was competitive," Levinson said in the lobby of the Page Mill YMCA in Palo Alto as she iced her knee after the second match. "I played well. I gave it my best shot."

Levinson lost 13-15, 13-15 to Connecticut resident Pam Evans in the morning and 14-15, 10-15 to Colorado resident Cindy Tilbury in the afternoon.

Still, her high scores gave her enough points to have a shot at making a six-person playoff if she wins her two matches today.

This is her first racquetball competition since her then-partner Naomi Fine — now her wife — introduced her to it five or six years ago. But Levinson is no sports novice.

To her knowledge, she is the only athlete to compete in three varsity sports at Stanford — tennis, basketball and field hockey.

Off the court, she was active in the Organization of Stanford Women Athletes, which pushed for more experienced coaches, better uniforms and equal access to a gym only men played in. The group struggled to realize the promise of equality in Title IX, which passed in 1972.

"I'd like to think our fighting for rights of female athletes in college was part of what helped Stanford to have the great athletic program that is has now," Levinson said.

Levinson graduated in 1977 with a degree in economics and was a senior executive with Charles Schwab before becoming E-Trade's president and COO in 1996. Still, she is modest about her success; the only hint of her background on Monday was the E-Trade logo on the grey tank top she wore for her match.

She left corporate life in 2000 and founded the Lesbian Equity Foundation, which advocates for the rights of LGBT people, Jews and women. Now she works as an executive coach and mentor to female entrepreneurs while also raising two daughters, Reade, 16, and Parker, 13.

Levinson credits her athletic background with teaching her valuable skills for the business world, including competition and teamwork.

"As a leader of a company, I think those skills have really served me well," Levinson said.

When she needs a good workout, she heads to the YMCA for a racquetball game, but admits she often has a hard time finding other skilled women players.

One of her local hitting partners is Merijean Kelley, who is competing in the 60+ division in racquetball for the Senior Games and helped organize the matches at the YMCA. Kelley cheered Levinson on Monday afternoon after winning her first two matches earlier in the day.

"It's a congenial, competitive, enjoyable experience," Kelley said.

Levinson was hesitant to play in the Games after her knee injury, but her daughters urged her to stay in it. She's glad she did.

"I was nervous about just embarrassing myself. I feel like at least I didn't do that," she said while sitting in the YMCA lobby after Monday's match.

"You didn't," Kelley assured her. "You played very well."

The Blue Plaque Trail: Wolfe Tone Club

2009-09-15T21:00:00.001+01:00

Thomas Francis Meagher was born in Waterford, son of the first Catholic mayor of Waterford for over 200 years. From 1843 he immersed himself in Nationalist politics initially supporting Daniel O'Connell's Repeal Movement. By 1846 however, he broke with O'Connell and together with a number of the younger members of the movement (the Young Irelanders) was instrumental in the formation of the Irish Confederation, offering a more radical alternative to O'Connell's conservatism.

In March 1848 Meagher was part of the delegation which traveled to Paris carrying a message of goodwill to the new French government following the revolution there and the establishment of the Second Republic. On his return to Ireland he brought with him the tricolour flag of green, white and orange - no doubt influenced by the revolutionary French red white and blue tricolour. This flag, which ultimately became the national flag of Ireland was first flown publicly at the Wolfe Tone Club, 33 the Mall in Waterford on 7 March, 1848.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Walton and the splitting of the atom

2009-09-11T09:00:00.000+01:00

Ernest Walton was born in Abbeyside, County Waterford, Ireland, in 1903. He is famous for is work in nuclear physics and along with John Cockcroft was the first physicist to “split the atom”. Walton is the only Irishman to have won a Nobel Prize in science.

During the early 1930s Walton and John Cockcroft collaborated to build an apparatus that split the nuclei of lithium atoms by bombarding them with a stream of protons accelerated inside a high-voltage tube (700 kilovolts). The splitting of the lithium nuclei produced helium nuclei. This was experimental verification of theories about atomic structure that had been proposed earlier by Rutherford, George Gamow, and others.

The successful apparatus - a type of particle accelerator now called the Cockcroft-Walton generator - helped to usher in an era of particle-accelerator-based experimental nuclear physics. It was this research at Cambridge in the early 1930s that won Walton and Cockcroft the Nobel Prize in physics in 1951.

The "Walton Causeway Park" in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford was dedicated in his honor with Walton himself attending the ceremony in 1989. After his death the Waterford Institute of Technology named a large building the ETS Walton Building and a plaque was placed on the site of his Co. Waterford birthplace. Other honours for Walton include the Walton Building at Methodist College, Belfast, the school where he had been a boarder for five years and the Walton Prize for Physics at Wesley College, where he attended and for many years served as Chairman of the Board of Governers.

SEEPP Enterprise Awards 2009: Winner Profiles

2009-09-09T09:00:00.000+01:00

Category: Start-up

Dr David Delany and Dr Lorraine Boran, meanwhile, started Neurosynergy Games Ltd in early 2009 to commercialise IQ-EQ software - a new type of brain training software scientifically designed to improve both cognitive and emotional functioning. IQ-EQ software is the first brain trainer potentially capable of addressing both the core deficits and specific symptoms of common mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. The IQ-EQ brain training concept (patent pending) is an innovative approach to improving intellectual and emotional capacities by targeting fundamental brain processes. The IQ-EQ brain trainer software is an integrated set of innovative brain fitness games designed to, not only “enhance the mental capacities of healthy individuals, but also potentially treat an unprecedented range of mental problems including learning, mood, anxiety, psychosis, and impulse-control disorders”.

Drs Delany and Boran have initiated a number of scientific research collaborations to investigate the effectiveness of IQ-EQ brain training in treating a range of mental disorders. David has formed a wide range of experimental collaborations to investigate the effectiveness of the program in a number of contexts including, Down syndrome, cognitive decline in old age, and nicotine addiction. They formed the company with the ambitious goal of developing paradigm-shifting, scientifically-designed software that would give anyone with access to a computer an unprecedented ability to maximize their intellectual capacities, fine-tune their emotional health, modulate their attitudes and beliefs on any topic, and enhance their capacity for self-control. “Our customisable IQ-EQ brain trainer, currently under development, is the first of a novel class of brain training software with the capacity to potentially achieve this goal”. Although the company is developing a recreational version of the game David states “our primary target is the clinical market, where we hope to position the trainer as a complement to existing treatments for mental illness”. Nuerosynergy Games are currently developing versions of the game for the PC, iPhone, and X-Box.

David has enjoyed his experience with SEEPP to a great extent “Our start-up has benefited tremendously from my participation on the SEEPP programme. The classes, mentors, networking opportunities, and class camaraderie have all contributed to a very positive and supportive experience. The postgraduate diploma gained upon successful completion is an extra bonus! I would strongly recommend SEEPP to anyone starting up a business”.

A retired entrepreneur

2009-09-07T09:00:00.000+01:00

Above picture and below extract taken from Joe Cashin's flickr photostream. Joe's page contains hundred of brilliant pictures of the South-East and is well worth a look. You'll end up spending hours 'flicking' through it.

This is an old butchers shop in Waterford city. Mr. Larkin retired some years ago so now he and his friends sit here every day and have a smoke and a chat here as they look out the door on one of the busiest shopping places in Waterford city. Mr. Larkin said it was OK to take the pictures and he now calls his old butcher's shop his conservotary.

The evolution of Waterford Airport

2009-09-03T21:00:00.002+01:00

Waterford Airport was set up by Waterford Corporation with State and private support in 1979/'80 at an investment of €1.76 million. The airport opened in December 1981 with a 1200 metre long and 29 metre wide runway for single and twin-engine light aircraft. The terminal building was initially a portacabin. The first customer at the airport was Waterford Aero Club, who are still successfully flying from the airport.

Avair provided the first scheduled passenger service from the airport between Waterford and Dublin in April 1982. The failure of Avair in February 1983 left the airport without a scheduled passenger service until the arrival of Ryanair in 1985. Though the airport continued operations with air taxi flights for the business community, occasional charters to race meetings and of course the training of pilots, an activity that has always been a daily part of operations at Waterford.

The 8th July 1985 was a historic day for the small airport in the South East, as on that day Ryanair commenced the airport’s first international scheduled passenger service between Waterford and London-Gatwick. This was to be Ryanair's very first scheduled service (their scheduled operations from Dublin started in May 1986). The fledgling airline started the London route with a humble 15-seat Embraer Bandeirante.

Demand soon exceeded the capacity of this aircraft and the service was upgraded to a 44 seat Hawker Siddley 748 in May 1986. At the same time the opportunity was taken to switch the service to London-Luton.

Luton Airport has remained the most successful and convenient destination for Waterford passengers since then.

Following a change in policy, Ryanair discontinued services from Irish regional airports and its place on the London route was soon taken in 1993 by Manx Airlines using BAe Jetstream 41, 29 seat aircraft, this time flying to London-Stansted. Within two weeks of starting operations from Waterford, Manx Airlines added the Manchester route. Manx Airlines later became British Regional Airlines and traded under franchise as British Airways Express to Waterford until January 2001.

The small family owned airline Suckling Airways operated along side British Regional Airlines using Dornier 228 18 seat aircraft to London-Luton from 1994 to 2000.

In January 2001 Euroceltic Airways commence scheduled services from Waterford to London-Luton using 44 seat Fokker F27s. In November 2001 the company added Liverpool and in October 2002 a link to Dublin was established.

In January 2003, Euroceltic ceased operations but was succeeded by Aer Arann in June 2003 on the important Waterford to London-Luton route. Also in 2003 Pilot Training College Ireland established their training base at Waterford Airport.

Aer Arann has successfully grown its operations since their introduction to Waterford adding in turn London, Manchester, Lorient (summer only) and, in May 2007, Birmingham.

