There are roughly 400 surviving Ogham inscriptions on stone monuments throughout Ireland and western Britain, the bulk of them are in the south of Ireland, in Counties Kerry, Cork and Waterford. The vast majority of the inscriptions consist of personal names and were used as either grave markers or territorial markers. Ogham takes the form of lines and notches at the angle of a stone to denote letters. It is based on the Latin alphabet and is read from the base of the stone upwards to the top. The date of the inscriptions spans from the 4th century to the late 7th century.
Two of the 3 Ogham stones found in Ardmore have been relocated within the Cathedral
The first Ogham stone is 1.27m high and has the following inscription
LUGUDECCAS MAQI[ ̣ ̣ ? ̣ ̣MU]/COI NETASEGAMONAS/ DOLATI BIGAISGOB… which translates as ‘of Luguid son of …? descendant of Nad-Segamon’. McManus (1991, 65)
The second Ogham stone is 1.3m high and has a small incised cross upon the sloping top of the stone, on the side opposite to the inscription which reads AMADU which can be translated as “beloved”. McManus (1991, 117).The third stone, which is kept in the National Museum of Ireland has the inscription …]NACI MAQI […“of Anac, son of “
If you like to know more about Ogham stones an interesting link is https://ogham.celt.dias.ie ogham in 3D project
Tarlú stairiúil is ea an phaindéim seo agus an t-ordú dianghlasála a ghabhann leis, a bheidh mar chuid de scéal ár saolta sa todhchaí. Sin ráite, tá daoine breacaosta tar éis maireachtaint tríd go leor tarlúintí suntasacha, cuid acu a d’athraigh cúrsaí an tsaoil dóibh féin agus don tsochaí trí chéile. Ba bhreá linn dá mbeadh daoine breacaosta sásta an taithí úd atá acu a roinnt linn mar chuid de cheiliúradh Fhéile na Bealtaine i bPort Láirge.
De gnáth, glacann Port Láirge páirt i bhféile na Bealtaine, a d’eagraíonn na heagraíochta Aostacht agus Deiseanna gach bliain. Faraoir, ní féidir linn daoine a thabhairt le chéile i gcomhair imeachtaí mar is gnách i mbliana agus sinn i lár na paindéime seo. Sin ráite, is féidir linn ceiliúradh a dhéanamh ar dhaoine breacaosta agus iarraimid orthu anois a bheith páirteach linn sa cheiliúradh seo. Cé go bhfuil go leor daoine ag cocúnú, is féidir leo a gcuid taithí agus cuimhní saoil a roinnt lena bpobal áitiúil mar mheabhrú do dhaoine go dtiocfaidh deireadh leis an ngéarchéim seo chomh maith. Tá buncharraig nirt agus teacht aniar sa taithí atá ag na daoine níos sine gur féidir linne foghlaim uaidh, agus mar a deir an seanfhocal, ‘Ní Neart go Cur le Chéile.’
Táimid ag iarraidh ar dhaoine breacaosta a gcuimhí cinn maidir le rudaí suntasacha a tharla le linn a saol a roinnt linn – conas mar a chuaigh na himeachtaí i bhfeidhm orthu agus conas mar a dheileáil siad leo – d’fhéadfadh gur mór-tharlúintí stairiúla a bheadh ann, nó athruithe níos lú a tharla sa saol áitiúil thart thimpeall orthu. Mar shampla, an cuimhin leat?……
Ar choimeádadh tú féin nó baill dod’ theaghlach ar leithlis de bharr na heitinne a bheith ort/orthu
A bheith curtha as de bharr póilió, an fhiabhras dearg, nó briseadh amach ghalar de shaghas éigint eile
Nuair a bhuaigh an Dr. Ernest Walton, a rugadh i nDún na Mainistreach, an Duais Nobel sa mbliain 1951
Nuair a chuaigh cara nó ball dod’ chlann ar imirce
Aimsir na hÉigeandála agus ciondáil le linn an Dara Chogadh Domhanda agus conas mar a chuaigh sé i bhfeidhm ort féin agus do chlann
Ba bhreá linn a fháil amach mar gheall ar na tarlúintí suntasacha a bhí i do shaol.
