WATERFORD ARCHAEOLOGI & HISTORICAL SOCIETY No. 55 1999 Irisleabhar Cumann Seandiilaiochta agus Staire Phort Liiirge I BARDAS PHORT LAIRGE WATERFORD CORPORATION The WarcrSord Archaeological md Historical Society and thc ctlitor of DECIES gratefully acknowlcdgc thc gencrous sponsorship of Watcrl.orc1 Corporation low~u-clsthc publication costs of thi\ joi11m1. Ilecirs 55, 1990 ISSN 1393-3 1 16 Publishcd by Thc Waterford Archacolog~c~aland Historical Socicry Psintccl by Lcinster Leader Ltd. Nx~s.Co. Kildarc. I Decies 55 Decies 55 CONTENTS PAGE Message from the Chairman ........ v ... List of Contributors ............................ \'I11 Medieval Undercrofts EIucidated: 0.Scully ............................... ................................ Waterford men irt the Inwlides, paris, 1690- 177 1: E 6 Hannrachdin ............................................................................... As others saw us: a French visitor's impression of Waterford in 1784: B. Payet & D. 6 Ceallachdin ............................................................ Some aspecls of Lemuel Cox's bridge: P. Grogan ...................................................................................................................... 27 From County Waterford to Australia in 1823: John Uniacke's personal chronicle of migra- tion and exploration: S. RiviPw .......................................... Mount Melleray Seminary: Fr U. d Maidin ............................................................................. List of County Waterford Soldiers who died in Wol Id War One: J. Slucev ......................... .. ....................................................... Law, order and the RIC in Waterford, 1920-21: a chronology: B. Byrne .................................................................................. Book Reviews: D.Cowman ........................... Obituary (Liam Eachrhigheirn): C. Gri'firh .............................................................................................................. Waterford Archaeological & Historical Society membership: ....................... Comgenda: ............... ...... ...... All original contributions are the copyright of the contributors. The views expressed by each contrib- utor are not necessarily those of Waterford Archaeological & Historical Society, the editor, or of the editorial cornnlittee. Hon. Editor: Thomas Gregory Fewer MA. Editorial Committee: The Chairnlan (ex-officio), Des Cowman, Ben Murtagh, Donnchadh 6 Ceallachlin, Julian C. Walron. OFFICERS Chairnxun: Eddie Synnott Vice-chairman: Paddy Kenncally Hon. Secrctar-y: James Wrtlsh Hon. Treasurer: Brdid McNcill Hon. Editor: Thorn25 Gregory Fcwcr P.R.O.: Patrich Grogan COMMITTEE Eugene Broderick Nellie Croke Sonny Condon Fergus Dillon George Kavanagh Arthur Lcmon Ben Murtagh Seamus Rcalc .lulian C.Walton 1997. when 1 was t'irst elected chairman of Wateri'od Archaeological and I"Historical Society I felt very honoured. It is even a greater honour to be chair- Inan of the Society during thc change from the second to the third millennium - thc grcatest historical occasion that wc will probably witness during our lives. It is rare that a ch;tisman is givcn rhe opportunily lo address all members of the Society and I would like to take this historic occasion to do so. Tntercst in the ~nillcnniu~phas been wondcrt'ul and hopefully it will result in an influx of new members to our Socicty. In explaining what the millcnniurn is all about, cclcbraring a historical occasion, it presents an ideal opportunity to imprcss upon children, grandchildren and their I'ricnds the importance of preserving one's culture and history. The millennium has rcsulted in an interest in historical evcnts allti u number of' publications and calendars of a historical nature havc emerged. Any publication. whether it be a major piece of historical research or mcrely a small local publication. is to be welcomed and encouraged; and I would like to take this opportunity to plead with all ~ncmbersto provide assistance and encour- agement to anybody who c~nbarkson a project which promotes one of the aims of this Socicty - 'to encourage inlerest in history anti archaeology in general'. It is ironic th:ir during his celebration of 2,000 yeal-s of Christianity there is growing concern runong archaeologists, countrywide, regarding the disappearance of sitcs that pre-date the birth of Christ. This is to be t'lowncd upon anti the Socicty must makc a stunti to ensure that landowness arc educatcd in this area so that the semaintlcr of such sitcs remain intact. Up until recently. superstition ensured the preservation of many 01' these sites. However. superstition has no place in these 'modcrn times' and it must be rcplaced by education. Towards the end of 1909, the i\~r,h~rrologii~lrI111vc/ltol:): of' C'o~!n!