Slattery Sun and Atlantic Airways introduced three new destinations from Waterford Airport in June 2007 – Bordeaux, Faro and Malaga – using BAe146 short take off and landing (STOL) jet aircraft. This marked the first time that “summer sun” destinations have been made available from the airport. It is also noteworthy in that it was the first time a jet airliner has been regularly used on scheduled passenger flights from Waterford. In 2008, these routes will be operated by Aer Arann using 146 aircraft, with the addition of Amsterdam – a very exciting development with Waterford Airport having a link to one of Europe’s main hubs.

Waterford Airport is currently at the early stages of a substantial capital development programme to be completed by the end of 2009. The total programme amounts to €27.7 million, with €22.3 million of this funding recently allocated by the Minister for Transport under the Department of Transport’s Capital Expenditure Grant Scheme. The projects funded under the development programme will transform Waterford Airport. We will see improved facilities and a much-improved experience for those flying to and from the airport. The programme encompasses the extension of the runway to 1,850 metres long and 45 metres wide. The ability to accommodate mid sized jets will allow us to tap into the region’s pent up demand for additional scheduled services and charter business.

The Blue Plaque Trail: Neptune Shipyard

2009-09-01T09:00:00.001+01:00

In 1843 the Neptune Ironworks opened at Park Road as a repair yard for the growing fleet of ships of the Malcolmson family. A Quaker family, the Malcolmsons were major industrialists in the area and had established their cotton factory in Portlaw in the 1820s. At the end of 1846 the first steamer built in the Neptune yard was launched, the SS Neptune.

The shipbuilding business continued to develop especially under the management of John Horn from 1849-70 and employing over 1,000 men locally. In total forty steamers were built at the Neptune yard including five trans-Atlantic liners for the Malcolmson London, Le Harve and New York line, the SS Cella (1862), SS Iowa (1863), SS Cordova (1864), SS William Penn, and SS Indiana. From the 1870s however, the concern was in serious decline, especially after the bankruptcy of the Malcolmson brothers and when the last ship to be built in the yard was completed in 1882 the workforce was reduced to thirty-two men.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

A look at Carlow

2009-08-28T09:00:00.001+01:00

Carlow has a wealth of scenery and history – from rich pastureland and colourful mountains to the deep and historical Barrow River Valley.

Welcoming people and sporting activities, such as gentle river cruising, golf or even hang gliding on Mount Leinster, allow for a memorable visit.

Carlow Town marks the meeting of the Barrow and Burrin rivers, a point which was believed to be once made up of four lakes, hence the gaelic name, Ceathar Loch, or Four Lakes.

The main towns in the county are Bagenalstown, Sir Walter Bagenal’s 18th century attempt at replicating Versailles, Borris, a handsome estate town, full of charm and heritage and home to the MacMurrough Kavanagh family, former Celtic Kings of Leinster, Leighlinbridge, gold medal winner in Europe’s Entente Florale in 2001, an attractive town with a beautiful arch bridge, said to be one of the oldest functioning bridges in Europe, Tullow, ancestral home of the famous Wolseley family - of motor car fame - and the picturesque and historic village of St. Mullins.

For more information on visiting in the southeast region go to SoutheastIreland.com...

Oylegate Glenbrien A Look back in Time

2009-08-26T09:00:00.000+01:00

Following extract taken from the Wexford Echo, regarding the book 'Oylegate Glenbrien A Look back in Time'

Oylegate, Wexford, is a parish of outstanding achievement. It has produced All Ireland winning hurlers, Ireland's best ploughmen, a racehorse trainer of international renown, distilling experts, an inventor of agricultural implements, a Circuit Court Judge, and many others whose various talents have gone into shaping the parish.

However, one of the most astonishing stories found in the book, and unique to Oylegate, is the lifestyle consisting of net fishing for salmon on the Slaney during the summer and then working indoors at the whiskey production firm of Powers for the winter months.

Those were the days when large numbers of salmon were caught in the Slaney. Old timers recalled catches of forty or fifty salmon being hauled in at the one time. The Maher brothers, Denis and Paddy, remembered one salmon weighing 42 pounds in 1961.

Estimates put the numbers working at Powers from Oylegate numbered 150, which was about half the total workforce. And while we are certain that the fishermen and their families enjoyed some tasty salmon, we also know that the workers received a generous ration of whiskey every day!

The interchangeable six months in Dublin and six months in Oylegate for the male population lasted for about 150 years before ceasing in 1976. The Power family lived at Edermine House and built a row of houses in Oylegate village in 1878, with an additional group of houses added in 1895.

Tom Miller tells the tale of the whiskey and fishes and he also recalls a terrible tragedy on the River Slaney in 1895. Those were the days when it was common practice to cross the river to visit friends in the Bree-Ballyhogue area, and even more so after a railway station was established at Macmine.

Two people named Mernagh and another named Malone perished when a flat bottomed wooden boat capsized while making the short trip, and the story is told in full, and the first bridge at Edermine was opened a few years later in 1898.

The original concept for the book started as a fundraising idea for the new community centre in Oylegate, following a suggestion that a short history of the national school be compiled.

The idea was discussed at an Oylegate Community Centre Committee meeting in July 2007 and the minutes of the meeting referred to the project as a 'booklet'.

But what started life as a school history booklet has grown into a fully fledged 400page book on the history of the OylegateGlenbrien area, called 'Oylegate-Glenbrien, A Look Back in Time'.

'So we formed the Oylegate-Glenbrien Journal Society; some members from Oylegate, some from Glenbrien, some native and some new, ranging in age from a mere 24 to a stately 72-years-old!'

This is a book full of fine stories.

Women Need More Positive Role Models

2009-08-24T09:00:00.002+01:00

The below extract was taken from Waterford Today, published on 25th March 09

Irish women are far more likely to enter the Dragon's Den of self-employment if their parents had an entrepreneurial spirit, key research from Waterford Institute of Technology shows.

Those who were given chores and duties in the home from a young age also felt this responsibility was 'good training' for being self-employed. Other women who have set up successful businesses said being involved in sports and activities while at school taught them invaluable lessons in team-work, strategy, creativity and problem-solving.

Despite Ireland's entrepreneurial culture and an even gender population split, just 15-18 per cent of entrepreneurs are female, a rate which is one of the lowest in the developed world.

The quandary spurred the study of some of the 20 female entrepreneurs who participated on the Female Entrepreneurship in Ireland and Wales (FEIW) pilot enterprise development programme, an Interreg-IIIA funded project between Waterford Institute of Technology's Centre for Entrepreneurship and Aberystwyth University, Wales.

Research suggests that women are socialised in a way that inhibits the development of entrepreneurial intentions and steers girls towards more traditional career paths, according to the Centre's Margaret Tynan who supervised the research by WIT's Margaret Durand in the area.

"This study by Margaret Durand examined what made these women different - the socialisation factors that influenced this group. Family was a key motivating influence on the female entrepreneurs in this study. They frequently had entrepreneurial parents and explained that having this made entrepreneurship seem a feasible career option, she found.

"The women also spoke to her about their parents instilling a sense of responsibility in them through giving them chores and duties in the home from a young age. They felt that having chores in the home was 'good training' for being self-employed," the project supervisor added.

In addition, the female entrepreneurs from middle class backgrounds regarded their access to both financial and human capital as important, she added. "They stated that their family's social background and financial security were key to accessing education, which in turn enabled them to access opportunities with confidence. Those who had opportunities to travel and to meet a wide variety of successful people reported an enhanced willingness to take risks and avail of opportunities. The majority stated that entrepreneurship offered a lifestyle and social standing that were highly desirable."

These findings suggest that more females could be encouraged to pursue entrepreneurship as a career if policy contributed to and simulated certain socialisation influences.

Entrepreneurs identified an immediate need to create an environment where girls have contact with entrepreneurs and some level of responsibility, thus it would seem beneficial to run outreach programmes in disadvantaged areas.

All women must have equal access to opportunities and those from disadvantaged backgrounds need to be exposed to success, the study recommended.

It also encourages more females to participate in sports and extra-curricular activity and placing more high profile female entrepreneurs in the media.

John O' Shea: Captain Fantastic

2009-08-20T09:00:00.001+01:00

Congratulations to John O' Shea. The Waterford man captained Manchester United in their first game of this season against Birmingham City. John O' Shea has the distinction of playing in every position for United, even in goal. It is this versitility that has made O' Shea such an important part of Alex Ferguson's squad.

Born in Waterford, Ireland, O'Shea signed professional forms with Manchester United at the age of 17. At the time he was attending De La Salle college . He made his professional debut in 1999 against Aston Villa at Villa Park in a 3–0 Football League Cup defeat.

On 4 February 2007, during league game against Tottenham Hotspur, O'Shea deputised for Edwin van der Sar in goal after the van der Sar was taken off the pitch for a broken nose, while Manchester United had already used all three substitutes. During this time he denied his Republic of Ireland teammate Robbie Keane a goal with a save a few minutes before full time. Following this incident, United fans chanted "Ireland's number one" in O'Shea's honour.

A month later he won over many United fans by scoring an injury time winner against Liverpool at Anfield for United in the league, having come on as a substitute for Wayne Rooney. This goal was important in United going on to regain the Premiership trophy for the 2006–07 season. He also rescued his team against Everton in one of the final games of the season, when he bundled the ball in the net after Everton goalkeeper Iain Turner fumbled a Ryan Giggs corner. United went on to win 4–2.

This was perhaps an even more decisive goal, as Bolton were drawing with Chelsea at the same time and defeat would have let Chelsea back into the title race. He scored another goal from close range, in a 2–1 defeat away to Portsmouth that season, this goal came during an injury hit part of the season, were O'Shea, as a versatile player, was required to play at full back. John O'Shea had a shooting accuracy of 100% and scored with 80% of his shots in the 2006–07 season.

