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AS IT IS the 1,100th birthday of Waterford this year – going by the date of its foundation by Viking invaders in 914 – we are bringing back Neil Jackman’s superb guide to the historical treasures of the city.
It might inspire you to take a little trip – or if you’re in Waterford, remind you of the stunning heritage on your own doorstep.
For special events happening to mark the anniversary, it’s worth checking Waterford1100.com.
From its foundation by Vikings, Waterford has played a hugely important role in Ireland’s story and today you can experience a thousand years of history in a thousand paces by visiting the three sites that make up the Waterford Museum of Treasures in the Viking Triangle.
The first of these sites is Reginald’s Tower, once described by the famous Irish patriot Thomas Francis Meagher in 1843 as being “a massive hinge of stone connecting the two great outspread wings, the Quay and the Mall within which lay the body of the city”, Reginald’s Tower is one of the finest surviving examples of medieval urban defence in Ireland.
The story of Reginald’s Tower begins with the Viking adventurer Regnall who constructed a defensive base (known as a Longphort) where the tower stands today. Regnall was the grandson of the feared Ivor the Boneless, and by establishing his longphort at Waterford he created the foundations for the city. It quickly developed into an important trading hub, and Waterford become a vital part in an expansive trading network that connected it to far flung and exotic places like Baghdad, Greenland, Russia and Byzantium.
Waterford grew in wealth and prestige, and gradually the Viking raiders became entwined with the Gaelic Irish population through alliances and marriage, forming a culture known to historians and archaeologists today as the Hiberno-Norse.
Interior of Reginald’s Tower
The peace of Waterford was not to last though, the city was taken following a siege by the Anglo-Normans in 1170 after many of the Waterford men were slaughtered after falling into Raymond le Gros’s cunning trap at nearby Baginbun in County Wexford (click herefor that story). The Normans held the leaders of the city in Reginald’s Tower, but released them following an intervention by their Irish ally, Diarmaid MacMurrough, King of Leinster. The leader of the Normans, Richard de Clare (known as Strongbow) married King Diarmaid’s daughter Aoife in Christchurch Cathedral in Waterford, strengthening the alliance between the Norman invaders and the Irish kingdom of Leinster.
The Hiberno-Norse warriors who survived were expelled from Waterford, but rose in a bloody rebellion in 1174, forcing the Norman nobles and garrison to take shelter in Reginald’s Tower, where they managed to repel the attack and following reinforcement they took back the city. King Henry II in England had began to worry that Strongbow was becoming altogether too powerful and big for his boots, so he sailed into Waterford in 1171 and declared the wealthy Waterford to be a ‘Royal City’, thus denying its lucrative trade to Strongbow.
King Henry had the city refortified in the early thirteenth century, and it is likely that it was at this time that the wooden fort of Reginald’s Tower was reconstructed in stone. He had large stone walls constructed to surround and protect the city with a number of defensive gateways and towers added. Portions of these walls still survive today, and of the seventeen defensive towers that once protected Waterford only six still survive, with Reginald’s Tower being the most impressive and best preserved.
Reginald’s Tower was again at the centre of the action in 1495, Perkin Warbeck a pretender to the English Crown, sailed up the River Suir and began to bombard Waterford to force it to surrender. The people of Waterford retaliated by firing cannon from Reginald’s Tower and succeeded in sinking one of Warbeck’s ships, defending the city with such ferocity that Warbeck retreated. In recognition of the determined bravery by the people of Waterford, King Henry VII gave Waterford the motto: ‘Urbs Intacta Manet Waterfordia’ – Waterford Remains the Untaken City.
Casement in Reginald’s Tower
However the Tower is not without its scars, and if you look high on the tower to the right-hand side of the entrance you can see a cannonball deeply embedded into the stone. This was fired during the Parliamentary siege in 1650. They had returned to capture Waterford after Cromwell had failed to do so in 1649, Waterford was the last Irish city east of the Shannon to fall to Cromwell’s forces.
Today visiting Reginald’s Tower you can become steeped in all of this history, and see the variety of ways that Reginald’s Tower has served Waterford over the centuries, from being a defensive bastion, a coin mint, an armoury and arsenal, a prison and the home of the High Constable of the city. It is split over four floors connected by a medieval -tyle spiral staircase, with displays on different aspects of the buildings history on each level.
There are some really interesting artefacts on display, as a dog owner I was touched by the 900-year-old beautifully intricate dog collar, it must have belonged to a rightly pampered twelfth century pooch! (Pictured above)
Reginald’s Tower is a truly iconic landmark of Waterford, and today the superb museum is certainly worth a visit! It is under the auspices of the Office of Public Works, you can find information about opening hours, entry fees and accessibility here.