Is féidir leat do thaithí a roinnt leis an bpobal i roinnt slite éagsúla. Tuigimid go bhfuil sé deacair rudaí a chur sa phost, nó teacht ar theicneolaíocht, ach a bhuíochas leis an tSeirbhís iontach ‘Call to Chat’ de chuid Chomhairle na nDaoine Breacaosta, Port Láirge (Waterford Older People’s Council), atá á reachtáil i gcomhar le Seirbhís Leabharlanna Cathrach agus Contae Phort Láirge, ní gá duit ach an guthán a phiocadh suas agus labhairt le duine.
Seo a leanas na slite inar féidir leat do Scéal a Roinnt:
Glaoigh ar 1761 10 20 20 agus lorg ‘Call to Chat’ (Is féidir do scéal a thabhairt i nGaeilge nó i mBéarla)
Cuir tuairisc i scríbhinn dod’ scéal chuig Halla na Cathrach, An Meal, Port Láirge nó chuig na hOifigí Cathartha, Cé Dáibhéid, Dún Garbhán. Scríobh “Is Cuimhin Liom/I Remember” ar an gclúdach litreach.
Roinn ar Twitter nó Facebook leis na clibeanna #TogetherWaterfordIsStronger, @WaterfordCounci nó @WaterfordLibs ar Twitter agus Waterford Council nó Waterford City and County Libraries ar Facebook
Déanann Bealtaine ceiliúradh ar chruthaitheacht i measc daoine níos sine, mar sin is féidir leat do chuimhní a roinnt i bhfocail, nó trí ghrianghraf a roinnt, nó tríd do shaothar féin a chruthú. Ba bhreá linn do chuimhní a bhailiú agus iad a roinnt le pobal Phort Láirge i gcoitinne le linn mí na Bealtaine, ionas gur féidir linn foghlaim ó do thaithí agus teacht le chéile chun do neart agus do theacht aniar a cheiliúradh. Ní neart go cur le chéile agus is féidir leatsa do pháirt a imirt chun an neart seo a mhéadú.
The current pandemic and lock-down is a historic event that will become part of the story of our lives in the future. However, older people have lived through many significant events, some of which have changed the course of their lives. It is this lifetime of experience that we would love older people to share as part of Waterford’s celebration of Bealtaine.
Usually in May every year Waterford participates in the Bealtaine festival organised by Age and Opportunity but, of course, we cannot gather people together for events as usual in the face of a pandemic. However, we can still celebrate our older people and mark their achievements and life experiences. While many might be cocooning, they can contribute to their local communities with their experiences and help people to appreciate that this too will pass. In the wealth of their experience lies a bed rock of strength and resilience that we can build on and ensure that ‘Together Waterford is Stronger’.
We are asking older people to share their memories of significant events in their lives, how they coped with them and how they were affected – they can be events of huge historical significance or small local changes that impacted on them. For example, Do You Remember?:
You or a family member spending time in isolation due to TB
Being affected by polio, scarlatina or other outbreak of disease
Getting access to a banned book
Petrol rationing and/or public transport strikes
Abbeyside, Dungarvan born Dr. Ernest Walton winning the Nobel Prize in 1951
The emigration of a friend or family member
The Emergency and rationing during World War II and how it impacted on you and your family.
We would love to find out what events were significant to your life.
We have lots of ways you can share your significant event with the community. We understand that it can be difficult to get to the post or, get into technology but thanks to the wonderful Call to Chat service of the Waterford Older Peoples’ Council, run in collaboration with Waterford City and County Libraries, you can simply pick up the phone.
Here are the ways you can Share your Story:
Call 0761 102020 and ask for Call to Chat
Post a written account of your story to City Hall, The Mall, Waterford or the Civic Offices, Davitt’s Quay, Dungarvan. Please mark the envelope “I Remember” Project
Share to Twitter or Facebook with the #TogetherWaterfordisStronger tagging @WaterfordCounci or @WaterfordLibs on Twitter and Waterford Council or Waterford City and County Libraries on Facebook
Bealtaine is about creativity in older people, so you can share your memory in words, by sharing a photograph or by creating your own piece of work. We would love to gather your memories and share them with the wider Waterford community throughout the month of May, so that we can build from your experiences and come together to celebrate your strength and resilience. Together Waterford is Stronger and you can play your part in building up that strength.