During the 2007–08 season, Manchester United used O'Shea as an emergency striker due to injury problems. His use as a striker gave him the distinction of having played in every position for Manchester United. On 23 November 2007, John O'Shea extended his contract at Manchester United, to keep him at the club until 2012. Throughout the 2007-2008 season John O'Shea came off the bench several times and proved important as a utility player on the way to a European double. O'Shea captained his club for the first time, during a 2–0 home defeat to Coventry City in the League Cup Fourth Round.

The Blue Plaque Trail: First Garage in Ireland

2009-08-18T09:00:00.001+01:00

In 1900 Ireland's first garage was opened in Catherine Street by William F. Peare in partnership with Alderman Sir William Goff who bought the very first car sold by the garage, a French De Dion Buton and has the distinction of being Ireland's first car owner. In 1901 Peare began assembling motorized tricycles - the beginnings of Ireland's motor manufacturing industry. During World War I Peare served as a Captain in the British army and the company went into decline and was forced into liquidation in 1917. However that same year the business was taken over by John Kelly, a local business man and continued to operate from the Catherine Street site until the business moved to the Cork Road.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Annie Brophy: the first female photographer

2009-08-14T09:00:00.001+01:00

Annie Brophy went to school at the Mercy Convent and was singled out as a student with an artistic flair. She began to train as a photographer in the early 1900s with Mr Hughes of Manor Street, who was a prominent photographer in the region. At the time, photography was an unusual career for a female and when she finished her studies with Mr Hughes, Annie became the only professional female photographer in Waterford and possibly in Ireland.

In 1922, Annie established her own studios at 9 Barker Street in Waterford City. Her brother Billy assisted her at the studio. During her career Annie took thousands of photographs, mainly of Waterford people. Almost every home in Waterford City has as least one Brophy image, usually beautiful portraits of family occasions such as Christenings, First Communions, Confirmations and Weddings.

Annie Brophy is remembered fondly in Waterford as a photographer who truthfully documented the city's everyday life. She was born in Johnstown in Waterford City in 1899. Her father Michael was born in Co. Kilkenny and her mother Hannah was born in Co. Cork. Her father was a constable in the RIC. Annie had two sisters called Margaret and Isabella, and four brothers called Thomas, Andrew, Michael and Billy.

Annie Brophy retired in 1978 after a very long and successful career, which had spanned five decades. Following her retirement, she moved to 22 Morley Terrace in the city. She died on Friday 21 November 1986, aged eighty-seven years. In 2005, Waterford City Council purchased Annie Brophy's collection of over 60,000 negatives. These are deposited in the City Archives. There are several public exhibitions of Annie's photographs each year. The Annie Brophy Collection, with its wide-ranging photographs of Waterford's people and buildings, tells us many important things about the social history of twentieth-century Waterford.

Waterford Bright Ideas Campaign

2009-08-12T09:00:00.000+01:00

Even though our own site deals with issues from all the South-East I think it is important that people from Kilkenny, South Tipp, Wexford and Carlow all get behind eachother and have a input into the development of our regional capital - Waterford City. After all, Waterford is the gateway City for the South-East and only through its success will the region reach its full potential.

The following extract is taken from the Waterford Bright Ideas website which is looking for innovative initiatives for the Waterford area. Its a great concept and excellently put together. The initiative is linked with another great site www.updedeise.com which deals with all aspects of Waterfordian life. So, whether you are from Waterford or another part of the South-East have your say heard.

Hello Bright Spark,

If you want to make a positive change to Waterford City & County you have come to the right place.

With the Bright Ideas Campaign we are asking the people of Waterford City & County to help drive the City & County forward and bring us through these hard times. We are looking for any ideas that will help Waterford and it’s economic recovery and revival. Now you have a chance to say how your City & County should be run, what good business & tourist ideas you would implement as well as any positive change for your local environ, area, street or estate.

We also wholly welcome any positive input from visitors to our City & County as to what they would change to make their stay a more enjoyable & pleasant one. It would be great to find out what you found so memorable from other City & County visits that would enhance your experience in Waterford.

We want to collate all these ideas and to present them to your local City & County officials for use by you the people of Waterford & it’s many visitors.

We want to preserve & grow employment loyal & local to Waterford & empower local communities to make positive changes to our quality of life.

Campaign Deadline for Submission of Ideas is August 1st. This will be followed by ideas being presented to your local officials for use in City & County planning.

Come on Bright Sparks. Give us your Bright Ideas. Together we can build a brighter future for Waterford

Sample idea

I would like it if there were a flagpole erected near 33 the Mall in remembrance of the fact that TF Meagher conceived and raised the Irish flag for the very first time in Waterford City.

It should be a substantial flagpole/monument with possibly a platform at the base for speeches and important events. I would suggest that national and international dignitaries be invited to raise the flag once a year in March (on the anniversary of the event) as part of a national celebration of this momentous ocassion, which could stimulate tourism and will certainly raise the profile of Waterford nationally and internationally.

-Cian Foley

Here are some other suggestions:

Create incentives for tourists to holiday in low visitor areas.
Make Waterford City the Viking capital of Ireland.
Emphasise the significance of Waterford as Irelands first city & establish Waterford as the chronological birth place showing the evolutions of Ireland over time.
Advertise our county during the GAA championships to visiting teams for a special weekend break offer for the visiting county.
If all criteria matches allow a tax incentive for local businesses that use each other.
Metro rail service from Waterford City Centre to Tramore.
Run an annual Windsurfing/Watersports festival along the Waterford Coast line.
Learn from the successes of Genzyme & attract more biopharam manufacturing to Waterford.

Craig Healy: Life of a graduate entrepreneur

2009-08-10T10:31:00.007+01:00

The following extract is from Craig Healy, a local entrepreneur from Wexford. Craig recently left collage and decided to start his own business. Read his story so far....

craighealysom@gmail.com or call 085 1352868.

I have always been a bit of an entrepreneur and have always had my hand in a few side projects even while at college. When I completed an honors degree in legal studies with business, at Waterford Institute of Technology, I found myself in a position where there were no jobs available in any line of work that suited me. This is the situation which many graduates now find themselves facing.

Graduating into the recession is difficult, however, I decided to take a proactive approach. Although a difficult time to start a business, being my own boss was the only way to go. So, here I am now after starting my own Driving School "Craig Healy School of Motoring", in my home town of Wexford.

The Road Safety Authority have recently regulated the rules for becoming a driving instructor so to qualify I had to through a number of exams first. Business was a bit slow at the beginning. I tried to get my name around and attract as many new customers as I could. Slowly but surely business is now starting to pick up.

If you have any queries email me at craighealysom@gmail.com or call 085 1352868.

Check back for more update from the Life of a Graduate Entrepreneur.
Craig

The origins of WLR

2009-08-06T09:00:00.000+01:00

WLR FM has become an integrate part of the fabric of Waterford city and the South East region since it first launched in 1978. The station has played a key role in the development of the city by providing a platform through which local businesses can communicate and interact with their customers as well as giving local people a chance to voice their opinions on all aspects of life in the region.

WLR originally started as a pirate station, when brothers Des Whelan and Rick Whelan first broadcasted from a shed at their home in Killottern, just outside Waterford City. This unlicensed operation was one of the longest lasting in the country and continued for just over a decade until its closure at the end of 1988, when new radio licences were to be awarded by the then IRTC (now BCI). WLR, with a number of local businessmen on board formed a consortium to apply for the franchise to broadcast to Waterford city and county.

This application had competition from two other applicants, one (Deise Broadcasting Company) involved former pirate ABC Radio and local business people including the Reid family (owners of the well-known 'Egans' licenced premises where ABC was based before its closure), and another application (Waterford Radio/WRFM) which was backed by the then Waterford Foods and The Munster Express newspaper.

The IRTC held oral hearings for the Waterford licence at the Tower Hotel in Waterford city on the 27th April 1989 where all three applicants presented their case. Shortly afterwards it was announced WLR's consortium was victorious. The licensed WLR FM launched on the 8th of September 1989 from studios on Georges Street above the Georges Court Shopping Centre in Waterford City. The station broadcast from these studios for many years until the building of the present purpose-built Broadcast Centre, at Ardkeen, Waterford.

The Blue Plaque Trail: CTI

2009-08-04T09:00:00.000+01:00

In 1906 the Central Technical Institute opened on the Mall in Waterford. It was established under the provisions of the Agricultural and Technical Education (Ireland) Act of 1899, perhaps one of the most significant pieces of legislation dealing with the provision of education in Ireland since the establishment of the National Schools in 1831.

The CTI was administered by a local Committee for Technical Instruction and its first chairman was the Catholic bishop of the diocese, Dr. Sheehan - who was also the founder of the Waterford and South East of Ireland Archaeological Society in 1894. It was mainly due to the vision and commitment of Bishop Sheehan that the early problems of finance especially were over come. For over a century the CTI has made a lasting contribution to the educational, social and cultural life of the city.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

SEEPP Enterprise Awards 2009: Winner Profiles

2009-07-31T09:00:00.002+01:00

Category: Early stage

PRACTANNA MEDICAL was founded by Gerry Ryder, a chemical engineer and Anne Houston, a nurse and ileostomy patient in 2007 following three years of extensive research. The company is committed to improving the lives of Ileostomy patients. The idea for the business came from Anne’s experience after her ileostomy surgery. "There were no changes in hospitals since the 70s. This horrified Anne and we decided to look for a better way”. The company is located in the WIT Arclabs facility in Waterford. Gerry completed the South East Enterprise Platform Programme in 2006/2007 academic year.

Practanna completed its product development with the assistance of members of the Irish Ileosotomy Association. Ileostomy patients can take up to 3 years to accept their altered body image and post-surgery, integration back into the community is an upsetting experience. According to Gerry The products reduce stress and anxiety for new patients when they have to empty their pouches up to six times a day. It makes it easier to empty their pouches when they are away from home i.e. trains and planes. There is no need to sit or crouch beside public toilets. Practanna Medical develops products that significantly improve the lives of Ileostomy patients. Practanna Medical is happy to announce the launch of its first products, Ostees and Osteesac.

