Copper Coast Co Waterford – SOCIAL BRIDGE ~ Jean Tubridy connecting with you from Ireland

High on the Waterford Cliffs

I was flicking through some photographs that I took while I was on my blogging break and came across a few from a little expedition up the cliffs near Annestown on the Copper Coast which is about 8 miles from Tramore.

In ways, it’s like another world and to a large extent it’s a place that belongs to other times.

The cliffs remind me of May 1985 when Mother and I stayed in a caravan overlooking Annestown Beach and with views almost as far as Tramore. We were based there for an interim period between moving from Clonmel back to Tramore where Mother and Dad had lived for the first 15 years of their married life and where they lived out their lives up to 2009 and 2010 respectively.

I was supposed to be ‘helping’ with the move but somehow managed to avoid a lot of ‘mullacking’ (hard word) and spent endless hours exploring the cliffs with Mother and just savouring them in glorious Summer weather.

I feel that Mother would be more than pleased to know that I am here remembering those sun-kissed days tonight before I head to bed knowing that her 8th anniversary will have slipped by just before sunrise tomorrow.

We certainly slept well in that caravan ~ as we were getting so much sea air, dining al fresco, going for swims, walking the cliffs and sitting outside with our cups of tea chatting long after the sun had set.

On those nights, just as on the night she died, I would have said ‘Goodnight Irene’ as we drifted into sleep. That was part of our secret code a la Jim Reeves.

So, Goodnight Irene, Goodnight.

Luxuriating on The Copper Coast

Today felt like the first day of Summer and I simply had to go and see how the Copper Coast was looking as I had a feeling that the Sea Pinks might be stepping out to bedeck the ditches and cliffs.

They have a way of making me smile and want to throw myself down to lie among them and that’s exactly what I did:

Copper Coast 3 — Sea Pinks on the Copper Coast, Co. Waterford

Just to feel the sun on my back and watch the blue of the ocean through that sprightly pinkness is about as uplifting as it gets.

Horizons, History, Bells and Years

It all started as a walk on the beach at sunset with Puppy Stan. The horizon was pencilled out and had me looking foward:

Puppy Stan was in pensive mood and was basking in the here and now:

We couldn’t resist driving out along the Copper Coast just to see how it looked in the gloaming.

Driving along, I was very conscious of the word ‘year’ and how the Irish language seems to capture ‘last year’ and ‘next year’ so much more deeply than English does.

‘Last year’ is ‘An bhliain seo caite,’ literally,’the/this year spent/used up,’ and ‘Next year’ is ‘An bhliain seo chugainn,’ literally, ‘the/this year toward us.’ I love the way the Irish is so much more dynamic and, indeed questioning, than English.

Pondering on all this, I nearly missed the fact that the door of the Catholic Churchv in Bonmahon was ajar. I couldn’t resist stopping and seizing the opportunity to go in and see how it was looking.

img_20161230_174433 — Bonmahon Church, Co. Waterford

The building that is now the church has served a host of different functions as a little notice on the gate post outlines.

It was originally built as a Temperance Hall as drunkenness had been a major problem for the mining company that was operating in the 1800s. A locally based temperance movement led by priests managed to wipe out drinking in 1839 through exhortation by the usecof “Temperance Police.” From 1840, the miners could come tobthe Hall, join the Temperance Band and drink non-intoxicating beverages.

The building was used as a famine-relief centre in 1846-7 and then became a fever hospital before being converted into a church.

The church was empty when I was there and I could feel its past enveloping me. My instinct was to light candles in memory of those who had spent time there in so many different capacities:

img_20161230_174439 — Interior of Bonmahon Church

Another part of me longed to ring the big bell outside the church to summon all the members of the local community for a celebration of the very last Friday of 2016.

But I didn’t have the guts. Maybe when I am older and grayer and decked out in purple, I will!

For now, it’s time for bed as The Wishing Stones Ritual for New Year’s Eve is almost upon us.

In-Betweening on the Copper Coast

There’s talk of a storm looming on the horizon so I thought I would dive into today’s calm and seize my chance to have a lovely dip at one of our beaches or coves along the Copper Coast.

So everything was abandoned and I took off into the blue. Just crossing the little bridge at Annestown, I was enraptured by the deep hue of the River Anne and the gleam of the white-washed cottage that I love so much:

There was a softness about the day that had me melting into the very heart of my Co. Waterford.

