Upcoming Lecture 25/09/26 : John O'Mahony's Insurrection in Carrick-on-Suir, by James Ryan

 

 

 The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society 2026 – 2027 lecture series kicks-off at 8 pm on Friday, September 25th, when James Ryan, will deliver a talk titled John O’Mahony’s insurrection in Carrick on Suir South Kilkenny and East Waterford in 1848, in St. Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford (Eircode X91 YX61).

 

Authorities arrest Confederation Club President Dr. Ryan to try 

and quell agitation in Carrick – scene outside what is now the 

Garda station in Carrick on Suir (photo composite)

This lecture tells the remarkable true story of one man`s attempt to start an insurrection in 1848 against the English establishment in Ireland that resulted in him being forced to confront the Catholic clergy and the English establishment in Ireland at a time when the Great Famine was laying a dark wreath across the Irish landscape. Having initially received support from the Catholic Church to set up Confederation Clubs in the area, John O’Mahony would now be hailed with joy by the poorer class in society with no doubt about the readiness of the people to fight. But within a number of weeks, the support he had received from the clergy would change. They would go on to withdraw their support using the altar to implore the people at a critical time not to take part with promises from one priest that-

“In a fortnight when the harvest is ripe, I shall then perhaps lead you myself and I can do more with my little finger than all your chiefs backed by all your pikes.” and “that he would put himself at the head of the people if they but waited three weeks." (for the harvest to finish) 

This was at a time of both huge social and moral injustice where the landed gentry enjoyed the finer things in life, with Lord Waterford regularly out fox hunting four days a week with the local magistrate and with the bosses of the local factories. At the same time, famine was stalking the countryside and unemployment was taking its toll, forcing people in huge numbers to emigrate or give up on life. As a young man of thirty- three John O`Mahony had a vision of a better Ireland.

With a series of photo composites using actual locations, Carrick on Suir, the Slatequarries, Glenbower, Portlaw, Curraghmore House, Grannagh and Kilmacow, John O’Mahony’s dramatic story is told. 

Jim Ryan is a native of South Kilkenny and lives within miles of some of the events that the lecture talks about, He is an avid local historian having written one book on the local history in his area and another on the attempted insurrection that took place in Carrick and would spread to other areas in 1848. He has also been involved in recording local history in the Piltown area. His belief, that unless the local history is recorded on paper for future generations, it is lost forever. To record this history requires that old newspapers, reading historical stories and talking to the local population has to take place. He uses his passion for photography and sometimes composites to help record events and tell the story on events that happened in the past.

Jim is well travelled and has seen how our rich history in Ireland compared to other countries gives us a deep sense of pride in our history and in our culture..

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

30/10/2026 Dr Bernadette Cunningham Medieval pilgrims from Ireland to Santiago de Compostela

27/11/2026 Dr Antonia Hart Waterford women in business in the late nineteenth and early twentieth

Upcoming : Outing to Kilmeaden Railway Station 27/08/26

 POSTPONED! DUE TO THE WEATHER ALERT. 

RESCHEDULED TO THURSDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2026.

The last outing of the season will take place on Thursday 27 August 2026 at the Waterford Suir Valley Railway, Kilmeaden, with guide Alan Moore. 

Meet at the WSVR at 6.30pm

The historic settlement of Kilmeaden, received a boost in the 1870s when the Waterford to Dungarvan railway was constructed by the Rosslare to Fishguard Railway Company and a station was opened. This was a transformative Victorian-era transport project and over subsequent decades Kilmeaden Station became a hub for the local community and an important part of the economy of this part of Waterford.

On this outing Alan Moore, Waterford Suir Valley Railway, will outline the history of the railway and Kilmeaden Station and how the WSVR is seeking to protect and enhance our railway heritage while providing a unique tourist attraction.

Upcoming Outing to Tallow 26/07/26 with Donie O'Brien

Our next event on the summer calendar is an outing to Tallow

Following his fascinating talk about Thomas Badnedge and the history  and development of Tallow Donie O'Brien and other Tallow local historians will take the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society on a guided walk of Tallow's historic sights on Sunday July 26th.