The company can be contacted by email info@practanna.com. Tel +353-(0)51-302181 and can be viewed at www.practanna.com When asked if he had any advice for individuals considering starting up a business he stated Make sure there is going to be a market for your goods and services. Allow for the fact that everything costs more and takes longer than you think it will. It takes hard work and perseverance. You have to like solving problems and you cant do it all yourself.

Ryanair: A South-East success story

2009-07-30T09:00:00.002+01:00

On July 5th 1985 the first international scheduled flight from the newly built Waterford Regional airport took place. The carrier was RyanAir, and destination Gatwick Airport, England. This flight had the distinction of been the first scheduled flight from a non-state Airport in Ireland.

Ryanair was set up by Christy Ryan from Waterford, Tony Ryan from Tipperary and Liam Lonergan with a share capital of just £1, and a staff of 25.

The company started with a 15-seater Bandeirante aircraft that operated daily from Waterford in the South-East of Ireland to London Gatwick. The aim was to break the duopoly on London-Ireland flights, held by British Airways and Aer Lingus at the time.

There was a requirement for Ryanair's first cabin crew recruits to be less than 5ft. 2ins. tall in order to be able to operate in the tiny cabin of the aircraft.

From its small start the in the South-East, Ryanair, consisting of only one plane, grew to become one of the most successfull airlines in the world and changed the face of aviation in Europe.

Kilkenny and the oldest brewery in Ireland

2009-07-29T09:00:00.000+01:00

The St. Francis Abbey Brewery occupies over 25 acres in the heart of Kilkenny City and is the oldest brewery in Ireland. The brewery has been part of local life for over 290 years and it is here that Smithwick’s Ale was first brewed in 1710.

In the mid 1800s, driven by the ambition and skill of Edmund Smithwick, the brewery expanded as Smithwick’s ale became more popular nationwide. The brewery began exporting eight different types of beer. By the 1920s Smithwick’s had become Ireland’s most popular ale, a position it still holds.

The St. Francis Abbey Brewery continues to brew Smithwick’s to this day. It also produces Budweiser for the Irish market. Kilkenny has a proud brewing history, dating from as early as the 14th century, when monks in St. Francis Abbey began brewing at this location.

Robert Boyle: "the father of modern chemistry"

2009-07-28T09:00:00.000+01:00

The following extract appeared in the Irish Times, March 8, 2001, and is written by William Reville, University College, Cork.

Robert Boyle (1627-1691), ‘The Father of Chemistry’, was the most influential scientist ever born in Ireland. His influence on chemistry has been likened to that of Copernicus (1473-1543) on cosmology, who proposed that the sun and not the earth lies at the centre of the solar system. Apart from chemistry Boyle made many other contributions to science.

Robert Boyle was born in Lismore, Co. Waterford, the youngest son of Richard Boyle, First Earl of Cork, and his second wife Katherine Fenton. Richard accumulated a great fortune in Ireland and enjoyed a high social standing. Robert displayed a quiet scholarly disposition and was his father’s favourite son.

After early education at home, Robert was sent for a while to Eton College in England. Then at the age of 11 he was sent, with a tutor, on a grand tour of Europe which lasted for 6 years. Apart from conventional studies on the tour, Robert was also exposed to some vulgar ways of the world. For example, he attracted the amorous attentions of a couple of Friars, but he staunchly resisted the ‘preposterous courtship’ of those ‘gowned sodomites’.

During his tour of Europe, the young Boyle experienced an awesome thunderstorm which had the effect of a religious conversion experience. Boyle thought he was going to die and felt very ill-prepared to meet his Maker. Surviving the storm, he resolved to keep his spiritual side well serviced so that he would not be caught unawares again.

Boyle returned to Dorset in England in 1644 and embarked on a writing career, largely of pious and moralistic material in the beginning. In 1649 he set up a scientific laboratory, and he began to write accounts of his scientific work, promulgating the use of experiment and the scientific method.

In 1655 Boyle moved to Oxford where he joined a group of natural philosophers that foreshadowed the Royal Society, founded in 1660. Robert Hooke (1635-1703) entered Boyle’s employ at this time and helped him in his experiments. They built the air-pump used to create vacuums and with which Boyle carried out many trials to elucidate the nature and importance of air.

Boyle demonstrated the necessity of air for combustion, for animal breathing, and for the transmission of sound. Prior to moving from Oxford to London in 1688, he published much influential work, including New Experiments Physio-Mechanical, Touching the Spring of the Air and its Effects (1660) and The Sceptical Chymist (1661). In The Spring of The Air he described the inverse relationship between the volume of a gas and its pressure – now known as Boyle’s Law.

Medieval science was dominated by the ideas of Aristotle (384-322 BC). Aristotle proposed that matter was composed of 4 elements – earth, air, fire, and water - which in varying proportions constituted all things. Paracelsus (1493-1531), an adept in alchemy, proposed that various combinations of three controlling elements (mercury, sulphur, salt) accounted for the various properties of matter.

Modern chemistry developed out of medieval alchemy. Alchemy was a pseudoscientific practice that sought a method (by varying the proportions of the 3 controlling elements) of changing base metals into gold, an elixir to prolong life indefinitely, a panacea to cure all ills, and a solvent capable of dissolving anything. Alchemy was still practiced in Boyle’s time and he himself studied the art. He was quite prepared to believe that ‘cosmical qualities’ transcended pure mechanical laws in the universe. However, he sharply differentiated his scientific experimentation and theorising from his alchemical work.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) laid down guidelines for the pursuit of inductive science by controlled experiment but Boyle, the experimenter par excellence [italics], worked out this idea in full and must be credited for properly introducing the modern experimental method into science and for teasing chemistry away from its alchemical origins.

Boyle was very religious. His major preoccupation was the relationship between God’s power, the created realm and man’s perception of it, and he was very hostile to views of nature that he saw as detracting from an appreciation of God’s power in his creation. His principal target in this respect was the Aristotelian worldview so prevalent in his day. Boyle used his experiments to demonstrate that mechanical explanations of the world are better than the traditional qualitative explanations associated with the ideas of Aristotle.

In his book The Sceptical Chymist, Boyle attacked Aristotle’s and Paracelsus’s theories. He proposed that elements are basically composed of ‘corpuscles’ of various sorts and sizes capable of organising themselves into groups and that each group constitutes a chemical substance. He clearly distinguished between mixtures and compounds and showed that a compound can have very different properties from those of its constituents. This prefigured the atomic theory of matter. Boyle declared that the proper object of chemistry was analysis of composition and, indeed, he coined the term analysis itself. He was also the first chemist to collect a sample of gas.

Robert Boyle was friendly with Isaac Newton (1642-1727). Newton worked intensively on alchemical investigations, but he kept this work secret. Newton had something of a paranoid personality and was secretive about most of his activities. He tried unsuccessfully to infect Boyle with this paranoia. Boyle, the wealthy aristocrat, had an easy self confidence lacking in the self-made Newton.

In his will Boyle endowed a series of Boyle Lectures, which still continue, ‘for proving the Christian Religion against notorious Infidels’. He rarely dedicated any of his many books to others. Interestingly, his last work, Free Discourse Against Swearing, published posthumously, was dedicated to his brother, the Second Earl of Cork.

Website chronicling south-east innovators aims to inspire entrepreneurs

2009-07-27T09:00:00.001+01:00

Extract taken from the Irish Examiner, published on the 21st July 2009.

BUDDING entrepreneurs are being inspired by the successful business people of the past through a new website which celebrates innovation in the south-east region.

Business mentors at the Centre for Enterprise Development and Regional Economy (CEDRE) at the School of Business, Waterford Institute of Technology, have developed southeaststories.blogspot.com, which traces the roots of the bacon, ship-building, brewing and other key industries in the region.

The site also profiles the counties of the south-east and has a host of links to agencies and groups which support enterprise and job creation in the region. CEDRE's David Coffey said it was fitting, on the week we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first man on the moon, we look back at some of our own south-east innovators and pioneers.

"The south-east region has produced some truly enterprising and innovative people who made an enormous contribution to all walks of life. Although many of these people made a huge difference to the world around them, their contributions have not been highlighted enough.

"The aim of this site is to bring to light the many stories and tales of an enterprising place – the south-east and show appreciation and admiration for those who stepped up and made a difference. Among those we have already featured are the Jacobs, Dennys, Walton, Ryan, Brophy, Malcolmson, Penrose, Boyle and Magnier.

"We hope that those with information about the rich entrepreneurial heritage of the south-east region will share their stories on the site. We’ve already got articles about the bacon, ship building and brewing industry, but we want much more. We want to create an online museum, one which celebrates the great South-East innovators of the past and also supports and encourages pioneers of the future" Mr Coffey added.

The SEEPP programme is just one of the programmes run by CEDRE. It is aimed at those with innovative business ideas, who are considering starting a business in the south-east of Ireland.

The programme has in the past supported 140 projects – the main criteria is that the concept is innovative.

SEEPP Enterprise Awards 2009

2009-07-24T09:00:00.000+01:00

Two innovative and exceptional companies were honoured at the SEEPP Enterprise Awards 2009, sponsored by Ulster Bank South East Business Centre and Ernst & Young which was held on May 26th in WIT. The winner of the Start-Up category was David Delany, Neurosynergy Games Ltd, the Early Stage category winner was Gerry Ryder, Practanna Medical and winner of the best exhibit was Tom Byrnes, Pack Publishing.

These awards were open to both current and past participants of the highly regarded South East Enterprise Platform Programme. The Enterprise Awards acknowledge the contributions made by entrepreneurs to the economic development and progression of the South East region.

