Upcoming Lecture: The Irish Dominican Friars: Eight Centuries in Eight Objects by Fr Conor McDonough OP 27/02/26

The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society 2025 – 2026 lecture series continues at 8 pm on Friday, February 27th when Fr Conor McDonough, will deliver a talk titled The Irish Dominican Friars: Eight Centuries in Eight Objects, in St Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford (Eircode X91 YX61).

How to tell a story that lasts eight centuries? The Dominican friars have been in Ireland since 1224, in all sorts of situations and settings. This lecture will tell their story by means of eight objects, one associated with each century. There'll be a half-buried dragon, a manuscript full of legends, an intricate work of embroidery, a letter sent from Lisbon, and more, including, of course, a treasure associated with Waterford.

Fr Conor McDonough, a native of Galway, is a Dominican friar of the Irish Province. Ordained to the priesthood in 2016, he has taught theology in the Dominican Studium, Dublin, and is currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Classics, University of Galway..

**************** FORTHCOMING LECTURES *****************

27/03/2026 Dr Rachel Finnegan Upstairs, Downstairs: A bird’s-eye view of the Chavasse servants at Whitfield Court, Kilmeaden, from 1898 to 1913

Change of Venue: Parnell Room, Granville Hotel, Meagher’s Quay, Waterford

24/04/2026 Dr Kate Colbert Early medieval carved stones in southeast Ireland: expressions of ecclesiastical power, identity and commemoration

Upcoming Lecture on 30/01/26 :Planes, Ships and Mines – World War 2 incidents in Waterford and Wexford 1940-1945 by Dr Pat McCarthy

A lecture by Dr Pat McCarthy to the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society

The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society 2025 – 2026 lecture series continues at 8 pm on Friday, January 30th, when Dr Pat McCarthy, will deliver a talk titled Planes, Ships and Mines – World War 2 incidents in Waterford and Wexford 1940-1945, in St Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford (Eircode X91 YX61).

The SS Lady Belle, a Dungarvan-owned vessel, putting into Waterford, after it was damaged in an attack by German aircraft     Gardaí examining the wreckage of a German aircraft that crashed in County Waterford in 1941

(Images provided by Dr. Pat McCarthy)

The opening months of World War 2, September 1939 – May 1940, seemed to confirm that Ireland’s geographical location and its declared policy of neutrality would protect the country from the war. All that had changed by June 1940. The belligerents had shown no respect for neutrality and had invaded such countries when and if it suited them and the German conquest of France had brought their forces within range of Ireland. The counties of Waterford and Wexford were now the Irish frontline, and it was inevitable that the war would impact on this country, especially those two counties. This lecture will look at some of these impacts and put them in the context of the war. Both Allied and German planes overflew with impunity and sometimes engaged in combat in Irish skies, ships both Irish and British, trading with the ports of Waterford and Rosslare, were attacked by German aircraft. Another hazard was the prevalence of mines in the offshore Irish waters. German infringements of Irish neutrality also included the dropping of bombs and the delivery of German agents to this country. All such aspects will be covered in this talk.

Pat McCarthy, a native of Waterford city and a past pupil of Mount Sion, holds a PhD and an MBA from UCD and worked for many years in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector. He is the author of The Irish Revolution 1912-23, Waterford (Four Courts Press, 2015), Waterford and the 1916 Rising (Waterford city and county council, 2016), The Redmonds and Waterford, a political dynasty 1891-1952 (Four Courts Press, 2018), A History of the Irish Pharmaceutical Industry (Four Courts Press, 2021), a study of the East Waterford Brigade and its contribution to the War of Independence. – Waterford City, The East Waterford Brigade and the Struggle for Independence 1912-1921 (Waterford City and County Council, 2021) and most recently, Waterford’s Two Civil Wars, Armed Conflict and Social Strife in Waterford 1922-24. He is currently assisting Military Archives in the preparation of the files on aircraft crashes and landings in Ireland during World War 2 for digitization. He has lectured widely and published extensively in the Irish Sword, in Decies, and other journals.

Upcoming Lecture on 17/10/25: Waterford Gravestones, Waterford Families by John Tierney

The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society 2025 – 2026 lecture series continues at 8 pm on Friday, October 17th, when John Tierney, will deliver a talk titled ‘Waterford Gravestones, Waterford Families’, in St Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford (Eircode X91 YX61).

   

Gravestones in Waterford are historic documents carved in stone and situated in the cultural landscapes of burial grounds used by communities for centuries. There are 100 registered historic graveyards in the county, and many more cemeteries, each parish contains at least one historic burial ground.