\:Watcl:/Ord was published by Duchas. This excellent publication highlights the great numbcr of archaeological sites that remain intact within County Waterlord and is a giant step in educating people about thcse ancicnt sites. In fact, I would highly recommend it to all ;uchaeology/I~istoryenthilsiasts. This year presents an ideal opportunity to educarc I~undownessubour the historical importance of these sites. It should be pointed out that we are not just an historical society being 'stubborn' or 'grumpy' about this - in most cases it is against the law to interfere with such sites. Whilc working on a 'millennii~mproject', I became aware of the astonishing amount of old photographs that survivc in Witcrford City and its environs. One can only hope that when the ownelx of thcse great treasures pass them on. their heirs will appreciate them as much as they did. I think that the Society shoulti becomc active in the cataloguing and preservation of such photographs and this should bc possiblc with the help and co-operation of government agencies, such as FAS. rind the Waterford Heritage and Genealogical Survey in Jcnkin's Lane. The first task, and probably the most important, is the cataloguing of the photographs. When this is complctcd, the pso,ject coulti rhcn mow on to scan them and make Decies 55 them available, :is hard copies or in electronic form. to interested persons. While this project would be of importancc in terms of history and preservation, it could also be financially viable. There is a wealth of material, such as photographs and items of a11 historical importance. We would be L~ilingin our duty as members of an historical organisu- tion if we did not do our best to ensure that these are preserved. However. prcser- vation is not the end. Others must also become aware of the existence of such items. because if they arc kept secret. then preservation in the long term will be inlpossible. For the last fifty years of the second millennium, Waterlbrd had a wonderfi~l historical society in the Old Waterford Society, which later became the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society. Throughout the years, the Society was extremely lucky to have numerous able and dedicated men and women to leiid it through good and bad times. People such as the late Stan Carroll, whom I never knew, and Noel Cassidy come to mind. Thankfully, others are still with us and we rely on their advice and direction when times becomc difficult. I would be failing in my duty if I were not to mention two women who have given tremendous scr- vice to the Society - Nellie Croke and Renee Lumley. Both have given service which was beyond the call of duty, and which will never be equalled again. 1Mr Fergus Dillon, a former chairman and editor, has also made a worthy contribution and I am delighted to sce that his artistic t:ilent adorns the front cover once again, after a brief absence. The achievements of the Society has not gone unnoticed. and the Society gets a special mention in the Arclztreolo~ic~t~lIizvc.r~rory of Corrtzt,~ Micttr/ji)rcl,previously mentioned. Other individuals and org:inisations outsidc the Society have also been of tremendous help to us in our aim to achieve our objectives. Waterford Corporation has been very helpful over the years and the help given by Mr Eddie Breen, cur- I-cnt City Manager, and formcr City Managers ~MichaelDoody and Terry O'Sullivan arc worthy of spccial mention. But for the help and co-operation of Waterford Corporation, our more ambitious programmes would not have been realisetl. The succcss of the Socicty has not been confined to the atiministrativc and financial contributions of individuals and organisutions. We have had some notable speakers at our lectures and contributors of articles to Ikcios. In this area Dr Martin Manncragh comes to mind. On behalf of the Society, I would like to con- gratullrte Dr Mansel-agh on his role in the peace process in Northern Lreland. Waterford Corporation's contribution to history and archaeology in the City has not been confined to its contributions to this Society. Watcrford Treasures at the Granary, which opcncd in 1999 is one of the most impressive, if not the niost impressive, museum I have seen and. on behalf 01' the Society, I would like to cumplirncnt the Corporation on compieting such a magni ficcnt untiertaking. If we take into account the si~cof Watcrford city and thc amount of resources, financial and otherwise, that wcnt into this projcct, we can get a clearer picture of Waterford Corporation's commit~nentto thc preservation of our history. In latc 1000, Decies 55 Waterford Treasures at the Grunary won an award for the best muscuni and I would like to tnkc this opportunity to congratulate the Manager, Mr