The judging panel included Brian O’Sullivan, Manager, Ulster Bank South East Business Centre, William Galloway, Partner, Ernst & Young and Clodagh Whelan, Regional Director, Enterprise Ireland, and was chaired by Mr. Pierce Casey, Entrepreneur and CEO-in-Residence at the School of Business in WIT.

SEEPP Director Eugene Crehan said "The SEEPP finalists all presented their business ideas excellently to the panel of highly experienced judges and I think the finalists benefitted greatly from the feedback given by the judges!

The guest speaker on the evening was Jim Sheehan, MD, Surecom Network Solutions (NS) Ltd. Surecom is at the high end of the telecommunications technology business, providing telecommunications engineering services and solutions to major European players such as O2, Telefonica, Meteor, Ericsson, Vodafone and BT.

The Blue Plaque Trail: Séan Dunne

2009-07-23T09:00:00.000+01:00

Seán Dunne was born in 1956 in Waterford City. He attended Mount Sion primary and secondary schools in the city where he started writing for the school magazine before going to University College Cork. After graduating from university he settled in Cork where he worked in the city library and wrote for the Cork Examiner. He published three collections of poetry, Against the Storm (1985), The Sheltered Nest (1992) and Time and the Island (1996), as well as a memoir of growing up in Waterford in the 1960s, In My Father's House (2000). Sean died in 1995 aged thirty-nine. He is remembered each year in the Seán Dunne Writers' Festival - a fitting tribute to Waterford's most creative literary sons.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Jacobs and Waterford

2009-07-22T09:00:00.000+01:00

Extract taken from Views from the Brasscock by Joe Falvey, published in the Munster Express on the 13th June 2009.

For the third time in about a month this column has shown a certain prescience in dealing with a number of locally related topics in our tourist trail mini-series. The latest was our reference in our Garter Lane/Meeting House story and the related local Quaker business community of that area, including the Jacob family of William and Robert who resided nearby.

Within a week it was announced, sadly, that the Jacob biscuit factory producing the much relished Kimberly, Mikado and Coconut Creams had come to an end at its factory in Dublin. As such was treated as a national story leading the headlines on all the national media outlets. But it’s also very much a Waterford story worthy of noting.

Though strongly associated with Dublin for a long time, Jacob’s biscuits were first produced in Waterford in 1851. Brothers, William and Robert who lived in O’Connell Street opened their first bakery in Bridge Street on a site where Lonergans had a bakery subsequently. As we noted on a number of occasions the Waterford Quaker community made a huge contribution to the commercial life of Waterford during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Ample testimony

This is what we said reminding you of that contribution as we visited the now Garter Lane: Approached, as we said, through an inconspicuous archway, the entrance gives no idea at all of the size of the 18th century building behind. Its size gives ample testimony to the size and wealth of the Quaker community then in Waterford. It was in this newly developed area outside the old medieval city, and in streets like King Street (now called O’Connell Street) and Hanover Street, where most of the Quaker merchants of Waterford had their homes and business premises.

Names like Penrose and Gatchell, both of glass-making fame, Jacob of biscuit fame - it was in Waterford that Jacob produced the first cream cracker as ship’s biscuit and White the ship -builders were all to be found here. The name of Grubb still features trading on this street. The building which housed original home of the Jacob founding brother is still in daily use as a business premises.

In total the Quakers made up just 2 percent of the city’s population but their economic contribution proved enormous and thus far outweighed their small number. Streets in this Quaker quarter still echo their presence and their metiers: Glasshouse Lane, Penrose Lane, Dyehouse Lane and of course, Meeting House Lane. A Penrose flint glass decanter, crafted in the nearby works, dating from 1790 is on display among the Waterford Treasures in the Granary. We have not even mentioned the towering influence of the Malcolmson family yet, some descendents of whom are still giving service to their community today. Remembered too is their great contribution in this city of life-saving sustenance to the poor and hungry during the terrible famine of the late 1840’s which the members of the Quaker community both financed and operated.

Business heads

Financial prudence was their watchword in business affairs and therefore to run one’s business otherwise was deemed unacceptable as this might lead to bankruptcy which was regarded as dishonesty, as the money of others was put at risk. (How our country could have done with such prudence in recent times)! To minimise such a risk, the Quakers kept a close eye on each others commercial affairs. They trusted and helped each other, and took the sons of relations and fellow-Quakers as apprentices. This proved very successful for the conduct of business. This system, their honest dealings and plain living enabled them to grow prosperous as manufacturers, tradesmen, bankers, and merchants.

Seamas O Maitiu, in his excellent book on the history of W&R Jacob, the famous biscuit makers, goes on to tell us that they eventually came to dominate key 18th century industries in Britain and Ireland. Quaker families became household names in the fields of iron-making, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and banking. In the 19th century they went on to play a key role in new industries such as shoemaking, biscuits and choclate Barclays, Lloyds, Price Waterhouse, Swan Hunter, Clarks’ shoes, Wedgewood, Huntley and Palmer, Cadbury, Frys, and Rowntree all have Quaker origins in England. In Ireland, famous Quaker business families include the Pims (pioneered railways in Ireland), Grubbs, Bewleys, Lambs (remember the Jams!).

And very importantly the Waterford Quakers, firstly, the Malcolmsons of the huge and world famous cotton mills of Portlaw and their equally famous ship Neptune ship building company at Adelphi Quay which sailed the oceans of the world, indeed, their SS Una was the first ship to sail through the Suez Canal, (Bill Irish has a great book on the history of Waterford ship building). The Penroses and the Whites were also into shipping. Brewing was long associated with Strangmans, Goffs and Davis, and of course, the Penroses and Gatchells are famously linked with the introduction of glass making into Waterford.

In tribute

As alluded to already, Jacobs founded their biscuit factory in Waterford at 33 Bridge Street as provisions for a teeming harbour of ships. Their achievements in these areas alone have been truly remarkable especially when one remembers that they remained a minority sect never numbering more than one percent of the population in either England or Ireland. On reading the Malcolmson story, in particular, and their enormous achievements which were on a truly international scale, one wonders where are the monuments, the plaques, street names and city squares named in their honour.

So this week’s column is in tribute to the remarkable story of the Jacob family of Waterford who established their products as a national even international brand. It also gave us a further opportunity to remind ourselves of the enormous contribution made by Jacobs and the community from which they came. Now don’t we have a new bridge to name soon enough?

Poll topper

Congratulations to all the new and re-elected members of the City Council. Indeed well done to all those who run for public office and so fulfil a useful role in the democratic process. There are plenty of challenges ahead both locally and nationally - many promises and aspirations to be now translated into action. Our number one of last weekend popped into the world elsewhere, in the beautiful form of our second grandson, so was Falvey poll-topper, born to proud parents, Tony and Claire.

Dr. Bill O' Gorman speaks to WLR FM about STEP

2009-07-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

Dr. Bill O' Gorman, co-director of the Centre for Enterprise Development and Regional Economy (CEDRE), School of Business, at Waterford Institute of Technology speaks to Ian Noctor regarding the establishment of 'STories and Tales of an Enterprising Place' (STEP).

The aim of this site is to bring to light the many Stories and Tales of an Enterprising Place (STEP) – the South-East.

More and more content will be added each day so bookmark us and check back regularly.

Contributions for STEP are always welcome. If you have any tales of local entrepreneurs or stories of great innovators from your county let us know. We would be delighted to post up any info, no matter how big or small your tale is.

So, step up, and lets start remembering and acknowledging those who made the South-East what it is today!

stepsoutheast@gmail.com.

Caverns of the Earth to the crators of the moon

2009-07-20T22:56:00.002+01:00

Extract written by David Coffey, from the Centre of Enterprise Development and Regional Economy (CEDRE), at Waterford Institute of Technology

On the 20th July, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped tentatively down onto the surface of the moon. The small step he took on that historic day is arguably the greatest technological achievement in human history. Most would attribute this triumph to the sterling work of NASA scientists and the bravery of those first space explorers. However, getting Apollo 11 to the moon and back was a shared achievement, one of which all of mankind can be proud. Armstrong’s trek on the moon that day was only possible because of the millions of other pioneering, innovative and enterprising men and women who came before him.

A key milestone along the human race’s journey from the caverns of the earth to the craters of the moon was the invention of the aeroplane in 1903. This was one of the greatest innovations of all time and changed the face of transportation forever. Remarkably, the Wright Brothers first flight lasted just 12 seconds and took place only sixty-six years before Armstrong’s eight day voyage to the moon and back. When the Wright Flyer became the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled flight, it provided a crucial step along the innovation chain that placed the first man on the moon. The South East, though, can also claim to be part of the innovation chain which led to the Wright’s first flight and, subsequently, Armstrong’s famous first step.

Pioneers of transportation

In the age preceding powered flight, the steam liner era, the South East was hugely influential and successful. Shipbuilding was a major industry in Waterford in the 19th century, employing over 1,000 people at its peak. The wealthy Quaker families of Penrose, White and Malcolmson all had large shipyards, and Waterford became the centre of a highly specialised shipbuilding industry with a well organised and skilled labour force. The owners of the Neptune Shipyard, the Malcolmson family, built and operated the largest fleet of iron steamers in the world between the mid-1850s and the late-1860s, including five trans-atlantic passenger liners.

The Neptune Shipyard was driven and managed by John Horn, an outstanding master shipbuilder from Clyde. He had been trained by Robert Napier, one of the greatest marine engineers and shipbuilders of the era. Horn became renowned for his innovativeness as well as his knowledge of advanced construction techniques. Part of the Neptune’s success was due to the fact that in the late 1840s they started to build steam ships with propellers rather than paddles, which were more common at the time.

When the Wright Brothers attempted to construct their first aeroplane in 1903, they faced many obstacles. The greatest of these was the invention of a propeller system that could achieve controlled and powered flight. To solve this, the Wright’s turned to the teachings of great shipbuilding innovators of the past. No doubt the brothers consulted the many innovations of John Horn and his pioneering work at the Neptune.