One of the key parts of that Waterford is the sweep of the road in the village of Bonmahon and the way the shadows fall on the wall near the now closed Kennedy’s shop:

Kennedy’s Grocery and Drapery Shopfront, Bonmahon, Co. Waterford

Ballydwane Cove was where I thought I would swim with its tall cliffs and cosy shelter. But, a local man walking his dog greeted me with: ‘It’s rough; it’s rough today.’ The tide was high and the waves were big and fluffy. The thing about Ballydwane, though, is that the high cliffs always make the waves look a lot smaller than they are so if it hadn’t been for the mind-reading ‘old salt,’ I would have thrown caution to the gentle breeze and run in:

It was time for a snack as lunch time had come and gone so I made for stunning Stradbally village with its beautiful brightly painted houses:

The bar that epitomises Co. Waterford for me is the Cove Bar in Stradbally. The fact that it has a painting of one of Waterford’s greatest hurlers, Michael ‘Brick’ Walsh, who is a Stradbally man, painted on its front wall makes it all the more precious:

cd5 — Cove Bar, Stradbally, Co. Waterford

Kilfarrasy was where I eventually decided to swim. It has been like a magnet of late, probably because it was the place where Dad and I used to go and sit in the car, watching the waves on that last December we shared in 2009:

Puppy Stan was waiting impatiently for me when I got home all energised from the sea. We decided to go and watch the sunset together ~ a little journey that has become one of our bonds in life:

At day’s end, the horizon was pencilled out and the dying sun placed her own little punctuation mark to identify this special in-between day.

A Gratitude Thanksgiving in Co. Waterford

Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated in Ireland but I’ve had my own little ritual for the day over the last five or six years. Weather permitting, it involves a swim, a picnic and a whole day by the sea.

Today was a splendiferous day here so I got my every wish.

Early morning with Puppy Stan at Kilfarrasy Beach:

Back home to gather up swimming gear and the feast which included Sushi from a Co. Waterford, award-winning company, Glorious Sushi.

My choice of beach for the swim was Benvoy, which is lovely and sheltered. When I arrived, a big golden heart was shimmering out in the water:

Onwards to have look at Faugheen Church which is tiny and divinely picturesque:

Faugheen Church near Kill, Co. Waterford

On the day that was in it, it seemed very fitting that one of the tombstones that I saw bore the inscription that the railing around the grave had been erected by a man in Butte, Montana, U.S.A. in memory of his parents. As I have highlighted before, many of the miners from the copper mines in Co. Waterford emigrated to America, and especially to Butte, when the mines closed down in the late 1870s.

As evening was closing in, I headed to Tankardstown, just across from the ruins of the engine houses from the copper mining era, and soaked in the sunset:

What more could anyone want? Now that my secret is out, maybe I’ll get start a Thanksgiving Movement here in Co. Waterford as we have so, so much to be thankful for.

Copper Coasting in Co. Waterford

It was all about playing with waves and light today out along the Copper Coast. What heaven!

Camera Shy Or …? in Co. Waterford

The Copper Coast in Co. Waterford isn’t all about the sea. When you take a look on the other side, you see farm animals that you could watch forever as they go about their daily round.

And in the field next door, a little while later:

img_20161115_085605 — No, I’m off Duty today! Focus on the Others

Another day draws to a close:

Across the Road ~ the Salty Sea Sways on

De-Stressing

Today was one of those warm, warm days here in Tramore.

The sea was calm, blue and lovely. I drove out along The Copper Coast and had my swim in the glorious shelter of the tall cliffs out at Ballydwane Cove.

As I soaked in the water and then dried off with my back toasting against a sun-kissed rock, I wondered if there were any better ways to de-stress.

Other things on my list include:

#1. Being with Puppy Stan

#2. Digging the garden

#3. Taking photographs

#4. Writing a journal

#5. Walking in woodlands

#6. Reading poetry

#7. Watching the fire

#8. Listening to audio-books in bed

#9. Blogging

#10. Wave watching

What would you add to/subtract from this de-stressing list?

Getting Away from it All

There are times when it’s great to get away from the noisy world of politics, celebrity and social media.

The skies out around the Copper Coast looked gloriously enticing and I couldn’t resist going out to soak it in.

Precious time!

August Evening in Co. Waterford

It was one of those evenings that oozed August and the glory of Co. Waterford. I was driving out along the road towards Annestown when the sun glinting on baled hay made me do an about turn and step into the open field.

Gazing seaward across the textured gold, I thought I heard a horse’s whinny and there in the field behind was a chestnut mare with her young foal staying very close to her side:

It’s a busy enough road ~ this road along the Copper Coast. On August evenings there’s always lots of cars with surf boards and kayaks tied to the roof racks and tractors and trailers making the most of every last sunbeam:

Just across the road from the hay field is the shell of an old stone cottage. It has seen many an August evening and stands solidly adding to the sense of place and Co. Waterford history.