Waterford,Ireland

Waterford : Setting the Scene

2007-08-04T17:59:00.000+01:00

Waterford is a coastal county , which stretches from the estuary of the river Suir in the east , Youghal and the river Blackwater in the west. The county is bordered to the south by the Alantic Ocean , and boast many beautiful beaches . The Comeragh mountains , and the Knockmealdown Mountains run across the nothern boundary of the county.

Waterford offers a contrast between a moderen cosmopolitan city , a cluster of charming, vibrant seaside resorts , rolling fields and mountainous hinterland . The city has been home of Waterford Crystal Glass since 1873.
Sports plays an important role in the lives of people and the county colours are blue and white .

The county is also recognised for it love of music and theatre.The Theatre Royal and Garter Lane Art Centre host many amateur and professional Theatrical companies , and an International Light Opera Festival takes place each year during September.
Irish traditional music is extremely popular throughout the county ,and the various Arts, Cultural and heritage events are evidenced by numerous exhibitions , galleries , museums and performances .
The Spraoi festival each August is renowned for its street theatre and is well worth a visit.

Waterford is the principal city of the south east . it was originally founded by the Vikings in the late ninth century and has evolved to become a major maritime centre. It is the closest Irish port to mainland Europe.
Many of Waterford City's most famous landmarks are located within waking distance of the quay , including Regional's Tower , the French Church , the Undercrofts and the two neo-classical eighteenth century cathedrals, which were both designed by the famous architect , John Roberts

Waterford Institute of Technology , located on the outskirts of the city , is a significant provider of higher education in the region.

The county is also known as "The Deise" . This name was derived from a tribe that inhabited it in pre-christian times .
Dungarvan town s the administrative capital of the county. It is a bustling market town in a high popular tourist area . George Pain built ST .Mary's Church on Emmet Street in 1828. The town is noted for a deep-sea-angling.
Nearby is Ring,a flourishing centre for Irish culture and native language , its is the only Irish speaking area or Gealtacht , in the south east of Ireland.

Tramore , a tradiontional seaside holiday destination , has 5km stretch of golden,sandy beach. It is the largest town in the county.
Ardmore is most picturesque village with a delightful beach. It boasts a beautifully proportioned round tower and 12th century cathedral.
Lismore , is a beautifully quaint town , situated on the river Blackwater.
The town is a dominated by the majestic splendour of limore castle.
Dumore east is a charming fishing port and seaside resort on the estuary, near the mouth of the harbour

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Dumore East

Waterford

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Dumore East
Waterford.

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Belle Lake . CO Waterford

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Clouds covering the Comeraghs Mountains in waterford

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Regionals Towers in the heart of waterford

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Woodstown One of many beaches in waterford

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Waterford Plaza

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Waterford Bridge

republic nd north

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The state known today as the Republic of Ireland came into being when 26 of the counties of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK) in 1922. The remaining six counties remained within the UK as Northern Ireland. This action, known as the Partition of Ireland, came about because of complex constitutional developments in the early twentieth century.

ireland harp

2007-06-04T20:18:00.001+01:00

ireland harp i have a chain of this harp , my dad gave it to me when i was 4 still have it till this day , i keep it close to my heart . brings me luck when i need it most .

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amusement park in tramore

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here is when i was coming down to he beach

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this is still on that walk along the cliffs . there you can see the town tramore.

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this photo was taken when i was on the walk along the cliff of tramore the views were amazing as you can see in this photo

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tramore beach in waterford .
what a nice day it was t chill on the beach.

irish culture . music and dance

2007-05-20T12:53:00.000+01:00

Irish Culture
Music and dance
The Irish tradition of folk music
The Irish tradition of folk music and dance is also widely known. In the middle years of the 20th century, as Irish society was attempting to modernise, traditional music tended to fall out of favour, especially in urban areas. During the 1960s, and inspired by the American folk music movement, there was a revival of interest in the Irish tradition. This revival was led by such groups as The Dubliners, The Chieftains, the Clancy Brothers, Sweeney's Men, and individuals like Seán Ó Riada and Danny O'Flaherty. Irish and Scottish traditional music are similar.
Influence of traditional music
Before too long, groups and musicians including Horslips, Van Morrison, and even Thin Lizzy were incorporating elements of traditional music into a rock idiom to form a unique new sound. During the 1970s and 1980s, the distinction between traditional and rock musicians became blurred, with many individuals regularly crossing over between these styles of playing as a matter of course. This trend can be seen more recently in the work of artists like Enya, Moya Brennan, U2, Damien Rice, The Corrs, Sinéad O'Connor, Clannad, The Cranberries, Van Morrison, Rory Gallagher, Boyzone, B*Witched, Westlife, Flogging Molly, Gilbert O'Sullivan and The Pogues.
Of note also is a growing genre of Irish music fused with heavy Heavy Metal called Celtic Metal / Celtic Battle Metal (also sometimes called Folk Metal). Geasa, Primordial, Waylander, Cruachan and Mael Mordha are examples of bands who perform this style of music.
Ireland's biggest selling female artist is Enya; she is also the second biggest selling Irish act in history, second only to U2. Enya shot to international fame with the song "Orinoco Flow" and since has gone on to sell over 70 million albums worldwide. Enya lives in a 19th century castle in Killiney, Dublin, and is widely known for her reclusiveness. The "Invisible Star" hails from Gweedore, Co., Donegal, and was member of her family group, Clannad, who have also gained world recognition with their unique music.
The Republic has done well in the Eurovision Song Contest, being the most successful country in the competition, with seven wins. This achievement evokes mixed feelings in many Irish people, particularly with RTÉ the Irish television station, whose budget was decimated when staging the shows.

