Waterford Archaeological & Historical Society
formerly
The Old Waterford Society
The Society was founded over 50 years ago, when a number of Winter Lectures and Summer outings were organised by the nucleus of original members. Three lectures to members were published for members only in January 1957. They were : 'Christ Church Cathedral Waterford' by J. Ernest Harris 6th Feb 1956
* 'Some Charitable Institutions of Old Waterford' by Richard Lahert 19th Jan 1956
* 'Old Waterford's Water Supply' by J.Stanislaus Carroll 23rd April 1956
Magazine : The title of this publication was 'Tuairisc ar Shean Phortláirge' or 'The Old Waterford Record'. The Pilot issue of Decies was published in Jan. 1976 -- this was a modest effort consisting of 10 pages, typed, duplicated and stapled together by volunteer members. In subsequent years the size increased but the production system continued unchanged for a number of years.Eventually a printed and bound volume was produced with the help of the Waterford Heritage Genealogy Centre and the printing department of the Waterford Regional College. In 1994 it was decided to have Decies professionally published. Initially the format was A4 but was replaced by A5 in 1995 for the 'Famine Edition' (No.51). The attractive cover, featuring original watercolour paintings by Fergus Dillon was adopted in 1999.
A number of well-known personalities in the field of History and Archaeology have been Honorary Editors over the years. These included J S Carroll, late Waterford City Engineer,
Des Cowman, Julian Walton, Peter Powell, Greg Fewer and currently John M. Hearne. These men, assisted by an able editorial committee, have contributed enormously to the success of the Magazine. In recent times the production of Decies has been assisted by a generous subvention from Waterford City Council and more recently also from Waterford County Council. Without this financial help the Journal would simply not survive.
Meetings : The Society is privileged to have the use of Waterford's splendid City Hall for the Winter Lecture Series.
Membership : The Annual Subscription is 25 Euro. This fee entitles the member to admission to 6 Winter Lectures, 4 Summer Outings and a copy of the Decies publication. Membership enquiries may be sent to the above address or to the following email address : GroganJP@IOLFree.IE
Publications : Some recent publications by members add to the corpus of works about Waterford and its environs : they include : * 'I was a day in Waterford' -- an anthology of writing about Waterford City and County from the 18th to the 20th century by Tom Fewer.
* 'Shipbuilding in Waterford 1820--1882' by Bill Irish
* 'Sliabh Rua -- A History of its People & Places' by Jim Walsh(Hon.Sec. WAHS)
Patrick Grogan PRO WAHS.