We will meet at 2pm at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Chapel St. (Eircode P51 ED65)

 

Upcoming Lecture 29/05/26 THOMAS BADNEDGE AND HIS WORLD by Donie O'Brien

The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society 2025 – 2026 lecture series concludes at 8 pm on Friday, May 29th, when Donie O’Brien, will deliver a talk titled ‘Thomas Badnedge and His World: Power, Land, and Legacy in West Waterford and East Cork’, in St Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford (Eircode X91 YX61).

This illustrated lecture is broadly based on the recently published book Thomas Badnedge and His World, it explores a transformative period in the history of West Waterford and East Cork during the Munster Plantations of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Centred on Tallow and the baronies of Coshmore and Coshbride, the talk brings to life a turbulent era shaped by ambition, colonisation, rebellion, and survival.

The story begins with the speaker’s own journey of discovery. While researching his family history, he became intrigued by a rare maternal surname of Barnidge. This led him to the 1641 Depositions, where he encountered the name Thomas Badnedge. The similarity of the name, combined with Badnedge’s association with lands in the Knockanore area, where the speaker’s ancestors also lived, sparked deeper investigation. That investigation revealed Thomas Badnedge to be a key historical figure, a senior servant and trusted agent of Richard Boyle, the First Earl of Cork, one of the most powerful men in the early 17th century.

From this personal starting point, the lecture broadens into the wider historical landscape of the Munster Plantations. It outlines the background to the Desmond Rebellions, the destruction of early settlements such as Tulach Rath (Tallow), and the First Plantation of Munster. Attention is given to Sir Walter Raleigh’s grant of 42,000 acres, the establishment of Tallow as an Elizabethan plantation town, and the eventual collapse of this first colonial experiment following renewed conflict and destruction.

The focus then shifts to the Second Plantation of Munster, which began in earnest after Raleigh sold his Irish estates to Richard Boyle in 1602. Under Boyle’s careful management and the oversight of the Munster Commission, the region reshaped economically, socially, and politically. At the heart of this transformation was Thomas Badnedge. Rising from servant to landholder and a military commission, Badnedge was granted the lease of lands, in Knockanore, Youghal, and Castlemartyr, from the Earl. His remarkable social ascent sealed through marriage into a noble family associated with Lisfinny Castle, an extraordinary achievement in the rigidly stratified society of the early seventeenth century. Badnedge’s career as Captain of the Youghal town guard, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the local militia, places him at the centre of events of the 1640s. The lecture follows the unravelling of the Munster Plantation during the 1641 Rebellion and culminates with the siege of Youghal. Drawing on contemporary sources, including the diary of Captain William Penn (later Admiral Penn), it records the details of Thomas Badnedge’s death. The talk concludes with the wintering of Oliver Cromwell’s army in Youghal in 1649, and his arrival in Tallow in January 1650.

Rich in local placenames, families, and lived experience, this lecture uses the life of one man to illuminate a defining chapter in the history of the region.

Donie O’Brien worked in finance for a number of multinational companies throughout his professional career. He has had a long-standing interest in genealogy for over thirty years, which developed into a deeper engagement with local history. As retirement approached, he undertook formal study in the field and completed an Honours M.A. degree at University College Cork.

Over the past seven years, Donie has written several articles on various aspects of local history, some of which have been published in the Knockanore Annual Heritage Magazine, of which he is an active member. He has also delivered talks to historical societies in West Waterford and East Cork.

He recently published his first book, Thomas Badnedge and His World, which explores the second plantation of Munster in West Waterford and East Cork. He is currently working on a more comprehensive local history of Tallow, tracing its story from earliest times to 1925. 

**************** SUMMER OUTINGS *****************

Thurs. June 18th, 17:30 – Woodstown Viking Settlement a guided tour of the excavations by Neil Jackman

Sun. July 5th, Medieval Meath: Town and Country coach outing to Bective and Trim, evening meal in the Lord Bagenal Inn, Leiglinbridge

Sun. July 18th, 14:00 – Historic Tallow : A walking tour led by Donie O’Brien

 

Upcoming Lecture on 24/04/26 : Early medieval carved stones in southeast Ireland: expressions of ecclesiastical power, identity and commemoration by Kate Colbert

The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society 2025 – 2026 lecture series continues at 8 pm on Friday, April 24th, when Dr Kate Colbert, will deliver a talk titled ‘Early medieval carved stones in southeast Ireland: expressions of ecclesiastical power, identity and commemoration’, in St Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford (Eircode X91 YX61).