From Reginald’s Tower take a short walk up the Mall to The Medieval Museum(pictured above). This is one of Ireland’s newest and finest museums, and is a superb place to spend a few hours of the day. You enter the beautifully designed museum that combines modern architecture with the medieval Choristers Hall and fifteenth century wine cellars (pictured below).
15th century wine cellar in the Medieval Museum, Waterford
Spread across a number of floors, the Medieval Museum leads you through Waterford’s history from its foundation as a Viking Longphort, through the medieval and Tudor periods and up to the seventeenth century.
Some of the artefacts on display are just incredible and include the unique Great Charter Roll from 1373, the Cap of Maintenance, (the only item of Henry VIII’s wardrobe that still exists), The Great Parchment Book (detailing 300 years of life in Waterford and ends dramatically with the final entry during Cromwell’s siege of 1649). If you go this summer you can also see the famous Lismore Crozier that is on temporary loan to the Medieval Museum from the National Museum of Ireland.
The Cap of Maintenance – the only item of Henry VIII’s wardrobe still existing – is in the Medieval Museum of Waterford.
The number and significance of the artefacts and manuscripts on display is staggering, and it contains perhaps the most breathtaking display of any museum in Europe – the wonderful collection of fifteenth century vestments. They are displayed in a darkened room lit by stars (pictured below), and you can walk around the sumptuous robes to see the intricate detail and lavish design close up.
My picture and words cannot possibly do justice to this incredible display. The museum is also great for kids with a number of interactive displays and panels.
Staircase at the Georgian Museum of Waterford
When you fancy moving forward in history cross the courtyard to the Bishop’s Palace Georgian Museum. Here we enjoyed a really entertaining guided tour by the gossipy housekeeper Mrs Rickards who had just returned from watching the hanging of a man found guilty of murdering the head gardener. She squabbled her way around the beautifully restored Bishops Palace with the butler Mr Whatwhy. They pointed out some of the fascinating objects on display that illustrate life in eighteenth and nineteenth century Waterford.
Some of the highlights included the oldest piece of Waterford Crystal in the world (from 1789), and a mourning cross commissioned by Napoleon’s mother on the Emperor’s death in 1821, you can even see a lock of Napoleon’s hair! I was really interested by the uniform and sword of one of Waterford’s most famous sons, the Irish patriot Thomas Francis Meagher, the man who introduced the modern tricolour to Ireland.
Dining room in the Georgian Museum
The museum has items relating to the modern era upstairs with a fancy pair of hucklebuck shoes from the 1960s on display…
These three museums that form The Waterford Museum of Treasures are an absolute fascinating way of spending a day, I cannot recommend a visit highly enough. If you still have a hankering to see some of the sites of Waterford then the Waterford Crystal visitor centre is just across the road, and the city itself is a great place to wander around to soak in the atmosphere of the ancient city. You can find more information by looking here.
All photographs © Neil Jackman/abartaheritage.ie
I hope you enjoy my articles on Irish heritage sites, if anyone has any suggestions for places to visit I’d love to hear them. Please leave a comment below or find us onTwitter, Facebook or Google+. If you’d like to consider supporting us you can do so by downloading one of our audioguides.
They are narrated by professional actors, and contain original music by talented musician Enda Seery to help immerse you in the story. They generally run for around 45mins and can be downloaded from our website here.
The information on Waterford in this article was first published in August 2013.
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It’s a bit like closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
@Celtic Spirit: That accent man…
@Celtic Spirit: what were they supposed to do when people didn’t have symptoms and therefore assume therefore it would to be fair to assume this is the case for the wider community
@james foley: From the article it says that all guidelines were followed. I would have my doubts on that. The company might have put procedures in place, but it doesn’t mean that they were adhered to or enforced.
I do wonder what the repercussions will be if it is found that the guidelines were not adhered to. Hypothetically speaking, if a worker dies from contracting covid due to negligence on the employers behalf, can the employer be charged with murder?
@Grainnewhale: if that is the case, then heads need to be roll.
@Grainnewhale: Do you have evidence of this?
@For Goodness Sake: Paul Murphy TD raised concerns about the possibility of large clusters of Covid-19 infections in meat processing plants THREE MONTHS AGO, he was sneered at and ignored by FFG Gov’t Ministers. Why did they ignore him as it’s now come to pass?