irish culture. literature and the arts

2007-05-20T12:52:00.000+01:00

Irish Culture
Literature and the arts
For an island of relatively small population, Ireland has made a disproportionately large contribution to world literature in all its branches, mainly in English. Poetry in Irish represents the oldest vernacular poetry in Europe with the earliest examples dating from the 6th century; Jonathan Swift, still often called the foremost satirist in the English language, was wildly popular in his day (Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, etc.) and remains so in modern times amongst both children and adults. In more recent times, Ireland has produced four winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature: George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney. Although not a Nobel Prize winner, James Joyce is widely considered one of the most, if not the most, significant writers of the 20th century. His 1922 novel Ulysses is sometimes cited as the greatest English-language novel of the 20th century and his life is celebrated annually on June 16th in Dublin as the Bloomsday celebrations.
The early history of Irish visual art is generally considered to begin with early carvings found at sites such as Newgrange and is traced through Bronze age artifacts, particularly ornamental gold objects, and the religious carvings and illuminated manuscripts of the medieval period. During the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, a strong indigenous tradition of painting emerged, including such figures as John Butler Yeats, William Orpen, Jack Yeats and Louis le Brocquy.

the irish culture

2007-05-20T12:51:00.000+01:00

Irish Culture
Irish Language / Gaeilge
Although English is the most used language in the country the Irish have a unique language of their own, Gaeilge or Irish.
Rooted in Celtic origins with threads tracing even further back in time to Sanskrit and the Indus Valley in northern India, the origins of this colourful, complex and characterful language have been lost in the mists of time. Once the primary language for all life on the island the English occupation of Ireland since the 1400s gradually forced the language into decline.
Gaeilge today
Today Gaeilge remains Ireland’s first official language but in practice only about 70,000 people speak it on a daily basis. And while recent statistics suggest that over a third of the population has workable Irish, the sad reality is far, far lower than that. The truth is that while most Irish people speak English only, they would die of shame if they were to admit that they couldn’t speak their own national language.
The Irish psyche and character
And yet Gaeilge continues to define the Irish psyche and character. Irish words are liberally sprinkled throughout most Irish people’s common English. Words like ‘Failte’ (welcome), ‘slán’ (good bye), ‘gasúr’ (boy), ‘amadán’ (a fool) and ‘flathúileach’ (generous) crop up regularly. The English language itself has been greatly influenced by Irish with words like ‘blather’, ‘yiz’, ‘banshee’, clannish’, ‘bat’ and ‘bog’ all originating from the Irish.
Belated revival?
Irish road signs are bilingual and all government documents are available in both Irish and English. There is a dedicated Irish language TV station, TG4 and a radio channel, RnaG both of which are state sponsored and have done much to sustain the language in recent years. Over 200 Gaelscoileanna (full Irish speaking primary level schools) have also opened across the country leading some commentators to believe that the language is suddenly encountering a belated revival.
The Gaeltacht regions
The Gaeltacht regions on the west of Ireland are arguably the country’s most interesting areas. In the Gaeltacts Irish is the number one language and almost every one speaks it. Signs are in Irish only and if the language is to have any hope of survival beyond this decade it is imperative that it holds on in these areas. On the very tips of the Gaeltacht areas and especially on the islands, Aran and Tory, for example, a rich and mellifluous Irish is spoken and traditional music and song continues to breath life into a beautiful and ancient language.
However, the signs are not good. Common use of Irish is currently so low that many academics believe that its days as a living language are numbered. There are 6000 language in use in the world today but half of them will be extinct within 2 decades. What about Irish? Will Irish be living or dead?