Southeast Ireland has a rich and varied early medieval sculpture tradition, reflecting both the presence of a well-educated Christian elite, as well as the continuum of artistic exchange that existed between Ireland, Britain, and the wider early medieval world. However, there is a striking disparity between the distribution of early medieval carved stones in the region and the importance of the ecclesiastical sites at which they are found. Such lacunae are significant as they do not fit with patterns seen at many major sites elsewhere, in which sculpture plays a key role in expressing hierarchies of power. While undoubtedly important, the patronage of powerful elites was not always the primary factor driving the production of stone sculpture in this region. In her talk Kate will provide an overview of the corpus of early medieval cross-carved stones in the southeast, including Waterford, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny and South Tipperary. Using a combination of historical sources and archaeological evidence, Dr Colbert will tease out why some sites invested in sculpture while others did not, why sculpture was produced at certain times during the life of a site and not others, and what the early medieval carved stones of this region can tell us about the priorities and socio-political identities of their communities.

 

Kate earned her PhD in archaeology from University College Cork in 2020. Her doctoral thesis, ‘Early Medieval Sculpture in Southeast Ireland: Identities, Landscape and Memory’, applied a combination of digital and established archaeological recording techniques to the systematic survey and analysis of early medieval carved stones, examining them as commemorative technologies and agents of cultural transmission. From 2021 to 2024, Kate held a Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Galway, funded by the Irish Research Council. Her project, ‘Building a Framework for Recording Carved Stones in Ireland’, set out to establish standardised recording methods and terminology for Irish early medieval carved stone monuments (c. AD 500–1200), with input from leading experts in Ireland and the UK across the disciplines of archaeology, cultural heritage, digital humanities and art history, as well as with representatives of the National Monuments Service. During her fellowship, she also collaborated as a Project Partner on the Digital Atlas of Early Irish Carved Stone (DAEICS) project before joining the team full-time in April 2024. Kate’s research interests include stone sculpture, early medieval archaeology, landscape archaeology, art history, Irish folklore and early Irish literature.

 

Upcoming Lecture : Upstairs, Downstairs: A Bird’s-eye View of the Chavasse Servants at Whitfield Court, Kilmeaden, from 1898 to 1913 by Dr Rachel Finnegan on 27/03/26

The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society 2025 – 2026 lecture series continues at 8 pm on Friday, March 27th, when Dr Rachel Finnegan, will deliver a talk titled Upstairs, Downstairs: A Bird’s-eye View of the Chavasse Servants at Whitfield Court, Kilmeaden, from 1898 to 1913, in The Parnell Room, Granville Hotel, Meagher’s Quay, Waterford (Eircode X91 XH5R).

 

This lecture gives a brief account of the background to the Chavasse family – Judith Chavasse, née Fleming (1867-1935) of Newcourt House, Skibbereen, and Major Henry (Hal) Chavasse (1863-1943), who was born in Edgbaston but spent much of his childhood in Castletownshend, West Cork, and his early adulthood in South Wales.  It then outlines the sources for our knowledge of the family, including a large collection of Judith's diaries that came to light in Co. Waterford in the 1980s, covering her life from her early twenties to her death at Seafield House, Castletownshend, where they settled in 1913 after leaving Whitfield Court, Kilmeaden; a single diary of Hal's for the year in which they moved to Whitfield; and more importantly for this lecture, Judith's "Record of Servants". The introductory section also describes Whitfield Court itself, including the circumstances in which the Chavasses found themselves living there. Having thus set the scene, the lecture discusses the relatively small staff of domestic and other servants engaged to work on the Whitfield estate between 1898 and 1913, namely the women and girls who worked for Judith in the kitchen, the dining room, the nursery, the schoolroom and more generally around the house; and the men and boys who worked for Hal in the grounds and on his model farm, as well as those he hired as coachmen and chauffeurs. It is fortunate that the Chavasse’s time at Whitfield coincided with the census of 1911, which provides important information on their resident servants for that period and allows us to compare the composition of their staff with that of other local gentry houses. However, they were not resident in Waterford for the 1901 census, as Hal was serving in the Boer War and Judith was staying in West Cork with her first child, Claude, and three domestic servants. The lecture is illustrated with photographs and portraits from the family collection and other relevant material.