On the exterior of the west gable of Ardmore Cathedral, there are a number of carved tone panels, which according to historians, depict events from the psalms. In the past one of functions of these carvings was to illustrate stories from the Bible for the faithful. The panels comprise of two large semicircular lunettes and above them a range of thirteen round headed panels. The iconography of some of these panels has been interpreted, where it is possible as the enthroned Madonna with the child Jesus, The Last Judgment or Archangel Michael weighing the souls , whilst there is uncertainty about some of the other figures depicted. Underneath these panels are the two (possibly originally three) larger lunettes which depict Adam and Eve and the Judgment of Solomon over the Adoration of Magi.
The right-hand lunette combines both the scene of David playing his harp and the Judgment of Solomon. David’s battle with Goliath is the scene on the extreme right of the left-hand lunette, where a figure kneeling with bowed head is shown with a spear, which was one of the weapons borne by Goliath into battle. Respectively, the fourth arch from the left of the upper arcade is identified as David’s charge to Solomon and panels such as the third arch from the left of the upper arcade are identified as The building of Solomon’s Temple (Harbison, 1995).
It is probable that a number of smaller panels may have been eroded by time and weather, as a few are now blank. The off centre placement of the lunettes may indicate that further panels were intended or that the panels were reset with later modifications to the building. It might also be possible that these panels were relocated from another church. Usually twelfth century Irish churches were decorated with non figurative ornament based on geometric and foliage patterns. Figurative works such as these, which consist of many panels, are extremely rare in Ireland.
The most probable sources of inspiration for this type of decoration are found in the Poitous-Angoumois region in France, where there is similar arcading with figures on the exterior of the western elevations of the Cathedrals of Angouleme, Civay and Poitiers. Those also date from 12th century, while elements of the iconography are also similar to depictions on Norman manuscripts.
Continuing with how we can view our archaeology and built heritage through the maps using the Historic Environment Viewer link on The National Monuments website, it is possible to find archaeological features via town-land or by feature.
For instance, a search for ecclesiastical enclosures in County Waterford returns 27 results. Ecclesiastical enclosures are oval / roughly circular or “D” shaped areas, defined by banks and external ditches or dry stone walls. These sites are quite large, usually over 50m in diameter and enclose early medieval churches or monasteries . The enclosures date from the 5th-to the 12th centuries AD.
Ardmore Cathedral is considered one of the oldest Christian settlements in Ireland, having been founded by St. Declan in 416 AD, prior to St. Patrick’s arrival in 432 AD . The archaeological remains at the site range in date from the Early Medieval period. The large monastic enclosure encompasses St. Declan’s oratory, the graveyard, the Cathedral and iconic round tower.
Very little is known of the later history of the ecclesiastical centre. The only date recorded in connection with the cathedral is 1203 AD, when historic texts note that the building of the church in Ardmore was finished. Ardmore was recognised as a diocesan centre between 1170 and 1210, after which time the diocese was united with Lismore and the church became parochial.
In 1642, the Cathedral and round tower were besieged but the chancel of the cathedral continued in use as a church until 1838, when the present Church of Ireland church was built and the font from the Cathedral was transferred to its present location.
Remember to tag your Waterford photos with #MyWaterford2km to feature in our new photo site or in upcoming issues of Waterford News & Star.
If you are finding yourself with some spare time, and bored of cat videos, why not try some detective work about the built heritage in your own locality?
On this site you can access to the databases of the National Monuments Service Sites and Monuments Record (SMR), and the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH). Six maps on the site include :
The First Edition 6 inch OS maps, which were printed between 1837 and 1842 and the Historic 25 inch maps printed from 1888- 1913.
An additional layer has the archaeological sites indicated as red dots and structures included in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, indicated by blue dots, which link you to data about the individual structures.
It is very interesting to see the expansion of Tramore, for example, from a fishing village on the First Edition 6 Inch OS Map to the Victorian seaside resort of the Historic 25 inch Maps.
On the earlier map, the then village is located along present day Main Street, Stand Street, Patrick Street and Queen Street and is mainly surrounded by fields. The later maps show the development of the town as it began to expand rapidly both as a seaside resort and a dormitory town for Waterford City, with opening of the Waterford and Tramore Railway Line in 1853.