On March 23, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright had solved their propeller problems and they filed a patent application for a ‘Flying Machine’. From this point on remarkable progress was made in the development of powered flight, culminating in Apollo 11’s seemingly impossible journey from the earth to the moon and back again. It is somewhat ironic then, that the very propellers developed at innovative shipyards, such as the Neptune, would go on to provide an essential part for the world’s first aeroplane. In doing so, a new form of transport was born, one which would eventually succeed the steam liner as the most popular choice for medium-long distance travel around the globe.

The enterprising people of the South East

Even before the invention of the aeroplane the South East shipbuilding industry was in decline. However, the dawn of powered flight sealed the faith of the rich shipbuilding tradition in the region and also marked the start of a worldwide transition from steam liners to airliners. However, during its heyday, the Neptune Shipyard produced some of the finest ships in the world and the innovations of its designers helped progress transportation as we know it.

The shipbuilding industry is just one of the many remarkable success stories of the South East’s past. The region has produced some truly enterprising and innovative people, who made an enormous contribution to all walks of life. Many of these made a huge difference to the world around them; however, unlike Armstrong and the Wright’s, their contributions have not nearly been highlighted enough. As such, the aim of this column is to bring to light the many Stories and Tales of an Enterprising Place – the South-East, and show appreciation and admiration for those who stepped up and made a difference.

Every journey begins with the first step

It is important to remember these enterprising and innovative people of the past, and even great historical achievements, such as the moon landing, can often be taken for granted. Forty years ago, for example, people across the globe gathered around televisions and radios as Neil Armstrong stepped down onto the surface of the moon. I’m sure those who lived through this historic event will never forget the awe and wonderment they experienced on that day. However, for those of us born since 1969 the moon landing is often taken as a given, one which we never stop to consider in amazement. Certainly, we rarely contemplate the astounding journey that led to that first step.

The fact that we, the human race, managed to place a man in a space suit on the surface of the planetary satellite which we had been staring at in wonder for tens of thousands of years is truly inspiring. However, what is even more satisfying is the fact that at some point along the innovative chain that led to this great achievement the enterprising people of the South East made a contribution. It is thus fitting that today, on the forty year anniversary of the moon landing, we celebrate and remember some of the most innovative people of the South East, who made a huge contribution to the global shipbuilding industry and also helped advance transportation as we know it.

The giant leap achieved by the human race on the 20th July 1969 was only made possible by the many smaller steps which preceded it. The South East, and the rich shipbuilding history of Waterford, can thus claim a proud place among thousands of years of transportation innovation that led up to that giant leap.

Waterford: Urbs Intacta Manet Waterfordia

2009-07-17T15:16:00.003+01:00

The Vikings first established themselves in Ireland at Waterford in 914 and built what would be Ireland's first and now oldest city. Waterford is the largest city in Ireland to retain its Viking-derived name, Vedrarfjord. The Vikings choose Waterford due to the fact that the three rivers, the Suir, the Nore and the Barrow, all entered the harbour there. The place where the three rivers join is known in Irish as Cumar na dTrí Uisce, "the confluence of the three waters".

Waterford Port has been one of Ireland's major ports for over a millennium. Due to its geographical location and its importance as a centre of trade, Waterford was seen as a key stronghold by various leaders throughout history and many attempts were made to capture the city.

In 1137, Diarmuid MacMorrough, King of Leinster, failed in an attempt to take Waterford. He returned in 1170 with Norman mercenaries under Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (Strongbow); together they besieged and took Waterford after a desperate defence. This was the introduction of the Anglo-Normans into Ireland.

King Henry II took control of the city the following year and many Vikings were expelled. As a result, trade in Waterford increased rapidly. The King declared Waterford and then Dublin as royal cities. Over the following centuries, imports and exports were shipped from Waterford Port to and from England and the Continent to Spain, France and Italy.

Throughout the medieval period, Waterford was Ireland's second city after Dublin. In the fifteenth century Waterford repelled two pretenders to the English throne: Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck. As a result, King Henry VII gave the city its motto: Urbs Intacta Manet Waterfordia (Waterford remains the untaken city).

Waterford was very important strategically in the Irish Confederate War. Its port allowed for the importation of arms and supplies from continental Europe and, its geographical position commanded the entrance of the rivers Suir, Nore and Barrow. In 1649 Waterford withstood a siege by Cromwell's New Model Army. It later surrendered to Henry Ireton on 6 August 1650. Waterford was the last Irish Catholic stronghold to hold out in the east of Ireland against the English Parliamentarian forces.

SLNIW: Waterford project to create 300 jobs

2009-07-16T12:07:00.002+01:00

The Irish Times announcing the launch of the SLNIW project, based at ArcLabs.

A collaborative project between the Waterford Institute of Technology and Wales’ Aberyswyth University will create up to 300 jobs in the south east region over the next three years. The €1.7 million European-funded project will see over 30 enterprises in the south east and a similar number in Wales participate in the partnership.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs are being targetted by the project which is designed for entrepreneurs and owners/managers of micro-enterprise and SMEs to improve the creativity, innovation and competitive processes. Six sustainable, self-learning networks will be established and each will meet on a monthly basis, over an eighteen month period. Partners will also host at least two international conferences during the twelve month section.

The goal is to develop a process that will help entrepreneurs and owner/managers of micro-enterprise and SMEs to improve the creativity, innovation and competitive processes of their organisations and the regions within which they are situated.

The SLNIW project is headed by Dr Bill O'Gorman, research director at the WIT school of business and Nerys Fuller-Love, senior lecturer at Aberystwyth University’s school of management and business.

“It's a very timely and innovative project,” Dr O'Gorman explained. “Taking the current global economic environment into consideration, today, more than ever before, there is a need for enterprises within regions to work together in order to enhance the economic development and sustainability of their regions.”

Enterprise and Innovation Society

2009-07-15T11:35:00.012+01:00

The EI Society has been established at Waterford institute of Technology to support students with innovative ideas, creative minds, and entrepreneurial aspirations.

The recent economic downturn has emphasised the need for regions, such as the South East, to create more home grown entrepreneurs. To do this, an entrepreneurial mindset needs to be cultivated in people as early as possible. The EI Society aims to achieve this goal, by encouraging students to think about self-employment, stimulating new student businesses and by bridging the cap between enterprise support agencies and students.

The EI Society website will offer students a platform to showcase their innovativeness and entrepreneurialism. It will also act as a hub for all news and events on campus. As such, www.eisociety.ie will become a melting pot for enterprise, creativity and action at WIT

Anyone is free to post a blog on site, as long as entries are within the overall spirit of enterprise and innovation. So, whether students want to advertise their student business, promote their club or society or show off their bands new song, the EI Society is there to give all types of enterprise a platform.

Garter Lane and the Quakers

2009-07-15T11:01:00.001+01:00

Extract taken from Views from the Brasscock by Joe Falvey, published in the Munster Express on the 15th May 2009.

This week we return to our local tourist trail of discovery under the expert guidance of the esteemed and distinguished director of the self same Waterford Treasures. This time we are just popping down O’Connell Street to yet another historic gem of a building which in recent times has housed Garter Lane. This is accessed through an 18th century archway which leads to a small courtyard area. Here we find a fine building that was originally built as a Quaker Meeting House in 1792. The entrance gives no idea at all of the size of the 18th century building behind. Its size gives ample testimony to the size and wealth of the Quaker community then in Waterford.

Economic Contribution

It was in this newly developed area outside the old medieval city, and in streets like King Street (now called O’Connell Street) and Hanover Street, where most of the Quaker merchants of Waterford had their homes and business premises. Names like Penrose and Gatchell, both of glass-making fame, Jacob of biscuit fame - it was in Waterford that Jacob produced the first cream cracker as ship’s biscuit and White the ship -builders were all to be found here. The name of Grubb still features trading on this street. The building which housed original home of the Jacob founding brother is still in daily use as a business premises.

In total the Quakers made up just 2 percent of the city’s population but their economic contribution proved enormous and thus far outweighed their small number. Streets in this Quaker quarter still echo their presence and their metiers: Glasshouse Lane, Penrose Lane, Dyehouse Lane and of course, Meeting House Lane. A Penrose flint glass decanter, crafted in the nearby works, dating from 1790 is on display among the Waterford Treasures in the Granary. We have not even mentioned the towering influence of the Malcolmson family, some descendents of whom are still giving service to their community today. Remembered too is their great contribution in this city of life-saving sustenance to the poor and hungry during the terrible famine of the late 1840’s which the members of the Quaker community both financed and operated.

Interestingly, the previous Meeting House had been in the Manor Street area established in the late 17th century - to the rear of this was the original Quaker cemetery. This old and venerable grounded was granted to the City Corporation back in the middle of the last century - in recent times and belatedly was developed as Wyse Park - a civic amenity space. I say interestingly because before the move to King/O’Connell Street area the previous meeting house stood at the centre of then trading focus of the previous Quaker community with their tanning, milling and weaving activities.

New Spaces and Faces

After nearly two hundred years in O’Connell the Quaker community acquired a site from Newtown School and built a fine new meeting house to an interest modern tri-part design in the early 70’s which has been giving good service for nearly 40 years now to its community up Newtown way. But the old building too has continued to serve as a thriving centre of the Arts. Before that it served as a court house while the main one was refurbished - I remember the general election count of ‘82 being held in its large meeting room with a dramatic re-count that went into the early hours ach sin sceal eile, as they say.

The meeting house building now called Garter Lane Arts Centre is in many ways the centre of artistic and cultural life in Waterford ( The Granary/Waterford Treasures is a rich addition to the repertoire). The acquisition by the City Council and the subsequent conversion of this building two centuries after it was built to an arts centre has had a tremendous spin-off in theatre, dance music, youth drama and a visual arts programme for the city. The founding of Red Kettle which in turn flowed from the Arts for All movement inspired the need and subsequent provision of this wonderful arts facility of Garter Lane - one of the good things that flowed from the last recession!