Rachel Finnegan was educated at Trinity College Dublin, St Patrick’s College Maynooth, and the British School of at Athens. Her first job was at the Royal Irish Academy, after which she lectured for 20 years in Arts & Heritage Management at WIT (now SETU). At the end of 2014 she retrained to become a freelance academic editor and runs a company called Irish Academic Editing. She has written 11 academic books, mainly on 18th-century voyages to the Eastern Mediterranean, including 3 volumes on the travel correspondence of Bishop Richard Pococke, a nephew of Thomas Milles, Bishop of Waterford & Lismore. Her two most recent books are related to Judith Chavasse, the subject of her forthcoming lecture. The first (2024) is a biography based on Judith's diaries and the second (2025) is a collection of childhood memoirs composed by Judith and two of her sisters, Sue Fitzgerald and Henrietta Haythornthwaite. In her forthcoming book (2026), Rachel has returned to the subject of Eastern travels with a new edition of Lord Charlemont’s Turkish and Greek Essays.

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.

Viking Woodstown: what lies beneath, what lies ahead by Neil Jackman 13/06/25

The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society in partnership with Waterford City & County Council’s Heritage Office is delighted to host a special lecture as part of the European Archaeology Days at 8 pm on Friday, June 13th in the Garden Room of the Medieval Museum, Waterford (Eircode X91 K10E) when Neil Jackman, will deliver a talk titled ‘Viking Woodstown: what lies beneath, what lies ahead’.  

In 2003, archaeologists carrying out archaeological assessment in advance of construction of the planned N25 Waterford City Bypass were investigating fields in Woodstown, on the banks of the River Suir, upstream from the city. They uncovered one of the most significant discoveries in the annals of Irish archaeology. A site deemed so significant, that the planned road was moved in order to preserve it.

The initial excavations, followed by a small research dig, identified the site as a Viking longphort, an overwinter camp, with a focus of activity dating to c.AD 850–950, the earliest phase of Viking activity in Ireland. Only 5% of the site was excavated, though it produced nearly 6,000 artefacts, including the grave of a person of high status, who was buried with their weapons. The excavations also revealed evidence for trade, craft and industry. These results were detailed in Woodstown – A Viking Age Settlement in County Waterford published in 2014.

In recent years, Woodstown has undergone a series of detailed geophysical and non-intrusive surveys. The surveys have been developed as a collaboration between leading geophysicists in Ireland and Norway, who have combined a variety of approaches to develop a deeper sense of what lies beneath the surface of these quiet fields beside the Suir.  

The combined evidence from these surveys, with the previous excavations, suggest that Woodstown wasn’t just a base for raiding and plundering the surrounding countryside. It was a substantial settlement, and a centre for trade, commerce and industry.

Unlike other Viking settlements in Ireland, such as Dublin, Cork or Waterford itself, Woodstown never developed into a modern city. That lack of development has left the monument largely intact at foundation level, allowing a unique opportunity to examine a Viking settlement that was ‘fossilised’ in time.

To fulfil the potential of the site, and to better ensure its protection, in 2020, a Conservation Management Plan was published that helps to set out the future plans for Viking Woodstown, in terms of how to best understand, protect and promote the site.  

Neil’s talk will provide an overview of the results of the surveys, and discuss what the findings might tell us about the nature of the settlement at Woodstown. It will explore some of the key questions that Woodstown asks, such as why it may have started, and why it may have ended, and it will discuss the future plans for this internationally significant Viking monument.

Neil Jackman is a professional archaeologist with more than 25 years experience in Ireland, and has directed the excavations of a wide variety of monuments, ranging from Neolithic passage tombs, to early medieval mills, and more.  

Neil specialises in public and community archaeology, and is the director of Abarta Heritage and Tuatha Ireland. Neil is passionate about connecting people to the rich heritage that surrounds us here in Ireland, and he is involved in a number of public engagement projects, such as the Adopt a Monument Scheme with the Heritage Council, as well as hosting the popular Amplify Archaeology Podcast.

Neil authored the Conservation Management Plan for the Woodstown Viking Site, an ambitious and long term vision for how best to protect, promote and present Woodstown, and how to connect it with the people of Waterford to ensure its long term engagement and sustainability.

Upcoming Lecture : Waterford Through the Lens of Lesser-Known Photographers by Andy Kelly, 30/05/2025

 

The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society 2024 – 2025 lecture series continues at 8 pm on Friday, May 30th, when Andy Kelly, will deliver a talk titled ‘Waterford Through the Lens of Lesser-Known Photographers’, in St Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford (Eircode X91 YX61).

