9/1: Waterford Crystal, Bonaparte & Fairy Houses!

In 819, the Vikings first established Waterford, the oldest city in Ireland, as their base for piracy because of its prime location as a gateway to one of the most extensive river networks in the country. The city was once even more important than Dublin, the country's capital. Since it was a Sunday morning, we figured we should first visit its 18th century Protestant Christ Christ Cathedral, the fourth church to be constructed on this site over the last 1,000 years. 

In the nave was an exposed Gothic column six feet below the floor, a remnant of an earlier church where Norman conqueror Strongbow was married. 

The table tomb of Waterford Mayor James Rice with its partially decomposed cadaver motif on top was from 1482! It was described as one of the finest cadaver tombs in Ireland and was probably the work of an Irish mason influenced by similar tombs in England. What a way to start the day with such a gruesome sight.

While the city is synonymous with its iconic crystal, locals want everyone to know the town came first and not the other way around! Across the street from the cathedral was the Waterford Crystal Visitor Canter and Factory where we went on a tour. I know Steven was pretty disinterested initially at the idea of seeing how crystal was made but the guide was good and we both ended up enjoying ourselves. The crystal harp in the showroom, a symbol near and dear to all Irish people, was pretty fabulous.

The mechanisms of the beautiful six-foot tall William Maddock grandfather clock were crafted by the the most prestigious watch and clock maker in Waterford from 1776-1790 and have been completely restored. The clock was encased in 48 panels with 250 decorative buttons, each one handcrafted in Waterford crystal! The clock was from 1776 and had a seahorse on top representing the 15th century Waterford coat of arms.

The story of Waterford Crystal began in 1783 when the city was already a thriving commercial center and port with shipbuilding, cotton factories, corn mills and iron works. Crystal manufactured in Ireland was exempt from luxury taxes imposed by the English Parliament so the Penrose family set up shop with a specialist glass maker from England. The first pieces were exported to the US and Canada from the company's founding until 1852 because there was no market in Ireland for the crystal. 

In 1851, when Waterford Crystal won several gold medals at the Great Exhibition in London, it gained a worldwide reputation for the beauty and intricacy of its design and quality of its crystal. However, because of the Great Potato Famine, taxes imposed on Irish glass by the British, and being unable to compete with mass produced glass from England, it was impossible for the company to survive and it closed down until a century later. 

Their crystal is made from white silica sand from Belgium, potash mined in Germany and red lead from the Netherlands. The lead content gives crystal its weight and radiance

The guide explained that beech and pear wood molds are selected because they'e hard and smooth and most resilient in coping with the tremendous heat of the molten crystal. They can only be used for 10 pieces whereas metal molds last for 50 years. 

On the shelves were the molds for the Irish Open trophy, NCAA Football Trophy, Kentucky Derby, etc!

It was intriguing watching the three glassblowers at work. 250 lead pieces are made each day in this factory but most of the work is manufactured in Slovakia. We watched as each blew and shaped the glass, having to reheat it constantly to rework it with the entire process taking no more than five minutes per piece. 

The rough edges were smoothed over with a wooden tool before the finished pieces were placed in the kilns until 7 each morning. To turn off the kilns would be catastrophic because it would take up to two weeks to heat the furnace to the required temperature.

The three men in the Glassblowing Department seemed to perform all tasks totally seamlessly with no visible breaks in the routine.

The finished product, a hurricane lamp, was then ready to be put in the kiln. This master glassblower began working at Waterford when he was 16 and would be retiring soon after working for 52 years!

Next up was the Finishing and Quality Department where all edges were smoothed out by hand on a machine. He was also working on the hurricane lamps that had been in the kiln so it was neat to see the next step in the process toward the finished product. The guide said 'one regular vase with regular detail' takes about five hours to create. That would account for the sky high prices we saw in the showroom!

The marking of the grid lines was an important stage as it divided the crystal into even sections so the cutter had starting and finishing points. There were different colors for different cuts to be made. Sculptors must attend art college before beginning work at Waterford. During the apprenticeship a cutter must memorize the patterns to be cut in the marked grid. 

In the Cutting Department, we all got to hold one of the 2,668 pieces of the Crystal Ball dropped on New Year's Eve in NYC. The guide explained that there are always three copies made of 'one of a kind' or custom pieces for those 'just in case' scenarios that might happen not just once but twice! All custom items are made here in Waterford.

I was amazed at how close we could get to the master cutter for him still to be able to do such exacting work and not be bothered by a constant parade of tourists coming by every few minutes. Only six percent of the items made are defective, and not necessarily because of poor workmanship but because of a problem with materials. All defective items must be destroyed as there are no seconds at Waterford! The cutter also happened to be working on the hurricane lamp which the guide said was rare for tourists to be able to watch the same item being produced from beginning to end. 

Steven asked the guide how sharp the edge of the instrument was because he noticed how close the man's fingers were getting to the blade. The man overheard the question and gestured Steven to feel it for himself. He joked Steven could have a free manicure!

A copy of the bowl presented to President Obama from the Irish President on the occasion of her visit to the US. 

Waterford Crystal dedicated this extraordinary  9/11 Memorial to all the New York rescue workers in honor of Fr. Mychal Judge, the NYFD chaplain and first certified fatality of the attacks who was also the son of Irish emigrants. He was depicted being carried out on a stretcher from one of the towers. 

I made very sure not to get any closer to this other harp in the showroom as I knew our credit card limit wasn't high enough in case it shattered! I loved examining and admiring the many varieties of classes and bowls and doodads available for sale but they were too fancy for our lifestyle.