@Frank Cauldhame: he was sneered plenty by the keep the pubs shut lot on the journal too, plenty of the champagne socialist type deflection going on, as if how much money paul has or hasn’t has anything to do with risks associated with these plants.
@james foley: Iv worked in Meat factories, absolutly no guidelines followed, and such horrendous pay that workers are forced to live together in poor conditions. Terribly long hours which make people sick, most of these factories expect 60hrs a week.
@Grainnewhale: how can asymptomatic people be tested and show positive without the HSE knowing.
It is down to those doing the testing to report to HSE
Staff not given face coverings, having to buy them on their own accord from their minimum wage.
Staff being made work without any social distancing. If non compliant the fear of being sacked.
@Bio_Man: if this is so, I hope the employees come together and highlight this in the media. Not saying these guys did anything wrong but it might just put other wreckless companies off
@Paul Stewart: me either that’s just what has been reported from other meat factories.
@Bio_Man: also staff taking nurofen before going into work to hide temp because they don’t get paid sick leave. Flip side is that anyone reckoning they have no underlying conditions is risking getting the virus coz they get paid 350 yo sit at home, more than if they work.
@Dawn Harvey: The Farmers Journal is reporting that many are sub contractors registered in Poland, no prsi paid here so no E350.
@Cormac Laffan: which means it’s more than likely that they’re contracts are so bad, they’ll take nurofen to keep temp down and risk it rather than not get paid.
@Dawn Harvey: Yep, there’s a lot more to it if you can find the journal report, it popped up on my Google newsfeed.
@Bio_Man: the rumours about O’brien Foods is wrong, face coverings are worn, staff have to wear face masks as its a factory that deals with food for human consumption, they also wear gloves and overalls.
There’s also a thermal body scanner checking staff’s temperature when they arrive. That said staff get close to each other to talk over the noise of the machines, most workers have to wear ear defenders due to the noise of the ham slicers, and the temperature is kept cold, about 4 degrees which favours preservation avd transmission of the virus. They also use mobile phones to talk to each other in other parts of the factory floor.
The other factory isn’t refrigerated, and staff are able to socially distance better than at O’Brien’s.
There maybe some spresd in the factories, but it’s likely the disease is also spreading in the worker’s accommodation, in the direct provision centres and dormitories the live at, where hygiene and social distancing isn’t or cannot be enforced.
@Dawn Harvey: “also staff taking nurofen”
Up to 90% of cases are asymptomatic, this can be spread by people who feel fine.
@Dawn Harvey: So you don’t actually know anyone who does this. Why would anyone buy and take anything if they haven’t any symptoms?
@David Jordan: interesting, the conditions seem to favour transmission in meat processing plants not just in Ireland and I heard all you have said as well as the cooling fans keeping the air in circulation and all this seems to assist in large outbreaks in Ireland and elsewhere.
Kildare chilling, where all employees tested, tested positive is apparently still operating. The mind boggles
@Anne Marie Devlin: when words like apparently are used in a sentence it makes it sound like a rumour and not a fact .
@Anne Marie Devlin: Are you saying the people who tested positive are still working?
@Terry McSweeney: well it was open on Friday when I drove past, gate open, full car park, lights on so I imagine @Anne Marie Devlin is correct rather than just rumour. Obvioulsy they’re finally closing on Monday at the request of the Minister for Health.
@Anne Marie Devlin: that would be greed Anne.
Could the factory bosses be lying? Profit before people maybe?
@John Walsh: that’s what I’m thinking. And as I’ve said above. If the employer is discovered to have been deceitful and an employee dies, can the employer be charged with manslaughter?
We love our cheap food, and it doesn’t matter whose lives are lived in poverty to deliver it to our supermarkets.
@John Mulligan: You got it right in one. The big meat barons can sport their wealth, fly around in helicopters buy hotel chains, private hospitals, news companies, journalists, and of course politicians all at the expense of the producers and workers.
@John Mc Donagh: and the avg consumer is delighted to pay tiny prices fod food and clothing knowing the pay and conditions are awful.
Many consumers will claim they don’t know this, but they are merely ignoring the well documented reality.
The avg consumer is very much at fault for the situation with these workers.
