The A.G.M of the Museum Society was held on Thursday 27 October. The following officers were elected for the coming year.
President: Nioclás ó Griofáin
Vice President: Helen Moynihan
Secretary: Martin Whelan
Treasurer: Mary Giblin
Cmmittee Members: Josephine McCarthy, William Fraher, William Whelan, Eddie Cantwell, Jim Shine, Padraig ó Currain, John Daly, Tom Broderick and Martin Coffey.
President Nioclás thanked the committee and members for their work over the last 12 months and especially Eddie Cantwell for all his work in fundraising.
Membership for the museum remains at €15 and can be paid by dropping into the museum, which is open Mon - Fri 9.00 to 5.00pm.
Children's Halloween Event At Museum
Children's Corner Prepared For Halloween
Children can come along and enjoy the story of the history of Halloween, local ghost stories, crosswords and puzzles and take part in some halloween crafts. Admission to the event is free and all materials are supplied.
Vikings in Waterford "The Penny's Site" by David Pollock
David Pollock returns to do the second lecture of our series. People will remember his last two fascinating talks for the Museum Society. David is best known in this town for his work in St. John's Castle, Dungarvan and other digs around the town. He is an archaeologist and illustrator who picked up reconstruction drawing as a habit in Scotland, thirty years ago. In 1984 he took his first commission from Historic Scotland to illustrate panels for Jedburgh Abbey. He describes his life over the next ten years as a "Jekyll and Hyde" existence. This, because he was archaeologist for half of the time and reconstruction drawer for the other half.
David's work can be seen on the old wall of Penny's in Arundel Square in Waterford. In 1990 David moved to Ireland and spent most of the following ten years as archeologist with a few stray Scottish contacts thrown in. David's talents were recognised and he was commissioned by the National Monuments service to put together drawings of medieval Ferns Co.Wexford and this has led to a further batch of commissions for him. David's talks are well attended and a must for anybody with an interest in their County history.
David's talk takes place in the Town Hall on Wednesday October 19 at 8.pm. Admission is €5.
David's work can be seen on the old wall of Penny's in Arundel Square in Waterford. In 1990 David moved to Ireland and spent most of the following ten years as archeologist with a few stray Scottish contacts thrown in. David's talents were recognised and he was commissioned by the National Monuments service to put together drawings of medieval Ferns Co.Wexford and this has led to a further batch of commissions for him. David's talks are well attended and a must for anybody with an interest in their County history.
David's talk takes place in the Town Hall on Wednesday October 19 at 8.pm. Admission is €5.
Ulster to the Déise: Lennon's in Time
Ivan Lennon's Latest Book
He gives details of the Shanahan family of Dungarvan, Ellen Shanahan married George Crolly Lennon, who was manager of the Dungarvan Gas Works in 1897. The Shanahan family owned the ground on which the town park was laid out in 1895. There is a chapter of the book given to material on the War of Independence and the Lennon family.
This is an illustrated, hardback book with 247 pages and is now available for sale at the museum.
Great Interest in Waterford Country Houses Exhibition
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| 6th Class Pupils from Scoil Garbháin |
Our first group of visitors were the 6th class pupils from Scoil Garbháin along with their teacher Jennifer Ú Dhuibhir. The children were delighted with the items of childrens clothing and books on display, along with the many photographs of the great houses.
On Thursday a group from the Déise Day Centre visited and after a very informative talk from curator William Fraher, they sat and enjoyed a cup of tea provided by the museum staff. Visit us on facebook to view pictures of their visit.
We welcome visits from schools and groups, a visit can be arranged by dropping into the museum, Monday to Friday 10.am to 5.pm or by ringing us on 058-45960.
Waterford Country Houses Exhibition Opening
Helen Moynihan, Thomas McCarthy, William Fraher & Julian Walton
Vice Chairperson Helen Moynihan welcomed the guests and introduced the first speaker, Curator William Fraher. She commented that the history of Big Houses of Co. Waterford has been the subject of a lifelong study by William and this is evident in the quality of the exhibition.
William began by dedicating the exhibition to the late Mrs. Nell Collender and Desmond Fitzgerald, Knight of Glin, both great collectors. He thanked Fás and Waterford Leader Partnership for their financial support over the years. He hoped people would gain an insight into life above and below stairs from this exhibition. He concluded by reading an amusing piece about the Anson family at Woodhouse, Stradbally in 1902/1903. taken from Clodagh Anson's memoir.
Thomas McCarthy began by stating that this was a "world class" exhibition and he was impressed with all the the aspects which were covered including - gardens, libraries, landlord and tenants, artist's views etc. Thomas praised the work of William Fraher in promoting Dungarvan and Co. Waterford over many years. He congratulated the Museum Society on their continued professionalism in promoting the history of the county through exhibitions such as this and through their excellant web site. He concluded by reading a poem from his latest book - The Anglo Irish Tea Party.
A number of the owners of houses featured in the exhibition were in attendance and we were delighted to welcome renowned architectural historian, Mark Girourard who was the first to write about the Co.Waterford houses back in the 1960s for Country Life magazine. Follow us on facebook to view more photographs of the event.
Visit The Museum For Culture Night 7pm to 10pm Friday 23rd September
Learn all about the history of the real life 'Downton Abbeys' visit Waterford County Museum and view our latest exhibition 'The Big Houses In Waterford', which will be officially opened on Thursday 22nd September 2011 at 8.00pm.
This is the first such exhibition on Country Houses to be mounted in Waterford. The museum has an extensive photographic archive and we have picked out a selection of fascinating photos relating to the Big Houses of Co. Waterford. The exhibition is divided into themes such as - Interiors, gardens, costume, the hunt, artists and the Big House, libraries, leisure, servants, the War of Independence, etc.
There are original letters, maps documents, artefacts and pictures from many of the 'Big Houses' in Waterford, including material on the Chearnley family of Salterbridge House, Cappoquin, the Poer family of Belleville, Cappoquin (later the home of the writer Molly Keane) and the de la Poer family of Gurteen le Poer, Kilsheelan. Included is a manuscript account of the 1866 Parliamentary Election held in Dungarvan.
The museum will stay open until 10.00pm on Friday (thanks to the efforts of our volunteer members) but if you can't make it on Culture Night the exhibition will be open Monday to Friday for several months from 10a.m. to 5p.m.
Admission Is Free
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