Andy Kelly writes :

‘When I was asked to present a showing of some of my collection of Waterford photos to the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society it occurred to me that most of the members would probably be familiar with the Arthur H Poole, William Laurence and the James Valentine collections which are readily available both on line and at the National Library in Dublin.

This led me to the title 'Waterford Through the Lens of Lesser-Known Photographers'.

Photography in Waterford goes back to the decade after Fox Talbot launched his 'calotype' process in 1839. By the early 1850s William Despard Hemphil of Clonmel and Francis Edmund Currey of Lismore were exhibiting in both Dublin and London.

My interest in collecting old photographs started in the mid 1960s when I came across a box of photographic materials, which included a quantity of glass negatives from the late 1890s or early 1900s. They were about to be sent to the local refuse dump in Dungarvan and when I showed interest I was allowed to take them home. I started collecting old photos and photographic equipment at that time and I am still collecting to this day.

My presentation will feature the work of up to twenty, both professional and amateur cameramen and women. It will also include some images from collections, which I have acquired over the years as well as a selection glass negatives, and magic lantern slides.

To finish off the presentation I will screen a number of digitised 16mm film clips from the 1930s to the 1950s.’

Andy Kelly was introduced to photography at the age of eight when his mother gave him an old Brownie box camera. Within ten years he had his own darkroom in a converted box room and from then on he was hooked on the hobby of photography.

For over sixty years he has been collecting old photographs of Waterford and surrounding areas. It started after coming across a box of photographic equipment and glass negatives that were about to be dumped. This was in Dungarvan in the early 1960s. The negatives were of Dungarvan around the late 1890s or early 1900 and were taken by Edward Brennan, a Dungarvan photographer. Andy’s fascination with collecting old photographs and film stemmed from that time. He has contributed many photos from his collection to local and national historians, and to film documentary makers down through the years.

His collection now comprises of several hundred glass negatives and magic lantern glass slides and over 60.000 photographs in both negative and digital format. He also has quantity of 16mm film from the 1930s to the early '60s.

In the past year Andy has been instrumental in establishing a film and photographic museum in Youghal, Co. Cork which now has over one hundred and fifty exhibits from a number of donors around the country and abroad.

 

**************** FORTHCOMING TALKS & LECTURES *****************

 

There will be a special lecture in association with the Heritage Office, Waterford City and County Council

13/06/2025 Neil Jackman ‘The Woodstown Viking Settlement – latest discoveries’

To be held in the Medieval Museum

 

**************** SUMMER OUTINGS*****************

Provisional programme further details to be circulated 

22/06/2025       Discovering historic Mothel (afternoon outing)

Full day coach outing: 06/07/2025        Exploring East Cork – Fota House and gardens and St Mary's Collegiate Church, Youghal. Dinner in Youghal.

27/07/2025       St Carthage's Cathedral, Lismore (afternoon outing)

10/08/2025       Ormond Castle, Carrick-on-Suir – Ireland's finest Elizabethan manor house (afternoon outing)

28/08/2025       Milling in Mullinavat – Phelan's Mill (afternoon outing)

 

Upcoming Lecture : A Waterford Chaplain In Romanov Russia by Dr Angela Byrne 25/04/25

The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society 2024 – 2025 lecture series continues at 8 pm on Friday, April 25th, when Dr Angela Byrne, will deliver a talk titled

 ‘The tsar is far away’: 

Revd Robert Walsh, a Waterford chaplain in Romanov Russia 

in St Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford (Eircode X91 YX61).

 

This talk will focus on the Waterford-born Reverend Robert Walsh (1772–1852), who was a member of the British and Foreign Bible Society and lived in St Petersburg in 1825–6. Walsh published an account of his experiences and impressions of Russia which reveals his understanding of the role of the Orthodox Church in the growing empire and autocratic state. His thoughts on Russian serfdom informed his later investigation of slavery in Brazil. 

Dr Angela Byrne is a historian of women, migration, and travel and exploration in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and has published widely on these topics. She is an editor with the Dictionary of Irish Biography (Royal Irish Academy) and has previously held research and lecturing positions at the universities of Toronto, Greenwich, Ulster and Maynooth, and EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum. She was elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 2021 and is a former Marie Curie Fellow.

