I spent most of my childhood and youth being educated by, or working with the Christian Brothers. I went to a Christian Brothers’ school and worked closely with the Edmund Rice Camps organisation to provide positive experiences for disadvantaged children. This association, with the Christian Brothers’, has meant that while I am no longer a religious person, I have always held St Edmund Rice (founder of the Christian Brothers) in the highest regard for his unparalleled commitment to disadvantaged children and providing education to them as a means for escaping the cycle. In fact, he was the inspiration behind my pursuit of education as a career. Knowing his story took place in Waterford I could not pass up the opportunity to visit the coastal city while I was so close.
Although Waterford is only 2 hours drive from Dublin, we woke early to beat the traffic and get a full day of exploration in. The drive was again spectacular and we couldn’t help noticing that the fields in Ireland have their own shade of green – completely different from the green found in England, Wales and Scotland. I became excited and disappointed in equal measure as we drove through County Kildare, home of the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders Association, and discovered they too were closed for the season.
We were immediately attracted to the coastal town of Waterford as soon as we saw it emerge in front of us. Built on the river inlet, it was once Ireland’s busiest and most significant port. The town’s most significant feature is now Waterford Crystal so it was our first destination, once we found a car park.
On our walk from the car park to the home of crystal we stopped in at Reginald’s Tower which was offering free admission for the day. The Tower has played a significant part in the town’s history but the views from the top fell incredibly short of our expectation.
As we approached the crystal factory we were concerned to find a collection of emergency vehicles with their sirens blazing directly across the road. Our concerns were eased when we neared them as we discovered they were there for the kids to play in as part of the town’s Christmas celebrations. Our kids were invited to join in and given a gift from one of the officers.
After climbing on motorbikes and setting off sirens we walked across the road to the Waterford Crystal factory. At first, we explored the showroom with Harry (the rock and crystal collector) scouring the place for an affordable memento – he was extremely shocked by the prices and quickly disheartened. Although the pieces were exquisite, some were priced over $20 000.
While looking we heard a call for the next factory tour and were able to join the group without waiting. The tour started with examples of exemplary pieces (including the piece an apprentice must create to perfection before completing their apprenticeship as it contains every possible cut on the one piece), and a multimedia show before leading us to the factory floor. The initial process involves moulding the crystal into a rough shape at a very high temperature through blowing and shaping. Next, the excess used to join the crystal to the blow moulds was removed and the rough edges smoothed. The guidelines were then drawn on before the carving and etching was completed (sometimes by hand other times by machine and hand finished). The tour finished with a visit to the custom design area where pieces are made to order, including some of the most famous trophies in history.
We concluded our visit by purchasing a small hand carved seahorse (the company’s trademark) for “Yvette” that Harry could “borrow”. We were also tempted by coffee and cake at the café on the way out.
With more time having past than expected, I had to return and feed the parking meter to later meet up with Yvette and the kids at the St Edmund Rice Heritage Centre. On my way there, I stumbled across the site of the great man’s first school which literally gave me goose bumps.
I arrived at the heritage centre to find the others had just arrived also. The first site we were greeted by was his grave, where I spent a contemplative moment of admiration and thanks. His grave backed on to a bakery which he built himself to feed the town’s homeless children when they attended his schools. We then toured the Heritage Centre which gave stories of his life and shared accounts of his legacy. Reminding myself of how Edmund gave up his fortune by selling his merchant company to fund schools, food and housing for the town’s homeless children made me feel almost ashamed of what little I now do for others and inspired us as a family to commit to supporting the homeless when we return home.
It was now late, so after a brief walk through the town centre, complete with some fantastic street art, we set off home. We were so grateful we made the trip to Waterford because it was beautiful and inspiring and we preferred it to Dublin. When we did return to Dublin we made the obligatory trip to the Temple Bar area for dinner. Again, we were treated to some traditional Irish Fayre and Ales. Making Yvette and I think we may prefer Dublin more on a trip without kids. It was then home for bed because we had an early ferry to catch in the morning.
Mark (on behalf of the wandering winrows)
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