Anyone building a house in the town had the building material carried at a reduced rate by the Railway Company. As a result of this incentive, imposing terraces of houses such as Bellevue and Gurteen Terrace were constructed. The street pattern of development was determined by the topography. The building of Harney’s seawall in 1893 further increased the tourism potential for Tramore. To the east, the maps indicate the changes due to the reclamation works at Lisselan and the Backstrand.
Our next article will look at archaeology and maps, but in the meantime why not check out the links about and see what is within your 2km zone to explore.
The history of fanlights available on the Buildings of Ireland Facebook pageposted a photograph of the lovely double fanlight at 31 The Mall Waterford city recently.
Here are a few more examples from around the City and County.
On Tuesday the 21st April 2020, the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) in partnership with Inland Fisheries Ireland, Waterways Ireland, The Heritage Council and The Heritage Officer Programme, launched a national Storytelling Competition ‘Stories from the Waterside’ / ‘Scéalta Ó Thaobh An Uisce’.
The competition is open to all, with €4,000 in prizes to be won. Entries are welcomed from across the island of Ireland and entries may be submitted in either in English or Irish. Stories of 600 words or less and only original and previously unpublished stories are allowed.
Please share with your families, friends and colleagues. Best of luck if you decide to enter. We would be most obliged if you could please pass this email on to anyone you feel might be interested in this storytelling competition.
During the Covid crisis, The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) Facebook site is highlighting some of our wonderful historic buildings and features with Built Heritage puzzles.
This week they are starting a “Fantastic Irish Fanlights: An Armchair Tour of Ireland” by Nessa Roche, Senior Architectural Advisor, which is perfect for a little lunchtime learning or a teatime tutorial.
“Fantastic Irish Fanlights” will explain why fanlights became so popular in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century buildings. It will also explore the wide range of buildings fanlights are found, who designed the fanlights, who made them and how they were made, the main design families – circle; cobweb; floral; Gothic; peacock; petal; spoke and hub; teardrop – and will showcase examples of the bizarre and spectacular. There will also be practical tips if you know of a fanlight in need of repair.
Go on the armchair tour of “Fantastic Irish Fanlights” – First stop will be “An Introduction to Irish Fanlights”.
We regret that due to the restrictions in place because of Covid-19, it is not possible at the current time to deal with phone queries relating to payment of invoices.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Council offices both in Waterford City and in Dungarvan have been closed to the public. However all essential services are still in operation with a reduced number of staff present.
The Housing Applications office has two staff members working in the Waterford office and are assessing new applications, dealing with queries etc. During this time applications for social housing supports can be either posted in to Housing Applications Office, Waterford City & County Council, Bailey’s New Street, Waterford, can be popped through the letterbox at City Hall (building between the Theatre Royal and the Munster Bar on The Mall) or can be emailed to housingapplications@waterfordcouncil.ie.
Please ensure that you send in the following:
· Housing Application Form – you need to complete this form in full and sign the declaration on the back of the form
· Certificate of Income – you need to complete this and have it signed and stamped by Social Welfare or your employer
· HPL1 form (anyone over 18 years must complete one of these) due to the Covid-19 emergency and on a temporary basis during this time, you can request that Waterford City & County Council undertakes an electronic process to obtain the information on your behalf from the Revenue Commissioners. If you wish to avail of this option please contact the Housing Applications Office on 0761 10 2477 and request that the relevant HPL1 information be obtained on your behalf by Waterford City & County Council to support your application for social housing supports.
Once you have these forms completed, refer to Page 3 of the application form and gather all supporting documentation which is relevant to your situation. You will need the following:
Photographic I.D. (current passport, Irish driving licence or social services card)
Copy Birth certs for you and anyone who is part of your application
PPS numbers for you and anyone who is part of your application
Copy Marriage Cert (if you are married)
Copy Separation or Divorce Agreement (if you are separated or divorced). If you do not have such an agreement you need to provide a letter from your solicitor that you are in the process of applying for a Separation or Divorce.
Proof of your current address – copy of a recent utility bill and a copy of your current tenancy agreement. We also need proof that your tenancy is registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). If you are living with family, we will require a letter from the person who owns the property confirming when you started living there and if you pay anything towards the running of the house. If you don’t have a utility bill in your name, we need some sort of official correspondence in your name showing this address.
Proof of Citizenship or Permission to Remain in Ireland (if you are not originally from Ireland) – copy of current Stamp 4, letter from Dept of Justice and proof of stamp in your current passport.