Upcoming Lecture 28/03/25 : The Medieval Cathedral of Waterford and its Place in Irish Gothic Architecture by Prof. Roger Stalley

 The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society 2024 – 2025 lecture series continues at 8 pm on Friday, March 28th, when Prof. Roger Stalley, will deliver a talk titled ‘The Medieval Cathedral of Waterford and its Place in Irish Gothic Architecture’. Thanks to the generosity of the Dean of Waterford, Revd Bruce Hayes, this lecture is being held in Christ Church Cathedral, Waterford (Eircode X91 TC66).

 

The old cathedral of Waterford was demolished in 1773 and replaced by the John Robert’s-designed neo-Classical cathedral. The medieval cathedral was built to a highly unusual design, without parallel anywhere else in Ireland. It has long been recognised that its architecture was inspired by Glastonbury Abbey, the richest Benedictine abbey in England. The design was remarkably ambitious, placing Waterford alongside the two Dublin cathedrals in terms of scale and sophistication. Fortunately, the survival of drawings, paintings and fragments of stonework, allow us to get a reasonably clear picture of the cathedral’s appearance, though many mysteries remain. Who exactly was the driving force behind this ambitious project in the years around 1220-30 and how was it financed? Why was Glastonbury selected as a model: was this a coincidence or was the master mason in charge recruited from the workshop at Glastonbury? There is also the question of whether local masons were involved or whether a team was brought over from England to carry out the task ? There are signs that the initial project was far too ambitious and that within a few years the scheme was modified and simplified. In this context Waterford was not alone. A number of other cathedral projects in Ireland were similarly curtailed, as early optimism gave way to financial reality. Nonetheless, the cathedral at Waterford remained one of the foremost Gothic buildings in Munster, the impact of its design being visible in churches elsewhere, not least at Athassal Abbey in county Tipperary.

While we might regret the destruction of the medieval building in 1773, there is no doubt that the fabric was by this stage badly dilapidated. Moreover, with its agglomeration of chapels and extra spaces, it was not well-suited to the type of worship prevailing at the time. It is no surprise, therefore, that both church and city authorities decided that a completely new cathedral was a better option than constant repair.

Roger Stalley is a fellow emeritus of Trinity College Dublin, where he was formerly Professor of the history of Art. He is the author eight books and approximately 150 articles in journals and periodicals. His books include The Cistercian Monasteries of Ireland (1987), for which he was awarded the Alice Davis Hitchcock medallion, and Early Medieval Architecture (1999), which to date has sold over 25,000 copies. His most recent volume Early Irish Sculpture and the Art of the High Crosses (2020) was shortlisted for the Berger prize. Amongst his many publications on Irish architecture is a study of Waterford cathedral, published in Irish Art and Decorative Studies. He is a regular contributor to the Irish Arts Review and currently serves as Chairperson of the Buildings of Ireland Charitable Trust, the body that commissions the Buildings of Ireland volumes, following the pattern of the Pevsner series for Britain. Professor Stalley is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and an elected member of Academia Europaea.

Upcoming Lecture 28/02/25 : Exploring the Making of 'Irish Food History: A Companion' by Dr Máirtin Mac ConIomaire

 The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society’s next lecture will be at 8 pm on Friday, February 28th in St Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford (Eircode X91 YX61) when Dr Máirtín Mac Con Iomaire, will deliver a talk titled ‘Exploring the making of ‘Irish Food History: A Companion’’.

 

Food permeates every aspect of Irish life and society, from birth to death—from the new-born’s first suckle to the food traditions associated with Irish wakes and funerals. Essential for survival, historically it has proven elusive to scholarly research, hidden in plain sight. Entangled with the domestic and the feminine, it was perhaps traditionally regarded as too mundane and too quotidian for consideration. Yet, consider what can be revealed by applying the ‘food lens’ to something as fundamental as our sense of place, our basic grounding in townland and byway. Consider the etymological richness of ‘Bóthar’, the Irish word for road (from ‘bó’—cow), defined in width by the length and breadth of a cow, a signifier of the long affair of our bovine past; extending also to our ‘buachaillí’ (boys) and ‘cailíní’ (girls), meaning, respectively, cowboy or herd boy and little herder, the suffix ‘ín’ denoting the diminutive. The true meaning of placenames such as Clonmel, Cappataggle, Glenageary, and Kanturk, all food-related, can only be unlocked through an understanding of their Irish language origins. All are instances of what Martin Doyle succinctly explains as ‘a transliteration from the Irish, preserving the sound but obliterating the meaning’.