@John Mulligan: Don’t forget our cheap products coming from semi-slave work in Asia
The meat baron’s won’t get touched folks, you can count on it. They will make sure manager’s take the fall or just call their mates in government and make sure this story gets buried or deflected with something else quickly…..don’t believe me, just remember the uproar when the crash hit and the amount of lives ruined by the likes of the Anglo circle etc, and how many of them did hard time or anytime for what they did???….not one bar a few show trials and that’s what will happen here. Oh maybe we will get a nice fancy tribunal to come out and “investigate” how this happened down the line, but ya we know how they go as well just ask the tax dodging media mogul about that
They were jobs for locals being advertised on the 4th on local GAA Twitter accounts probably looking for people to fill the gaps with people out sick, apparently they don’t mind infecting the community, just keep them production lines running and we will use good PR to mitigate any issues later ……
@Michael O Reilly: it’s regarded as a pretty good company to work for wishing the area. Plenty of local support for it.
@Shawn O’Ceallaghan: I wouldn’t say there’s much local support for the consequences of buying into this shabby business model. Still, a timely reminder to all of us that we are all involved in society , it’s values and practices, whether we want to acknowledge it or not.
@Shawn O’Ceallaghan: I’m from the area, and no it’s by no means regarded as a good place to work .
One simple question. Why didn’t O’Brien Foods/Brady Hams close down the plant immediately when the employees were tested instead of waiting for the results which they surely suspected would be positive . Grossly negligent.
@Colonel Grant: What’s worse is they were trying to recruit students for temporary roles as recently as August 4th to fill the vacancies left from those out sick or isolating with covid.
Totally irresponsible and dangerous behaviour from management with a complete lack of regard for health and safety of their staff and the general public.
This is the result of a handful of unscrupulous individuals left unchecked/abetted by government ministers, let run the meat industry in a fashion that would not be out of place in south Africa in the 80s. Fuk the farmers, fuk the employees and fuk anybody that takes issue with the way they run this industry.
@Seanboy: and thats the truth.
I guarantee you will not find many ex employees that will have one good word to say about the owners of that factory o Brien foods. They are penny pinchers so I’ll bet they are at fault and should be punished.
I buy my meat from my local butcher. He rears and kills his own meat, makes his own sausages, burgers and puddings. A bit more expensive but much better than that processed sh!t they sell in the supermarket chains.
@John Cassin: Aren’t you lucky that you can afford to, and that you don’t have to work there? Spare a thought for those who have no choice.
Happy as Larry friend of fianna fail enjoying his millions with his helicopter etc.broke the country before sending meat to Libya and if they didn’t pay government picked up the tab up fianna fail the people’s party
@Tony Mcgrath: Maybe so, but you will also find they friends of the Covney Dynasty too.
It makes no difference if they close the factory when a lot of the workers lived together in cramped conditions
And there was me thinking auld granny Brady making Ham ,and instead it’s a massive factory maying processed HOM
All the products in that factory should be binned
Where are the employees whilst they aren’t working now?
One thing is for sure, the almost daily journal articles on keeping the pubs closed have disappeared. Iam sure they working hard with the powers to be on producing 2 pages of scientific evidence to show the Govs reasons for Meat Plants to open and to remain open despite multiple incidents, some dating back to last May, similar to the produced scientific ‘evidence’ for basing decision to keep pubs closed.
Send answers in a brown envelope please.
3 out of the 4 factories are staying closed. Ó Brien foods still staying open at lower staff level!!
Their ham should be boycotted. Selfish decision bin everything and stay shut is what they should be doing a disgrace.
https://www.rte.ie/amp/1158126/?__twitter_impression=true
Not been funny but can people get infected by eating the contaminated meat??
@Bartron5000: Of course not tin foil hat wearer. Same risk category as opened Meat Plants , based on in-depth Gov scientific research and some journal fact-checking on the side. Maybe a slightly higher risk from packaging. The journal commentator scientists should be on now shortly to prove what the current Gov narrative is at the moment, you know the ones with all the scientific evidence, logic and reason to keep pubs closed.
Close these factories and get rid of cheap labour and start again simple
Should have been closed months ago… #beefbarons
So let me check if I am reading this correctly: in meat factories, one of the few workplaces where there has been mass testing, there is a dangerous outbreak of asymptomatic covid. Mass panic all round.
Rosderra in Edenderry reported 80 cases 3 months ago. Still not closed to this day. Carroll’s in Tullamore still open and operating. Yet I can’t go to the gym to exercise?
Shut down all affected plants until every one tests negative , and make the employers pay those out of work full Irish levels of minimum wage until reopening . And open up the counties in lock down its a complete farce that counties have to pay the price of bad business practices highlighted months ago
It’s an absolute disgrace that the Minister for Health hopes that these 4 plants don’t open on Monday.
Why doesn’t the government order them to close immediately.
PR stunt by o briens now to save face. A symptomatic as they were dosed up on paracetamol.
have your say