Since 2010 the Historic Graves team, based in west Waterford, have been working with communities around Ireland to survey historic graveyards and publish the results online. In recent years our work in Waterford has focused on Ardmore, Kilgobnet and Mothel graveyards. Ardmore, the team's ‘home’ graveyard, is the laboratory for testing different methods of recording and analysis. This lecture addresses the use of modern technology to explore how recording historic headstones has allowed us develop an archaeology of families.

The talk will demonstrate how different low tech and high tech tools have been developed and used to record and analyse these carved stone ‘documents’. The Historic Graves team have been using AI tools to read field record sheets since Covid days, more recently they have had success using AI to ‘read’ inscriptions on 20th century headstones directly. In this lecture John will explore the potential of headstones recorded by the Historic Graves project to document and trace family fortunes since the early modern period, and perhaps even further back in time.

John Tierney is a field archaeologist who qualified from UCC in 1988. John has been director of the Historic Graves Project since 2010. The project has surveyed over 900 Irish historic graveyards and cemeteries, urban and rural, and published them online, in collaboration with local communities. Since 2016 John and the Historic Graves Project team have been involved in the investigation of a number of institutional burial grounds and associated burial practices such as Bessborough in Cork, Tuam, and St. Loman’s in Mullingar.

Find out more on Historic Graves Project 

Upcoming Lecture : on 26/09/25 Loyal Waterford - The Orangemen, Unionists and Loyalists of the Crystal County by Quincey Dougan

 The first talk of the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society's 2025 - 2026 season will be given by historian Quincey Dougan who will deliver a lecture titled

 'Loyal Waterford - The Orangemen, Unionists and Loyalists of the Crystal County' at 8 pm, Friday 26th of September, in St Patrick's Gateway Centre, Waterford.

This presentation will look at the inception and activities of Orange Lodges and related organisations of 'Loyal Ireland' in County Waterford, the personalities that drove them, pivotal events, and the reception given by Nationalist and Catholic Waterford.

Quincey Dougan hails from a rural area not far from the town of Markethill on the fringes of South Armagh. An Orangeman, Unionist and self-proclaimed Ulster Loyalist, his keen interest in history and a maternal family lineage from the Republic of Ireland, has seen him take a deep interest in the Orange, Unionist and Irish Loyalist heritage of Ireland outside Ulster. He produced the first published work on the Great War in County Leitrim, and has authored over 80 booklets and pamphlets on subject matter pertaining to Loyal Ireland. His work has featured in several issues of History Ireland, numerous regional newspapers, and he is a former columnist in the Belfast Newsletter. Quincey's motivation is to take the interest in and the complexities of Irish history beyond the academic stage, and focuses on speaking directly to groups. 

Upcoming : Summer Outing, Ormond Castle 10/08/25

 

Ormond Castle has been described as a gem of Tudor architecture in Ireland. Built on a prominent site on the banks of the River Suir at the east side of Carrick-on-Suir, it is considered the finest example of an Elizabethan manor house in Ireland. Thomas 'Black Tom' Butler, 10th Earl of Ormond, built it in 1565 to honour his distant cousin Queen Elizabeth. The magnificent great hall, which stretches almost the whole length of the building is decorated with some of the finest 16th century stucco plasterwork in the country. The plasterwork features portraits of Queen Elizabeth and her brother Edward VI and many motifs and emblems associated with the Tudor monarchy.

Ormond Castle has recently re-opened following an extensive conservation programme which was featured in RTE's 'Great Irish Interiors' TV programme. We will be shown around the Castle by an OPW guide.

Please note that there is an entry fee of €4, which should be paid individually.

The final WAHS outing of Summer 2025 is a visit on Sunday August 31st to the restored nineteenth century Phelan's Mill in Mullinavat.

Upcoming : Summer Outing to Lismore 27 /07/25

The second outing of the season will take place in Lismore on Sunday, July 27 2025.

Meeting at 2:00 pm at St Carthage's Church of Ireland Cathedral, Lismore (Eircode P51 VX65). Please note there is also a Catholic Church with the same dedication in the town!

The outing will include a tour of the Cathedral, its memorials, and the historic Cotton Library with Margaret Quinlan and Bláithín Hurley.

All welcome, non-members €5.00

 

First Summer Outing of 2025 : MOTHEL with guide John Tierney on June 22nd

 The first WAHS summer outing of 2025 is to historic Mothel, near Clonea Power. Mothel is noted for the remains of its medieval Augustian abbey which is located in a historic graveyard containing many fine memorials. Our guide will be John Tierney from Historic Graves. John has worked with the local community in Mothel in recent years to record the graveslabs in the cemetery. As part of the outing John will give a demonstration of techniques that can be used to record historic grave memorials without damaging them.

Summer outing to East Cork on July 6th.

Members are reminded to reserve their places on this outing. In order to secure a place we'd be grateful if tickets were reserved by Thurs. June 26th.