The Corporation of the day deserve great credit for their far-seeing and imaginative development of this building. I have no doubt but that the Quaker community who owned and worshipped here for nearly two centuries would have heartily approved. The name by the way comes from a famous, or should I say, infamous lane that once stood in the present-day John Robert’s Square, one of many removed by the Wide Street Commission during the mid-nineteenth century. Remember the triangular area there which became a small car-park in the pre -Red Square days, well a block of tenement houses occupied that space. The original Garter Lane, as it was quickly dubbed, ran along here between Supermacs and MacDonald’s restaurants - even then a place for hanging out. But historically it was the ‘ladies of the night’ sporting their alluring garters that did the hanging out - nuff said! Plus la change…

Jim Daly

I dedicate this column today about Garter Lane to our good and dear friend, the late Jim Daly for his work here was very much a labour of love and so lit our lives and imaginations with his artistry. His wonderful wife Bernie has also played a vital role in the world of Waterford theatre and long may she do so.

Photo's of times Past: Ballybricken Fair c1880

2009-07-13T12:46:00.011+01:00

One of the earliest references to the existence of a market on Ballybricken was in 1680 when the Market House outside Saint Patrick's Gate was mentioned. Over a long period Ballybricken was the centre of the pig and bacon industry for which Waterford was famous. As early as 1831 there were twice weekly pig markets held on the Green.

The development of farming and the extension of the railways in the second half of the 19th century led to a system of monthly fairs being introduced. In 1853 there were three fairs held during the year in Ballybricken, the first on the 4th of May, the second on the Feast of St. John the Baptist on 24th June and the third, the onion fair, on 25th of October.

Shadows of the Past a photographic stroll through old Waterford began as an exhibition mounted by Waterford Civic Trust as part of the Tall Ships Festival in Waterford City during July 2005. The tremendous success of the Tall Ships for the city was mirrored in the success of the exhibition. The huge public response to these photographs prompted the Trust to publish Shadows of the Past.

Tipperary: The golden vale of the Suir

2009-07-12T11:58:00.001+01:00

Tipperary is the largest inland county in Ireland and its name comes from the Gaelic Tiobraid Arann, meaning well of Era. Tipperary was controlled by the Kings of Munster until the ascension of Brian Boru. The county remained predominately free from Viking exploitation, and the coming of the Anglo-Normans saw Tipperary placed in the protective custody ofthe Butlers until the forces of Oliver Cromwell ravaged Ireland.

South Tipperary is an administrative county in Ireland, consisting of 52% of the land area of the historical county of Tipperary. South Tipperary was established in 1898, and has had a county council ever since, with separate assize courts since 1838. The county seat is Clonmel; other important urban centres include Carrick-on-Suir, Cashel, Cahir, and Tipperary.

Although local people's identification is generally with the historic (and sporting) county, nevertheless North and South Tipperarry are run as two completely separate counties, in different government regions, for all administrative purposes. The different regions refer to the fact that South Tipperary County is legally defined as being in the southeast' and falls under the control of that regional authority, while North Tipperary County is regarded as being in the midwest.

The Golden Vale of Tipperary, famed for its fertility, stretches from Fcthard westward by Cashel and Tipperary town to Kilmallock. Except for Lough Derg on the Shannon, which flows along the north-western edge of the county, lakes are almost absent. The county is drained by tributaries of the Shannon in the north and by the Suir in the centre and south.

Waterford Watercolours: Presentation Convent

2009-07-11T12:39:00.000+01:00

The Presentation nuns established their first school in Waterford in 1798, and moved to their present convent in 1848. It was designed by the famous Victorian architect Augustus Welby Pugin, and has been described as one of his most convincing works on account of its good proportion, solid construction, and contrast between the rich brown stone of the main walls and the cool grey of the dressings.

This painting is part of a collection of watercolours of Waterford by local artist John O'Regan, commissioned by Waterford Civic Trust and sponsored by local bodies and companies. This particular painting was sponsored by the I.D.A.

The watercolours were published in a diary for 1992,'93 and '94 after which they were donated to the municipal art collection of Waterford City Council.

Wexford origins: The lake of Garman

2009-07-10T09:48:00.003+01:00

In a country steeped in myth and legend Wexford's history is no exception. A story tells of its origin in the mists of time, when Garman Garbh was drowned on the mudflats by waters released by an Enchantress. The vast expanse of harbour thus created was named "The lake of Garman" or Loch Garman, the Gaelic name for Wexford.

The origins of Wexford as a centre for trade can be traced back to Celtic tribes who moved westward across Europe who were initially attracted to the county because of its natural harbour on Ireland's south east coast.

The Norsemen are accredited with introducing towns to Ireland, and Wexford was among the first, dating back to the early 900's. From marauding warriors, the Vikings became citizens and traders of early Wexford and their legacy includes the narrow winding streets and town name including Wexford itself, derived from the Norse, Weissfiord - inlet of the mudflats.

In the Spring of 1169, the then prosperous town was taken by an invading force of Norman knights, who over the following centuries enclosed the town and regulated trade.

The 1600's brought suffering. Wexford became a chief naval base for the Confederate Government in its war with the Parliament Forces and this led to a massacre in 1649, when Wexford fell to the army of Oliver Cromwell. Following this disaster, the town was relatively calm for over a century, but in the hot Summer of 1798, it exploded once more onto the stage of Irish history. In that year of insurrection, many of the woes of previous decades came to the surface, with violent results on both sides.

For more info about Wexford and its history log on to wexfordweb.ie.

The Blue Plaque Trail: The Penrose Brothers

2009-07-09T12:32:00.000+01:00

The doubling of duty on English-manufactured glass in 1777 as well as the Free Trade Act of 1780 removing the duty on Irish glass provided the impetus for the development of glass manufacturing in Ireland. In 1783 the brothers George and William Penrose established their glass manufactory in Waterford.

From a distinguished Quaker family the Penrose brothers first began making glass near John's Bridge. The finest and oldest piece of old Waterford glass in existence is a chandelier now hanging in the Council Chamber of City Hall. It was originally made for Dublin Castle in 1787 and was returned to Waterford in the 1830s.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

The Zenith of Wexford Port

2009-07-08T09:41:00.001+01:00

At the turn of the century in around 1798, Wexford entered an age of expansion. The port was about to reach its zenith, with hundred of ships trading with lands in Africa, the Black Sea and the United States of America. Trade increases led to the growth of industries ranging from whiskey distilling to the manufacture of agricultural machinery. The population grew steadily and many new streets were constructed, while in 1851, work began on the elegant twin Churches which were to dominate the skyline.

It was also in 1800's that many of to-days important buildings were constructed, St. Peters College in 1819 to the Mechanics Institute in 1849 and the Tate School now the Municipal Buildings, in 1867. The railway reached Wexford in 1870 and was continued along the quay front by 1882. In the early years of this century, Wexford agricultural machinery companies operated branch offices in cities such as Paris and Buenos Aires.

For more info about Wexford and its history log on to wexfordweb.ie.

Profile of Carlow

2009-07-07T09:01:00.001+01:00

Although a small county, Carlow is a vibrant place. It contains many sites of great historical interest, including the famous Browne's Hill Dolmen, which has the largest capstone in Europe at approximately 100 tonnes in weight.

Carlow is a rich agricultural county in which tillage, sheep and dairy farming are all found. Crops grown include barley, wheat, potatoes and soft fruits. Sugar beet was also widely cultivated for many years because of the sugar processing industry in Carlow town.

Carlow has a growing industrial base. Since the 1970s, international companies such as Braun, now Braun Oral B (personal care products), and Läpple (which makes parts for the auto industry), have been established in the county. Other industries include meat processing, agricultural engineering and market gardening.

Carlow is situated in the province of Leinster, in the South-East of Ireland. It lies inland and has no coastline. Carlow is the second-smallest county in Ireland, measuring just 896 square kilometres in area. It is bordered by five other counties: Laois, Kildare, Wicklow, Wexford and Kilkenny.

The town of Carlow is the largest in the county and is home to around 40% of Co. Carlow's population. Other towns are Bagenalstown (Muine Bheag), Borris, Hacketstown, Leighlinbridge, Rathvilly and Tullow.

The number of people living in Carlow increased steadily throughout the twentieth century. According to the Preliminary Report of the Census of 2006, the total population of Carlow is now 50,471. In 1926, there were only 34,476 inhabitants. The Census of 2002 showed the population to be 41,616.

Waterford Watercolours: The Granville Hotel

2009-07-05T15:59:00.000+01:00

Residence of the Quans and Meaghers, families who made their fortune in the provision trade between Waterford and Newfoundland. Thomas Meagher became in 1843 the first Catholic mayor of Waterford since the Reformation and his son Thomas Francis Meagher, republican leader in 1848 and a general in the American Civil War, was born here in 1823. The house was bought by the stage-coach impresario Charles Bianconi, and as Cummins Hotel became an important terminus in his coaching network.

SLNIW: Sustainable Learning Networks in Ireland and Wales

2009-07-03T15:41:00.003+01:00

SLNIW is an INTERREG 4A funded project. This exciting and innovative research is being undertaken by CEDRE, WIT in partnership with the School of Management and Business, Aberystwyth University, Wales.

The SLNIW project is for entrepreneurs and owner/managers of Small to Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) in South East Ireland and West Wales. The project aims to increase the skill sets of these entrepreneurs by facilitating knowledge transfer between participants within the network.

The primary goal of the project is to increase the competitiveness, creativity and innovation capacities and capabilities of SMEs and micro-enterprises in South East Ireland and West Wales through innovative and creative processes. This goal will be achieved through creating and developing learning networks in South East Ireland and West Wales. The SLNIW project therefore is unique and innovative in that it focuses on assisting members of these networks identify and analyse training needs for themselves, their enterprises and staff.