In September 2024 an 800-page book titled Irish Food History: A Companion was published by the Royal Irish Academy, and in an open access online version by EUt+ Academic Press. The volume was co-edited by Dr Mac Con Iomaire and Dr Dorothy Cashman, with a foreword by the distinguished historian Professor James Kelly. This exciting new companion to Irish food history builds on the existing work of scholars across various disciplines. Within its twenty-eight chapters, there are contributions from experts in the fields of archaeology, history, mythology, linguistics, literature, folklore, Irish studies, food studies, beverage studies, gastronomy, and culinary history, who apply the latest thinking and scholarship to the history of Irish food from the earliest inhabitants to the twenty-first century. The book is divided into six sections:1. Prehistory and Archaeology of Food in Ireland; 2. Bog Butter, bees and banqueting in medieval Ireland; 3. Sources for food history in early modern Ireland; 4. Developments in food supply, technology, and trade; 5. Food, folklore, foclóirí, and digital humanities; and 6. The development of modern Irish food and identity. The section breaks are interspersed with food related poetry from Raiftearaí, Seamus Heaney and Paula Meehan, along with some recipes and old songs.

In his talk Máirtín will discuss the background to the book, outlining the development of food history in Ireland. He will discuss some of the seminal scholars who paved the way for this endeavour, and the key publications that preceded it. He will also discuss the main findings outlined in the book, before opening the floor to a wider discussion on Irish food history more generally.

Dr Mac Con Iomaire is a senior lecturer in the School of Culinary Arts and Food Technology, Technological University Dublin and Chair of the Masters in Gastronomy and Food Studies in TU Dublin, the first such programme in Ireland. With Dorothy Cashman and Michelle Share, he has been co-editor of the new European Journal of Food, Drink, and Society since 2021. Mac Con Iomaire is co-editor with Eamon Maher of ‘Tickling the Palate’: Gastronomy in Irish Literature and Culture (Peter Lang: 2014) and New Beginnings: Perspectives from France and Ireland (Peter Lang, 2023), and with Rhona Richman Kenneally on ‘The Food Issue’ of The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies (2018). He is also the co-founder and chair of the biennial Dublin Gastronomy Symposium, and a former two-term trustee of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery. In 2018, he presented Blasta, an eight-part television series for TG4 celebrating Ireland’s food heritage. In 2021, Máirtín guest edited a special issue of Folk Life: Journal of Ethnological Studies in the topic of Irish Food Ways. He was awarded an IRC Research Ally Prize in both 2021 and 2022 for mentoring doctoral candidates.

Upcoming Lecture 31/01/25 : Quills and Quandaries: Insights into Eighteenth-Century Ireland through James Ryan's 'Carrick Man's Diary'

 Quills and Quandaries: Insights into Eighteenth-Century Ireland through James Ryan's 'Carrick Man's Diary' : A lecture by Dr Bláithín Hurley to the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society

The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society’s first lecture of 2025  will be at 8 pm on Friday, January 31st in St Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford (Eircode X91 YX61) when Dr Bláithín Hurley, will deliver a talk titled ‘Quills and Quandaries: Insights into Eighteenth-Century Ireland through James Ryan's 'Carrick Man's Diary'’.

 

Between 1787 and 1809, James Ryan meticulously chronicled the events of Carrick-on Suir, and beyond, in a diary that serves as a unique historical artifact. Ryan's entries offer a captivating glimpse into the tumultuous era of the late eighteenth century, marked by significant global and local upheavals. For example, one notable entry, dated August 10th, 1789, sheds light on the unfolding chaos of the French Revolution, as Ryan vividly describes the brutal assault on the King of France’s Swiss Guards and court officers by an enraged mob in Paris. Concurrently, he reports a grisly local incident—the murder of Bryan Murphy’s wife and the subsequent hanging of her husband for the crime—a stark reminder of the violence that permeated daily life in Ireland at that time.

