Waterford, Ireland
We made our long term home in Waterford Ireland for our stay. It is a much more intimate city than Dublin and we will have access to the southern region of Ireland via Trains and Buses. We live just outside of the city center and old Viking triangle. Waterford is the oldest town in Ireland and was founded by the Vikings.
One of the advantages of travelling the way we have been, where we make a home base in an area of the country we are visiting is that we have the chance to see more of the local color and customs of the people who live there.
An example happened on our second day in Waterford. We has planned to visit the Old Viking area of the city but on our way we heard a band playing. So we found our way to the Band and came upon a celebration, the City was honoring the Irish National Flag..
Small Parade Of Veterans
PIPER PERFORMANCE
The Patriotic celebration was of the first raising of the New Irish Flag that took place on this spot in Waterford, before the flag was accepted as the official Irish Flag. So the Mayor of Waterford presided as war veterans performed a ceremony in remembrance of of this historic act.
The Irish flag (Bratach na hÉireann) – also known as the Irish tricolor – was flown publicly for the first time during the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848, on March 7, in Waterford City, at the Wolfe Tone Confederate Club. It was flown by Thomas Francis Meagher, then a leader of the Young Irelander movement, who would go down in history as Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meagher of the Union Army during the American Civil War.
When Meagher hung the tricolor in Waterford, it boldly flew for eight days and nights until it was taken down by the British.
While here in the US Meagher is best remembered for his role as a General in the Union Army and Governor of what is now Montana, his impact on Irish history and patriotic pride was also immense.
The three flags United States, Ireland, and France are displayed to represent France where the flag was made for Thomas Meagher, the Irish Republic as a leader of the Irelander movement, and United States where he fought in the American Civil War.
IRISH FLAG Green White Orange
The building where the flag was first flown
The green represents Irish Catholic nationalism; the orange, Ireland’s Protestant minority, and the Orange Order; the white, lasting peace between the two.
Waterford Crystal Tour
If we are going to stay in Waterford then, we thought that we should go to the place that most of the world knows Waterford for and that is the Waterford Crystal factory. We took the tour to see the process that goes into making the finest quality crystal in the world.
The bowl on the left is an example of the crystal that every craftsman must complete to end their apprenticeship. It involves all the processes they need to master. It takes years for the apprenticeship. The craftsman gets to keep his bowl and has his name inscribed on the bottom.
Mary Kay was handed the Solheim Cup Trophy for women's golf but was not allowed to take it home.... too bad ... it would have looked nice in our home!
The glass blowing room was really cool event though the work is really hot. The blower in the top right hand photo above has been working there for over 35 years. We stood there for about 10 minutes just watching the process that went into making a crystal goblet.
One of the blowers handed me the sheet on the right that shows the design of the goblet they were making.
Man First Landing on the Moon
The process of cutting the crystal is so precise. First they draw guides that the cutters use when they cut the patterns with diamond cutters. I am holding the goblet the cutter on the left was working on.
These are a couple of the unique items the designers have made. We thought about buying Will the crystal tool set, but it wouldn't fit in our luggage.
Memorial of World Trade Center
Huge Title
The Waterford Viking Triangle is the ‘old town’ of Waterford City. It’s a compact quirky place, with interesting nooks and crannies for to explore. In the Viking Triangle we walked through over 1,000 years of history, we could almost hear the Viking voices, and imagine the tall ships on the quay importing their wines from France and Spain. (Actually, the voices we heard turned out to be some children playing in the courtyard near the Viking ship!)
Reginald’s Tower is Waterford’s landmark monument and Ireland’s oldest civic building. It has been in continuous use for over 800 years. The first tower on the site was built by Vikings after 914 and formed the apex of the triangular settlement and was part of the old city walls that surrounded the city for protection. The fortification was strong enough that Waterford was the only city that the English were not able to take.
One unusual highlight was the huge tree that has been carved into the Viking Dragon Slayer Sword. The workmanship is amazing. The carvings on the sword tell the Viking history in Waterford.
The Dragonslayer Sword is next to Grey Friers Abbey built in 1241 named for the grey robes the monks wore. Most of the Friery is in ruins.
Walking around the old ruined part of Grey Frier's Abbey, there is a Statue of Luke Wadding a Franciscan Priest who was responsible for having the feast of St Patrick commemorated in the universal church on 17 March. So I will now drink a toast to Luke on Saint Patrick's Day from now on, although I don't think he anticipated it to be a holiday of drinking.
We have seen many churches in our travels through Europe, and some have been repurposed, like the one in Dublin that is a restaurant and bar. Waterford has their own repurposed church. It is a Methodist church right next to Greyfrier's Abbey, that the interior has been transformed into a museum of time pieces.
The first Pocket Watch.
Above is the oldest brick alley in Ireland.
I have photographed many church pulpits I finally found one that I could preach from!
Viking Triangle
Mary Kay in on old wine cellar in the Viking Triangle.
Waterford Football Club
Trying to take in the local color we attended a Football Match between the Waterford Football Club and Wexford Football Club.
Blues Boosters
Mascot
Championship Flag
The Waterford FC, called the Waterford Blues, is a Division One Team and is currently ranked 3rd in their division. Fortune wasn't with the club that night and they lost 3 -1. It was still a fun experience for us, so we went out for a pint after the game.
Bike Ride Along the Waterford Greenway
It was a sunny day with nary a cloud was in the sky. A perfect day to take a bike ride in the Irish countryside. So we rented some ebikes and rode off to find the Waterford Greenway.
The Waterford Greenway is located along an old railway line, the greenway also travels through some of the south-east’s most fascinating historic places which include Viking sites, medieval ruins, Norman castles, old railway stations, Famine workhouses and an Ice Age rock believed to have mythical and mysterious powers!
Early into our ride we were surprised by a scale train coming through a tunnel on the tracks beside us that was going to Waterford. We also got a chance to see it again on its return run. We waved at the passengers and engineer and they waved back.
There are many wonderful places to stop along the trail like this cute coffee and snack kiosk. It is located on the trail with a view or the river. As Mary Kay said, What a great work environment!. We stopped to have a cool drink and some wafer cookies.
We rode 25 km and stopped and had lunch in Kilmacthomas by the Union Workhouse. The building is impressive but the history is sad. The workhouse was very drab and ugly inside and the conditions were terrible because it housed the poor and the commonwealth wanted to discourage people from taking aid from the government. After lunch we started back to Waterford. The work house is now a nice restaurant stop for the people who travel the Waterford Greenway.
About 10 km into the ride we arrived at the Train Station for the small scale Railroad that ran along the path we rode. It is the Waterford Suir Valley Railway in Kilmeaden
After a four hour adventure ride and 55 km later, our tushes were sore and we were glad to say goodbye to our ebikes.