This project is equally unique in that it proposes to teach network members how to direct their own learning and teaching methods to achieve business growth, expansion and long term sustainability through innovation, and innovative processes. The SLNIW project presents a new process and paradigm to transfer knowledge between knowledge experts and SMEs/micro-enterprises.

For more information log on to the SLNIW website.

Profile of Kilkenny

2009-06-28T10:23:00.001+01:00

Kilkenny's rich medieval heritage is evident in the city's treasure trove of historical buildings and landmarks, exemplified by the magnificent Kilkenny Castle, which was constructed for William, son of Strongbow. During the Anglo-Norman occupation, the city was named as the capital of Ireland and was host to the Irish medieval parliament with orders of the day being carried out from the Castle. Kilkenny is arguably the pre-eminent medieval city in Ireland, with the current layout of the city clearly grounded in the city's medieval roots.

However, the city's origins predate the medieval landmarks existing today. Saint Canice founded a monastic settlement in Kilkenny in the sixth century. The name Kilkenny comes from the Gaelic, Cill Chainnigh, which means Church of Cainneach.

Strongbow, the legendary Norman invader, built a fort in the twelfth century on the site where Kilkenny Castle stands today. Subsequent to this event, William Marshall (Strongbow's son-in-law and Earl of Pembroke) oversaw the building and maintenance of fortified city walls thus consolidating the Norman's position of power in the city.

However, it wasn't until the seventeenth century that Kilkenny really entered its golden age. The parliament known as the Confederation of Kilkenny was founded in 1641. One of the parliament's main objectives was to unite resistance against English persecution of Irish Catholics. With the emergence of this parliament, Kilkenny entered a period of unparalleled success.

A substantial portion of the landmarks illustrating Kilkenny's medieval past still exist. Allied to this historical heritage, the city prides itself on its lively cultural scene, with important events hosted annually in the city. These events include the Arts Week Festival in the last two weeks of August, and the Cats Laughs Festival at the beginning of June. During the Arts Week Festival a variety of classical music events take place, along with art exhibitions, literary reading, jazz & folk sessions, and so on. At the Cats Laughs Festival, celebrated comedians from throughout the world perform in the city's clubs, pubs and theatres.

A visit to Kilkenny is a richly rewarding experience with a variety of interesting places to see and things to do.

For more info regarding Kilkenny log onto Kilkenny City Online

The Blue Plaque Trail: Mail Packet Steamers

2009-06-25T15:48:00.002+01:00

Mail Packet Steamers carrying letters and passengers plied between Milford in Wales and Waterford Harbour for several hundred years. In 1823 the service was taken over by the Post Office and the following year steam replaced sail on the Milford / Waterford route, reducing the crossing time to nine hours. In the early years the mail packets stopped at Dunmore East with passengers and mail transferred to Waterford by coach.

In 1835 however, the service was extended to Waterford city, berthing at Adelphi Quay. In 1872 the Great Western Railway took over the running of the mail packet service and in 1906 the Milford terminal was closed with the Waterford steamers berthing at Fishguard. In 1934 the Great Western, the last of the Waterford-Fishguard mail packet steamers went into service carrying passengers, mail and cargo including live cattle. In 1959 the passenger service was discontinued, and in 1966 the service finally ended.

Waterford Civic Trust has installed numerous Blue Plaques in the city to commemorate a link between a particular location and a famous person or event.

Profile of the South East

2009-06-15T12:33:00.001+01:00

The South-East of Ireland comprises of five counties; Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford. According to the South East Regional Authority, the South East has a population of 460,838 (11% of nation) and a total area of 9,406 sq.kms (13.5% of the total area of Ireland). The National Development Plan 2007-2013, entitled Transforming Ireland – A Better Quality of Life for All, identifies Waterford as the gateway and principal city of the South East Region.

REFORM and SERA

The Regional Economic Research and Technological Development Policy through Foresight and Mentoring (REFORM) project sets out to ‘develop, support and implement a variety of measures and activities which will enable regions to understand their particular needs to enable increased RTD [research and technological development] activity and investment in the future’.

The South East Regional Authority (SERA) is one of six regional promoters participating in this initiative. According to the REFORM website, the South East’s performance is ‘behind that of the [Irish] economy as a whole and behind that of the majority of the other Irish Regions’. The key economic indicators for the region such as the unemployment rate, disposable income, and Gross Value Added (GVA) per capita all confirm this observation.

Unemployment rate

As highlighted in figure 1.1, the unemployment rate in the South East Region was 5.9 percent in 2006, compared to the national average of 4.2 percent. As such, the South East unemployment rate was forty percent higher than the national average and substantially higher than any other region in the country.

The most recent figures, cited in the SERA Annual Report (2008), show unemployment has increased significantly across all NUTS 3 regions within Ireland. As highlighted in figure 1.2, the South East is no longer the highest region in terms of unemployment as it now lies in joint 3rd place behind the Midland and West regions.

From the point of view of the South East, the most positive aspect of the recent SERA Annual Report (2008) is that the region has experienced the smallest increase in unemployment of all the NUT 3 regions since 2006. Figure 1.3 shows that the South East’s unemployment rate increased by 47 percent between 2006 and 2008. Although this figure seems extremely large in absolute terms, in comparison to other regions the South East’s unemployment rate has not been hit as hard by the current economic downturn.

A possible explanation for this scenario may be the fact that the South East had the highest unemployment rate of all NUTS 3 regions in 2006 and as such other areas had much more scope for increases. For example, the Mid West region experienced an increase in unemployment of 98 percent; more than double that of the South East. In 2006 the unemployment rate in the Mid West was only 4.3 percent, compared to 5.7 percent in the South East. As a result the Mid West experienced a much greater percentage increase in unemployment than the South East, despite both regions now having almost identical unemployment rates.

Disposable income

According to the CSO (2009), a disparity exists between the disposable incomes per person of the two NUTS 2 regions of Ireland. In 2006, the Southern and Eastern region experienced disposable income per person of three percent above the state average, whereas the Border Midland and Western region was 8.3 percent below the state average. As such, a gap of 11.3 points existed between the two regions.

As shown in figure 1.4, at the level of the eight regional authority areas the South East region is positioned fifth and the area is the lowest of the five regions comprising the Southern and Eastern NUTS 2 regions. The level of disposable income within the South East is thus more comparable with the Border Midland and Western region rather than the wealthier Southern and Eastern.

Gross Value Added (GVA) per person

The CSO (2009) explain GVA is not an evaluation of household income. Instead, it is a calculation of the value if goods and services generated in a region minus the cost of the materials and services used in their creation which were brought in from outside the area. The CSO state that ‘GDP and GVA are the same concept’ in that they both measure the value of goods and services produced in a particular area. However, when analysing regional GDP, the CSO use GVA per person as a proxy for GDP per person as it excludes product taxes and includes the value of product subsidies.

According to the CSO (2009), the GVA per person generated in the Southern and Eastern NUTS 2 region was 10.2 percent above the national average in 2006. In contrast, the average value added per person in the Border, Midland and Western region was 27.8 percent below the state average in the same year. The CSO (2009) study combines the Dublin and Mid East regions as both are affected significantly by workers living in one area and commuting to work in the other.

As shown in figure 1.5, when assessed based on GVA per person, the South East region is again placed in the lower half of the eight regional authorities and is the lowest of the five regions within the Southern and Eastern NUTS 2 region. The South East region was 26.9 percent below the state average with only the Border and Midland regions producing less added value per person, at 27.5 percent and 33 percent respectively.

Conclusion

As shown, the unemployment rate, level of disposable income and GVA per person of the South East region has been poorer than the majority of other Irish regions. SERA (2008) has recognized this and states that since the Authority’s formation it has been ‘concerned at the relatively weak economic performance of the South East’.

Composion of Irish Regions: NUTS

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Ireland is broken up into a number of classifications based on the NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) geocode standard used by Eurostat. The Republic of Ireland is split into two NUTS 2 regions and eight NUTS 3 regions.

According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the Dublin region and Mid East region (Kildare, Meath and Wicklow) are affected by a ‘substantial proportion of their workforce living in one region and commuting to work in another’. Therefore, it is often more useful to merge these two regions. Both the NUTS 2 regions and the eight NUTS 3 regions are outlined below.

Composition of Regions

Border, Midland and Western NUTS 2 Region

1. Border Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Louth, Monaghan and Sligo

2. West Galway County, Galway City, Mayo and Roscommon

3. Midland Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath

Southern and Eastern NUTS 2 Region

4. Mid East Kildare, Meath and Wicklow

5. Dublin Dublin City, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin

6. South East Waterford County, Waterford City, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford and South Tipperary

7. South West Cork County, Cork City and Kerry

8. Mid West Limerick County, Limerick City, Clare and North Tipperary

Stories and Tales of an Enterprising Place

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The South East region has produced some truly enterprising and innovative people, who made an enormous contribution to all walks of life. Although many of these made a huge difference to the world around them, their contributions have not nearly been highlighted enough. As such, the aim of this site is to bring to light the many Stories and Tales of an Enterprising Place – the South-East, and show appreciation and admiration for those who stepped up and made a difference.

Jacob's, Denny's, Walton, Ryan, Brophy, Malcolmson, Penrose, Boyle, Magnier.

These are just some of the more famous names that have shaped the landscape of the South East. However, there are many more. As such, the aim of this site is to promote the rich enterprising history of the South East, remember those who made a difference and hopefully encourage readers to be more enterprising and innovative in their own lives.

Contributions for STEP are always welcome. If you have any tales of local entrepreneurs or stories of great innovators from your county let us know. We would be delighted to post up any info, no matter how big or small your tale is.

So, step up, and lets start remembering and acknowledging those who made the South-East what it is today!