Evidence of Income – along with the Certificate of Income we need 3-4 recent payslips or Social Welfare receipts. If you are paid through your bank we need 6 months bank statements.
If anybody over 18 years in your household was born in the UK or any other country other than Ireland we require proof that you did not own property in that country.
If you have overnight access to a child or children we require a copy of the Court Order detailing overnight access arrangements and details of any maintenance payments in respect of this child or children. If you do not have a Court Order you need to obtain a sworn Affidavit completed by both parents of the child/children.
If you are applying on medical grounds we require a current consultant’s report detailing the medical condition. This will be reviewed by the Area Medical Officer.
If you have any questions in relation to this email please contact the Housing Applications Team on 0761 10 2477 or email housingapplications@waterfordcouncil.ie.
A network of 83 Look Out Posts (LOPs) was constructed at approximately 10 to 20 mile intervals around the coast of Ireland during “The Emergency”. These single bay, single story, flat roofed mass concrete structures were built to the standardised designs of William Henry Cooke (1881-1977) of the Office of Public Works. It is said that these look outs could be constructed in a single day, using 137 precast blocks.
The LOP were numbered and in Waterford they were built at Brownstown Head, LOP 17, Dunbrattin, LOP 18, Helvick, LOP 19 and Ram Head, LOP 20. These posts were manned by the Marine and Coastwatching Service, which comprised of members of the Local Defence Force (LDF) and it was the primary intelligence-gathering system responsible for reporting all incidents at sea and in the air to Military Intelligence (G2). The service was disbanded in October 1945.
If you would like to find out more, the coast and marine section on www.heritagemaps.ie has links to the log books for each station, and a list of those who manned the stations.
Tom Cullen from Tramore GAA making a home delivery.
Waterford’s Community Call – #TogetherWaterfordIsStronger
Following the Taoiseach’s March 12th announcement to close schools, colleges and cultural institutions, Waterford Council’s libraries closed their doors to their 21,408 customers. These were steps we all had to take, as the people of Ireland, to protect the most vulnerable and at risk members of our communities.
The closing of the doors, however, did not mean that library staff headed away to dust off the stock and to catalogue back editions … Instead the library staff of Waterford City and County Council rallied to the challenge and brought much of the library’s services online.
This initiative has resulted in a 94% increase in eBooks being borrowed, a 64% increase in eMagazine use and a 124% increase in engagement with the Library Service through social media. You can access the library service online at www.waterfordlibraries.ie and even if you’re not a library member, you can join on line and use all these services for free.
Staff from a number of departments of Waterford Council, including Libraries, Community and Information Services worked over the weekend following additional restrictions being announced on Friday 27th March to establish and organize Waterford’s Community Call Helpline.
The Helpline 1800 250 185 was ready to go on Monday 30th March and since that date, a team of 32 WCCC staff and 2 HSE staff have been covering 12 hours shifts from 8am – 8pm every day, including Saturdays, Sundays and the Easter weekend. The team has dealt with 480 calls since the Community Call Helpline started and they want to encourage people to call, call, call….. or email covidsupport@waterfordcouncil.ie
The Mayor of the City and County of Waterford, Cllr John Pratt said “I find the response to the Waterford Community Call to be heartwarming and shows us all how much we have to offer when our need is greatest. I am particularly encouraged by how much people are willing to help each other. It is by working together that we will stay stronger.”
No request is considered non-essential and there are huge numbers of community and voluntary groups and local organisations working in the background to make sure no-one is in need. 67 organisations have registered with the Community Call and these include everyone from the local GAA clubs to community organisations which came together specifically to address the needs of people in self isolation. Community Groups that haven’t yet registered can do so by going to the Council website www.waterfordcouncil.ie and clicking on “Register to Help”.
The Community Call Helpline team is responding to calls and emails about collection and delivery of groceries, medicines and prescriptions and they have information on services and supports available for people who are self isolating. They are also taking calls and receiving emails from people who want to volunteer and be involved in responding at a local and community level. Many people are making contact as they have no other form of social contact and the helpline can refer callers to Alone or the Call to Chat group if they just want to have a chat about what’s going on. HSE staff are on site to ensure people are linked into local support networks and services where a need is evident.
