Audio Walking Trail Launched For Dungarvan, Co. Waterford

Discover the history of Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, Ireland and explore some of the historic landmarks. This easy to use audio tour features contemporary accounts from soldiers, travellers and writers from times past. Travel back in time and see the town as our ancestors saw it. The app contains an interactive map with GPS system, 38 photos (most over 100 years old), a cast of 9 actors, sound effects and a script created by historians from Waterford County Museum. Once the tour has been downloaded it works offline, which means that you can enjoy the tour without needing to connect to the internet.

This audio trail has been produced by Waterford County Museum in co-operation with rememberwhen.ie (a Dungarvan company that specialises in producing DVD slide shows for special occasions and recording oral histories) and local volunteers who gave their time freely so that you can enjoy our town's history. The iPhone version of the Dungarvan Heritage Audio Tour costs 79 cent, it is available now via the App Store.

Free Podcast Version For MP3 Players, Android And Other Smartphones
A free version of the tour is currently being prepared. This podcast will not feature the GPS system on the app or the photos. We have prepared a free downloadable map to accompany this tour. The advantage of the free tour is that it will play on all smart phones (Android etc.) and will also run on MP3 players. It will also function as an audio synopsis of Dungarvan history for those who cannot visit the town.

Official Launch
The official launch of the App will be happening during Heritage Week 20th to the 28th August. We will also announce other exciting museum developments at the launch. Full details of all those who worked on the app for the past 8 months or so will be appearing in the official press releases which will appear in the local media in, my thanks to them all and also Glen Barnes of mytoursapp.com for his help and co-operation.

Developing Low Cost Walking Tours Across Waterford
It is hoped to do a lecture in September for other heritage / community groups in Waterford to allow communities to develop their own own walking tour apps. We managed to develop this app at almost no cost due to the goodwill of a lot of people, hopefully the lessons we have learned can be used by other community groups.

Waterford County Museum is a voluntary organisation and a registered charity dedicated to preserving the history of County Waterford. You can see screenshots from the app on iTunes / App Store.

Follow The Museum On Facebook, Twitter & YouTube
One of the best ways of keeping up with what the museum is doing is to follow us on

www.facebook.com/waterfordcountymuseum

www.twitter.com/waterfordmuseum

www.youtube.com/user/waterfordcomuseum

Grandchildren of Captain Kavanagh Visits Museum

Mrs. Meade and her brother Joe O'Brien with Members of the Museum Committee.

We were delighted to welcome Joe O'Brien and his sister Mrs. Meade to the museum last week. They are the grandchildren of Captain Joseph Kavanagh (1853-1923).  Kavanagh was appointed captain of the Fenian boat the Erin's Hope.  They presented the museum with a photograph of Captain Kavanagh and copies of his ship's master certs.  We have an engraving of the Erin's Hope on display in the museum.

Museum Society Trip to Cobh

David Hourigan & Don Fennessy enjoying the trip.

On Saturday July 11 a group of 26 members of the Museum Society departed the museum for a boat trip from Penrose Quay, Cork to Cobh.

The boat trip with on board commentary took an hour and a half and  was enjoyed in beautiful sunshine. On arriving in Cork the group had a very pleasent meal at the Commadore hotel and then spent some time visiting some of the sites in this historical town, the  Cathedral, the old cemetery, and the Sirius Art Centre.

Arriving back in Dungarvan at 6.30, the group described the day as very relaxing and enjoyable.  We would like to thank O' Brien's bus service for transporting the group for the day and the Commadore hotel for the lovely meal.  Visit us on facebook to view more photos of the day.

Launch of "Two Centuries of Tall Ships in Waterford" at Waterford County Museum

Two Centuries of Tall Ships in Waterford by Bill Irish & Andrew Kelly

On Thursday 23 we had the launch of "Two Centuries of Tall Ships in Waterford".  The book by Andrew Kelly & Bill Irish gives a pictorial record of ships from the Suir to the Blackwater.  The book holds many rare images previously unpublished, some in colour, others in black and white.  Each image is accompanied by a detailed description of the vessel.  Also included is a list of the  Ship Owners, Captains and Seamen of Waterford and Dungavan.  In all there are 143 images contained in well laid out and beautifully designed book.

This is a first photographic book on Waterford ships, a number of Dungarvan ships are mentioned, The Eliza O'Keeffe, the Margaret West, The Moresby and the Jameson to name but a few.

This is a very interesting book for anyone interested in the Maritime History of Waterford.

The book is available to buy here at the Museum, and at Readers Choice, Lower Main Street, Dungarvan. Priced at 20 euros.

Join us on facebook to view pictures of the night

Film Premiere On Life Of West Waterford IRA Commander

George Lennon

Members of the museum attended the premiere of Ó Cogadh go Síocháin - Saol George Lennon at the SGC Dungarvan on Wednesday May 25.  It details the life of Dungarvan man George Lennon who was commander of the West Waterford Flying Column during the War of Independence. Many local historians were interviewed including Nioclás Ó Griofáin, Seán Murphy, Tommy Mooney and Terence O'Reilly the author of the recent biography of George Lennon. A number of photographs from the museum archive feature in the film. 

The film was directed by Cormac Morel and edited by Nicola Leddy and was produced as part of works by the students of the Higher Diploma in Television Production run by Nemeton. On the day there were ten films premiered and all were of a very high standard. The films will be shown on T na G later this year.

Number Of School Visits On The Increase

A Group of Students from the Cope Foundation, Cork

In the last number of weeks we have been very pleased to welcome a number of schools to the museum. Some of the schools are based locally, St. Joseph's National School, St. John's School, Kilbrien National school and it's great that they are taking advantage of the facilities that the museum has to offer.

Today Monday 30 we had a group of student's from the Cope Foundation, Penrose Quay, Cork.  They took time to visit during their day out in the area and promised to return in the future with other groups of their students.

As the time for school tours approaches we hope to see many more schools pay us a visit and enjoy the many items on display.

We can provide a tour to suit individual needs, some like a guided tour others like to browse at their leisure.

Visit to Dromana House

 Members of the Museum Society had an enjoyable trip to Dromana House and Garden last Friday evening.  They were given an informative tour by Nicholas and Barbara Grubb and Mrs Emily Villiers Stuart.

 Afterwards they enjoyed refreshments in  the new tea room, which also has a small display of artefacts associated with the family.