history
-
The Haunted Well & Other Ghost Stories
There are several ghost stories associated with Tramore, the most famous of which is the spectre known as ‘The Guramooghagh,’ a mysterious figure who is believed to haunt the Rabbit Burrows. Other captivating stories include the Ghost Band of the Sea Horse, a spectral ensemble said to play a haunting melody on stormy nights, and Continue reading
-
Shipwrecks in Tramore and its Environs: part II, 1800-1820
The following is a list of shipwrecks and close calls in and around Tramore Bay in the first two decades of the Nineteenth Century. It can be hard to comprehend just how common shipwrecks were in this period. It has been estimated that some 2000 wrecks occurred world wide every year between 1793-1815. While, Sir Continue reading
-
Shipwrecks in Tramore Bay and its Environs: Part I, The Eighteenth Century.
For centuries, Tramore Bay in County Waterford has held an infamous reputation as a graveyard of ships. The most famous of the wrecks being that of the Sea Horse transport, which driven into the bay and shipwrecked in a storm, over two hundred years ago, on 30 January 1816. This article chronicles the reports of Continue reading
-
History of the Waterford-Tramore Roads
In the early 18th century, most roads in Ireland were little more than trackways carved by the movement of carts and wagons over the centuries. There’s an old story that was first published in A Guide to Tramore in 1854 concerning the old rutty and stony road that led from Waterford to Tramore in the Continue reading
-
Mary Coghlan: A Resilient Tramore Business Woman
On 1 May 1790, an advertisement was placed in the local newspaper by Mary Coghlan nee Kenney, a determined entrepreneur, informing the public that she had taken out a lease on the Tramore Hotel, with plans for its grand opening on 1 June of that year. This is the first advertisement for an Irish seaside Continue reading
-
The Last Voyage of the Sea Horse: Tramore’s most Infamous Shipwreck
Ramsgate on the morning of the 25 January 1816, would have presented a bustling scene as the troops of the 59th and 62nd regiments, marched down the Military Road to the harbour to embark on their vessels for their journey to Cork. The majority of the 59th boarded the Sea Horse, Master James Gibbs, a Continue reading
-
The Growth of Tramore in the 18th Century
In 1738, William Doyle surveyed the coast of east Waterford and published a chart based on his findings. Doyle noted that Tramore Bay was notorious for shipwrecks and ought to be carefully avoided. Tramore is marked as ‘Tramore Town’ on the chart and two significant houses appear in close proximity to the strand, another where Continue reading
-
The Turbulent History of Tramore in the 17th Century
Ireland in the seventeenth century has been aptly described as ‘a land of blood and ashes.’[1] It was the time when the last bastions of the old Gaelic order were finally swept away by rebellion and conquest. At the beginning of the century all the townlands in the area around Tramore were owned by branches Continue reading
-
The History of Seawater Bath Houses in Tramore
Seawater bath houses have a long history in Ireland. The therapeutic use of seawater for health and wellness purposes has been practiced for centuries in various cultures around the world, including Ireland. However, it wasn’t until the 18th and 19th centuries that seawater bath houses became popular in the country. The high mineral content of Continue reading
-
Death of a Chimney Sweep
On Thursday 30 August 1832, an inquest was held in Waterford City into the death of a twelve year old ‘climbing boy’ named Michael Brien. The body of the boy was presented before the coroner Michael Evelyn and a ‘respectable jury’. Brien was an apprentice to Philip Corbett; a chimney sweep from Keyser’s Lane in Continue reading
Tramore of Yore 