Saturday 3rd June 2017 - The Big Dig, A Fun Day Out for All the Family at Gallowshill in Dungarvan

On Saturday 3rd June 2017 from 11am to 4pm there will be an archaeological dig which children can participate in at Gallowshill in Dungarvan.  Please ring the Museum on 058 45960 or call in to us in Friary Street for more information and to book a time slot.  Looks like being great fun and very interesting!

Object of the Week - Dried Milk Tin Inscribed 'The Food of Royal Babies', Cow & Gate Milk Powder c.1940's

The company was founded in Guildford in 1771.  In 1900 they started to produce dried milk.  In 1903 dried milk was recommended for babies.  Cow & Gate sold their first dried milk for babies in 1905.  In 1930 the slogan 'The Food of Royal Babies' was introduced to packaging and advertising by the company.

In 1936 the Dungarvan Co-op went into business with Cow & Gate to produce dried milk.  During World War II demand for dried milk products grew resulting in increased output from the Dungarvan factory.  In 1947 Cow & Gate renewed their contract with Dungarvan Co-op which marked a period of expansion for the Dungarvan operation.

Busy Week in the Museum!

Greenway Visitor, Kieran Lineen, Josephine McCarthy

This has been a very busy week in the Museum with a visit from the Deise Day Care Centre to see the 'Picturing Childhood Exhibition', and visits from various school groups, along with lots of other visitors.

On Thursday 18th May to celebrate International Museum Day, we had a very successful and well attended talk about John Betjeman and his poem 'The Irish Unionist's Farewell to Greta Hellstrom in 1922' also known as 'Dungarvan in the Rain'. The talk was extremely interesting and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Jim Shine, John Daly

Eileen Moloney, Mary Condon, Margot Kehoe

Some of the Audience at the Betjeman Talk

Schoolchildren Enjoying the Museum

Enjoying Refreshments 

Object of the Week - Cigarette Vending Machine, Wills Gold Flake, 1924

The wooden vending machine is stamped with the maker's mark: Clement Garrett & Co., Jessop Street, Sheffield.

In order to obtain the cigarettes 6 pence had to be placed in the slot.

This vending machine came from Walsh's Tobacconist's in Dungarvan.

The Walsh family took over the tobacco and snuff business in Main Street form the Carbery family in 1879. This was on the site of the present Garvey's Supermarket.

Thursday 18th May 2017 - Free Event in the Museum 'Dungarvan in the Rain', John Betjeman & County Waterford

To mark International Museum Day on 18th May 2017 Waterford County Museum will commemorate the poet John Betjeman who died on that date in 1984.  He immortalised Dungarvan in his poem 'The Irish Unionist's Farewell to Greta Hellstrom in 1922', also known as 'Dungarvan in the Rain'.

Venue:            Waterford County Museum, Friary Street, Dungarvan

Date:              Thursday 18th May 2017 

Time:              3pm

Admission:    Free   

Object of the Week - Late 19th Century Embossing Screw Press

This press dates to the 1890's. There is no manufacturer's stamp but it was probably manufactured in England.

The press is painted black with decorative designs in gold.  The die is stamped 'Kilmacthomas Rural Council'.

In Ireland rural districts were created in 1898 by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898.  They were abolished in 1925 amid accusations of corruption, and their functions transferred to the county councils.

Friday 26th May 2017, Lecture by Julian Walton - 'Squinting George': the Curraghmore of George, first Marquess of Waterford (1736-1800)

This lecture by Julian Walton, under the auspices of the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society, looks well worth attending.

The first Marquess has received less attention from historians than some of the more colourful
characters that Curraghmore has produced in its long history.  However, he contributed significantly to the enhancement of both house and demesne, and was the head of this country's foremost political dynasty when the Anglo-Irish Ascendancy was at its height.


Venue:             St. Patrick's Gateway Centre, Waterford

Date:                Friday 26th May 2017 

Time:                8pm

Admission:      Small Charge for Non Members 

Object of the Week - Stoneware Whiskey Jar, Late 19th Century, Inscribed M.B. Olden, Wine & Spirit Merchant, Dungarvan

The Oldens were in business in Main Street, Dungarvan in the 1860's.

Mrs. Maria Olden had a wine and spirit business.  She was a widow by the late 1860's.  

Dominick L. Olden, Maria's son, was an assistant surgeon in Poona, India, where he died on 2nd December 1869.

Mrs. Olden was also leasing the ground floor of the Old Market House.