Come Walk with Me from Annestown to Dunhill Castle

Annestown town to Dunhill Castle, Co. Waterford

Sunday was special like so many of the Sundays of my childhood. We used to go for walks on country roads, just like the road from Annestown to Dunhill Castle, here in Co. Waterford.

Childhood walks were always fun, but now that I look back on them, I can see that our parents, more subconsciously than anything else, brought us to places that would be educational in all sorts of ways.

Mother had a passion for nature, especially trees and wild wildflowers and Father was very keen on history as well as landscape photography.

I didn’t really mean to go for a walk on Sunday but found myself in the little village of Annestown with swimming on my mind. My eyes were drawn, as always to Dunhill Castle, which is about two miles up the Anne Valley from Annestown.  The castle has a long, long history, which is well summarised here. In short, the site stretches back to pre-historic times but the first castle was built by the hugely influential la Poer (Power) family in the 1200s.

The ruin that stands guard over the Anne Valley today is very imposing and it is intriguing to think that the castle and the remains of an old church and graveyard were once centre pieces of a whole village. It is also quite amazing to think that the sea used to flow right up to the Castle whereas now there is but a narrow river.

My walk on Sunday had me thinking of the battles that raged between the Powers of Dunhill and the City of Waterford in the 14th century, but it also brought me back to Summer Sundays when Mother would delight in lifting us up to smell honeysuckle, pick juicy blackberries, play with buttercups and daisies, climb gates, run through bracken, listen to grasshoppers, watch fish jump in the river, blow dandelions, pick long grasses and gently press the seeds to sail in the breeze …..

That road from Annestown to Dunhill has hardly changed since I was a kid and here’s how it was as I walked from the beach at Annestown up to the Castle and the ruins of the old church and back again…..

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The Old and the New ~ Gatherings from Ireland # 359

Dunhill Castle, Co. Waterford.

The opening of the Anne Valley Trail which runs from Dunhill village to the foot of the stunning ruins of  the 12th century Dunhill Castle has been one of the unexpected highlights of my year.

Dunhill Castle has a very special place in the history of Co. Waterford and is said to be the  place from which ‘all the Powers in Ireland descend.’ http://powerclangathering.com/dunhill-castle/

I got to know Dunhill Castle through my father who took endless photographs of it from the 1940s onwards and in many ways I felt that it was ‘our place’ and couldn’t bear the thought of a new trail being developed anywhere near it.

But, the Anne Valley Trail is, without doubt, my favourite new haunt of 2013 and I’m really looking forward to seeing it through all the seasons. It’s a place where you meet ‘regulars’ and which inspires reflection. Here’s a glimpse of how it looks in Winter light.

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Welcome to my World on St. Patrick’s Day ~ Gatherings from Ireland # 94

There’s something extra-special about Ireland early on St. Patrick’s morning. Today was no exception and here’s a glimpse of what greeted me when I set out to have my annual glimpse at Irishness here in Tramore , Co. Waterford and round about.

Tramore Butchers, Priests’ Road, Tramore, Co. Waterford

The Pier, Tramore, Co. Waterford

Nesting Time, Cove Road, Tramore, Co. Waterford.

The Allure of Garrarus Beach, Co. Waterford

The Daffodils on the Annestown Road, Co. Waterford.

Early Swim at Annestown Beach, Co. Waterford

Birds of a Feather

Dunhill Castle, Co. Waterford central to the Power Gathering

The Comeragh through the Gorse, Co. Waterford

Now off to the St. Patrick’s Day Parade!

Powerful Co. Waterford in 2013 ~ Gatherings from Ireland # 30

The programme of events for The Gathering 2013 in Co. Waterford is very impressive. Just take a look here:

http://www.waterfordgathering.com/about.htm

One of the many highlights of the year will take place over Whit Weekend (the first weekend in June) when the Power Clan will assemble here.  Power is undoubtedly the most common name in Co. Waterford and  the more I read about the Power’s gathering, the more I’m beginning to wonder if there will be room for anyone who isn’t a Power in Co. Waterford that weekend.

As well as all the Powers in Co. Waterford, there are tens of thousands of them in Ireland as a whole and all round the world.  At the launch of the event just before Christmas, the Canadian Ambassador, Loyola Hearn, spoke, for example,  of how there are now more than 6,500 Powers residing in Newfoundland. There have been very close connections between Waterford and Newfoundland for centuries  as many thousands of people from Co. Waterford migrated there on an annual basis to partake in cod fishing, especially in the 1700s.

So,  if your name is Power, Co. Waterford, Ireland is undoubtedly the place to be at Whit Weekend.

Of course, I think that Co. Waterford, Ireland  is the place to be at any time of any year.