There is an introduction by Jack Harte who says “His vision has been at once profoundly spiritual and profoundly humanitarian. He is exactly the kind of writer that people should read as an antidote to the superficiality of our age”….
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Desperate Haven
The story of
the famine in Dungarvan & West Waterford.
The Comeraghs
"Gunfire & Civil War"
History of the
Déise Brigade IRA 1914-1924. The story of the conflict in the words of the
volunteers who fought.
The Towns &
Villages of the Waterford Greenway
A history of Dungarvan, Abbeyside, Stradbally,
Kilmacthomas, Portlaw & Waterford City.
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| Moresby Plaque - The Lookout |
Moresby Plaque – The Lookout
This limestone memorial which has the Dungarvan crest
on the top commemorates the men who volunteered to man the lifeboat which saved
seven crew members from the ship Moresby on Christmas Eve 1895.
It has another inscription on the reverse which is now
hidden with the following inscription:
To commemorate the bravery of the Dungarvan lifeboat
volunteers in their noble efforts to rescue the crew of the Moresby 24 Decr
1895.
It appears that there was an objection to the use of
the name ‘Dungarvan’ in the inscription.
St. Patrick Street - Name Plaque
St Patrick Street - Name Plaque
This limestone plaque was until recent years on a wall
at the entrance to Keating Street leading from O’Connell Street. It is now on display in Waterford County
Museum. Before Keating Street was
constructed this area consisted of St Patrick’s Street, St Nicholas’ Street and
St David’s Street, all built by the Duke of Devonshire between 1808 and 1822 to
create 40- shilling freeholders.
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| The Infant School - Church Street |
Lost Plaques
The Infant School – Church Street
This plaque was placed over the Church Street entrance
to the infant School but was removed in recent years when the site was
redeveloped. The architect of the school was Henry Sinnott, who designed other
buildings in Dungarvan, the most impressive being the Catholic Young Men’s
Society Rooms in Bridge Street (now Bank House). It is inscribed:
Convent of Our Lady of Mercy
INFANT SCHOOL
DUNGARVAN
ANNO DOMINI 1862
In September 1867 the nuns organized a ‘Grand Fancy
Bazaar’ to pay off the debt on the school. Amongst the patrons were: Lady Stuart de
Decies, Countess of Bessborough, Lady Gwendolne Power O’Shee and the Countess
of Dartrey.
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| No. 24 Church Street |
No. 24 Church Street
The sketch illustrates two stone plaques which were
set into the façade of No. 24 Church Street. They were inscribed: K.G.M. 1714 and H.B.S.
1761
This house is one of the oldest continuously inhabited
houses in Dungarvan and legend recalls that it was in this house that
Cromwell’s second- in-command, General Michael Jones, died in 1649. The house may well date to the 17th
century and the two plaques may relate to subsequent modifications.
But what do the initials on the plaques stand
for? These may record a marriage – the
top initial is the surname of the husband, the bottom left his Christian name
and that on the bottom right his wife’s initial.
The 1714 stone may record George Keane and his wife Mary,
a prominent citizen who died in 1743. The
1761 stone probably records Beverly Hearn (1704-1773) and his wife Susanna
(1706-1773). He was the son of John
Hearn of Shanakill House and was an officer in the Regiment of Dragoons in
1756. By the time of his death in 1773
he was living at Mount Odell.
Presumably, this George Keane and Beverly Hearn were
the same people listed as agents to the Hore family estate in Dungarvan and
Shandon. Keane from 1716 to his death and Hearn from 1750 to c.1775. The house in Church Street was part of the
Hore estate.
Sadly, these plaques are no longer visible.
In the meantime you can still contact the museum by email at: info@waterfordmuseum.ie.
All museum events, lecture, etc. are cancelled until further notice.
Walking around Dungarvan and Abbeyside there are stone plaques, almost all of limestone, which record or commemorate an event, street, building or person. We pass by these without noticing them most of the time, but it is easy for such items to disappear during renovations to buildings and structures.
It is important that they are recorded visually and that they are given protection to ensure their preservation. This week we show a selection of these plaques, a few of which are no longer visible and are probably destroyed or lost.
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A limestone street name plaque inscribed 'Galwey's Lane 1740'. The Galweys were a well-known merchant family in the town (later of Duckspool and Colligan Lodge), who had property in the area. The stone was removed when Moloney's Store was demolished and re- erected on the building which replaced it. |
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This is one of the most decorative stone plaques to be seen in Dungarvan. It can be seen at the base of No. 21 Church Street and is inscribed: 'Patricke Gough 1615', the P and G are carved as interlaced letters. There are two other capital letters, A and part of another now damaged. It also contains a hand holding a stamp or seal. It commemorates Gough who was Attorney for Session in 1591 and Portreeve of Dungarvan in 1602. The stone is either a commemorative foundation stone or part of a fireplace once incorporated into a stone house on this site. |
One of the oldest stone structures in Dungarvan is the
old gable wall in the cemetery which has fascinated locals and visitors to
Dungarvan for centuries. In the 19th
century and before people speculated that it was the ruin of a lighthouse or a
sun worshipping temple. It is in fact the
remains of the pre-Reformation church of St Mary the Virgin records of which go
back to the 1300s. The most distinctive
feature are the circular windows which are wider on the inside and on the
outside face of the wall there are decorative sandstone surrounds which may be
of Dundry stone from the Bristol area.
The present church designed by James Pain c. 1835 is
constructed predominantly of limestone with sandstone blocks which may be
reused stone from the 18th century church on the site. On one
of the walls is a sandstone plaque inscribed: ‘J.H. & B.B. C.W. 1827’. It
commemorates John Hudson and Beresford Boate, Church Wardens. This may refer to an upgrading of the earlier
church. An extension was added to the
east end in 1903. This was executed in limestone in a more regular manner.
The building we see today is the result of a long
period of building works which commenced in the early 1820s. When first opened in 1826 the church was very
plain in appearance. The window frames
were all of wood in a Gothic style with plain glass and no stone surrounds. Each gable end had a different arrangement of
windows than those to be seen today. The
external appearance of the church is unusually austere, the only ornamentation
being the buttresses, bell-cote, and window frames all carved of local
limestone. When was this work carried
out?
It was initiated in 1879/1880 by the P.P.
Rev James Vincent Cleary (1828-1898) as part of a complete overhaul of the
church. A major part of
the improvements was the installation of fourteen new stained-glass windows and
stone casings. This work is first
mentioned in the accounts on 5 October 1879:
Held a meeting of my parishioners to-day and obtained a declaration of their warm approval of my action in ordering a new set of windows for the church at a cost of £47 per window for the stone-work, and £50 per window for the painted glass with 5% commission, the total cost being £1,324-1-0 to which extras must be added for contingent work and for taking down the side galleries.
The stone surrounds were carved by James Newstead of Fermoy. He received £600 in December 1879 and again in October 1880. Each window was designed to a different pattern. These window casings and other improvements appear to be by the architect George Ashlin, as his name appears in the accounts for 21 July 1879 when he was paid £46.3.0.
In December 1893, George Ashlin was paid £40 for designing a new west porch. Canon Power writing in 1912 stated that ‘during the pastorate of Very Rev. P. Casey, it was renovated according to its original style of architecture by Mr. Credon, Fermoy after plans by Mr. Ashlin’.
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