Housed in the former mansion of the local Protestant bishop next to the Cathedral we'd seen earlier was the Bishop's Palace built in 1843 during Ireland's age of elegance.

The landing was purposely intimidating, our pianola-playing guide informed us, as back in the late 1700s a visit withe Bishop would depend on one's social class. 

It remained the Bishop's Palace until 1919 when it became a boys' school. The guide told us that Ireland had both the youngest and oldest soldiers serving in World War I, at 17 and 82 respectively. 

The decorative fireplace upstairs in the Audience Room was all show as it was made of wood. The crystal glass chandelier was an economical gesture, too, as it reflected twice the amount of light for half the price of an expensive candle.

The piano belonged to Leticia Bonaparte, Napoleon's nice, as did the jet and gold mourning cross in the adjacent cabinet. It was the only surviving Bonaparte mourning cross in the world from one of 12 commissioned on the death of Emperor Napoleon by his mother for the female members of his family. 

The Drawing Room was for women to withdraw to after dinner while men smoked cigars. For some reason, the rooms were always painted blue! Behind the guide was the oldest landscape painting in Ireland. 

The women could listen to songs on the 18th century music box with eight songs played on each cylinder. 

The centerpiece of the Dining Room was the chandelier from the 1790s. Everything in the room was built to reflect the light with very simple glass sconces on the wall to convey the Quaker simplicity as opposed to fancy glasses on the table. The room was very appealing and one I would feel comfortable dining in, unlike so many other palaces we've toured. I came away with a sense of  how very gracious the home was, even if its original inhabitant, the Bishop, would apparently never budge from his desk to meet with someone from the lower class or would never come downstairs to meet anyone!

I have heard the term 'Quaker' a gazillion times but never knew until we were at the Bishop's Palace that the term came from believers who were said to 'quake' at the name of the Lord. They believed all things must be plain in their way of life. 

The oldest part of the oldest town in Ireland was named after Reginall, the first Viking invader and then leader. During the late 1100s, Reginald Tower was once the most important corner of the town wall. It was Ireland's oldest intact building, the only one named after a Viking and the first made with mortar. 

Steven aka Reginald!

We'd seen a lot of striking murals in Dublin but there were even more in Waterford.

The Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Trinity was built in 1796 after a century in which English penal laws forbade Catholic churches and worship.Allowed new freedom, it was Ireland's first post-Reformation church and its only Baroque church and was funded by wealthy Irish wine merchants. Even though it was a Sunday, it was unfortunately locked up tight. 

This unusual memorial honored the men and women of Waterford who lost their lives as a result of armed conflict at home and abroad.

We'd sort of 'done' Waterford by then except for the waterfront so drove about 30 miles out to Durrow to bike along the Waterford Greenway, a rails to trails path that extended for 48 kms. We should have known by then that it takes so long to get anywhere in Ireland because we would only have had a couple of hours to use the bikes. It was hard to justify spending about $35 to ride bikes for so short an amount of time so we decided to go for a long walk instead.

No cute bathroom signs this trip but this one made me smile and think of the "if it's yellow, it's mellow" phrase from so long ago!

The Greenway followed the former Great Southern and Western Railway along 11 bridges, three viaducts, and through a 400 meter long tunnel. We walked first toward the seven-arch Durrow Viaduct that spanned the River Tay and opened in 1878. 

Steven was sure we hadn't yet walked 1.5 kms and therefore this couldn't be the Durrow Viaduct. He refused to believe me and had to check for himself by half toppling over if he could see the arches. Even then he wasn't altogether convinced!

We continued walking beyond that viaduct as it was so peaceful and quiet with few cyclists even on a weekend afternoon. I finally recommended we turn around as we wanted to head to another viaduct which was in the opposite direction from where we started.

I didn't know all the flowers but they were so pretty. I din't walk nearly as fast as I normally do as I kept stopping to take photos so kept having to run to catch up with Steven.

We headed past where we'd parked toward the Ballyvoyle Viaduct over the River Daligan which was also built in 1878 but demolished during the Civil War in August, 1922, before being rebuilt two years later. I could hardly believe it when we began seeing a string of fairy or possibly leprechaun houses on both sides of the path until I remembered we were in Ireland after all!

Each one had been so lovingly made and was so unique it made me want to stop and look at each one until the sheer numbers of them made that impossible.

I do recommend you click on the photo so you can read this more easily - it's worth it.

The iconic feature of the Waterford Greenway was its railway heritage; part of that was the fully brick-lined tunnel with stone alcoves inset along the tunnel walls which allowed tunnel workers to stand in while trains passed through. 

Thank goodness there were lights in the alcoves as, even so, it was almost pitch black in there. Some of the cyclists had lights on which made it safer for them and us when they came barreling along.

Some of the alcoves had stalactite formations!

Wonderful seeing the light at the end of the tunnel even if it were drizzling on that side of it. 

Looking back toward the tunnel:

Yeah, more fairy houses on this side of the tunnel, too, as they made my heart sing!

I can't imagine having gone to Waterford and not seeing the Crystal Factory but the highlights for us were definitely the Waterford Greenway and the sights we'd seen the day before so close to Waterford, New Ross, the Kennedy Homestead and Hook Head Lighthouse, i.e. all sights outside of Waterford. 

After getting a bite to eat back in Waterford, we walked along the very attractive waterfront. Perhaps, it was the waning hour of the day that made it look so attractive as we didn't find Waterford to be that charming or memorable a town!

Next post: The slow road to Kinsale via Jameson's Distillery and charming Cobh.

Posted on September 15th, 2019, from Westport in western Ireland.