Ryan's diary serves as a testament to the connections and relationships between global events and local happenings. Amidst the backdrop of the French Revolution and the Irish Rebellion of 1798, Carrick-on-Suir became a microcosm of the larger tumult engulfing the nation. Ryan's entries document the passage of soldiers through the town en route to rebellion flashpoints, as well as the arrival of French fleets in Sligo and Cork to aid Irish rebels. His corresponding entry in which he discusses the absence of the Dublin Mail Coach due to a rebel uprising in Naas and Carlow only serves to accentuate the impact the rebellion had on everyday Irish life.

Ryan's unique approach to diary-keeping adds depth to his narrative. Rather than following a traditional chronological order, he organises his notes by subject, categorising entries under headings such as, ‘Accidents’; ‘Deaths’; and ‘Phenomenon’. Interspersed throughout are occasional recipes, medical cures, and instructions on preparing quills and inks, revealing his meticulous attention to detail and diverse interests.

Despite its small size and distance from urban centres like Dublin, Waterford and Cork, Carrick-on-Suir was not isolated from cultural trends and entertainment. Travelling players frequently stopped in the town, treating locals to plays, concerts, and operettas. These performances introduced Carrick-on-Suir to the latest musical fashions and dramatic productions, ensuring that residents remained abreast of cultural developments. For instance, in a display of local talent, the young gentlemen of Mrs. Dineen’s ‘Carrick Academy’ staged a performance of The Siege of Damascus to great acclaim, displaying the town's vibrant cultural scene.

In this talk, we embark on a journey through the past, exploring the intersections of Irish, European and global history, side-by-side with community, and individual experience. James Ryan's diary offers a fascinating glimpse into life in eighteenth-century Carrick-on-Suir, weaving together tales of global events, local happenings, and cultural experiences. Through his meticulous observations and unique recording style, Ryan provides invaluable insights into the resilience and creativity of the town’s residents, along with their national, international and global awareness during a pivotal period in Irish and world history.

Dr Bláithín Hurley is a Librarian with Waterford Library Services, in Waterford City. She is also a part-time lecturer in the Faculty of Arts and Social Science at the Open University. 

Bláithín holds a PhD in History of Art from the University of Cambridge, an MA in History of Art from the University of Warwick, a BA in History of Art and Music from University College Cork, and a PG Dip. in Library Information Systems from the University of Aberystwyth. Bláithín has a broad spectrum of interests ranging from the depiction of music in sixteenth-century Venetian art to Irish art and cultural history since the sixteenth century.

Her publications include an article titled ‘Musical Instruments in the Venetian Casa: Contextualising Maria Robusti’s Self-Portrait’, published in the January 2023 issue of the journal Early Music (Oxford University Press). Following this, she authored a chapter on the Carrickman’s Diary in Brill's publication, Exciting News!, published in April 2024. Currently, she anticipates the imminent publication of a chapter she contributed to the three volume, Tomb Monuments in Medieval Europe, discussing the artistic merits of the ‘McGrath Tomb’ in St Carthage’s Cathedral, Lismore.

Upcoming Lecture on 29/11/2024: Death in Irish Prehistory by Prof. Gabriel Cooney

 

The Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society 2024 – 2025 lecture series continues at 8 pm on Friday, November 29th in St Patrick’s Gateway Centre, Waterford (Eircode X91 YX61) when Prof. Gabriel Cooney, will deliver a talk titled ‘Death and burial in Ireland 8000 BC – AD 400, with particular reference to southeast Ireland’. 

 

The richness of the mortuary record that survives for Irish prehistory is a highlight of the archaeological record for that eight-thousand year span of time (8000 BC- AD 400). In this lecture Gabriel will consider the changing patterns in the treatment of the dead of the earliest human generations who lived in Ireland, making particular reference to southeast Ireland, and how the evidence in this region relates to wider trends observed across the island.

 

Gabriel Cooney is emeritus professor of Celtic Archaeology, School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, where he taught generations of archaeologists currently working in Ireland and further afield. He is a member of the Royal Irish Academy. Gabriel’s research interests focus on the Neolithic period, particularly the use of stone and on mortuary practices in prehistory. He has led many research projects over the course of his career, and dircted excavations at notable prehistoric sitees. He has published the results of his research widely, his most recent book is Death in Irish Prehistory, published by the Royal Irish Academy. It was recently awarded the European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) 2024 Book Prize, in their citation the EAA remarked that the book ‘is written in an engaging manner, with sensitive reflections on how the living deal with death today as well as in the past.’