WATERFORD MUSEUM OF TREASURES
Unique History of Ireland’s Oldest City
Okay,
a most cities have a history museum, even small ones. And sometimes,
who cares? But
the Museum of Treasures in the south Ireland coast city
of Waterford, most famous for is crystal (see Waterford
Crystal Tour)
can brag to be the holder of a number of first and onlys among city museums.
Waterford is now Ireland’s 5th largest city, but is the county’s
oldest, first established by the Vikings in 914 AD. In the medieval age
was Ireland’s most important city after Dublin. The city’s
most prominent landmark, the round pre-Norman Reginald’s Tower
at the harbor quay, the oldest civic structure in Ireland and remaining
remnants of great city walls are a testament to Waterford’s medieval
stature (see Reginald's Tower).
The
Irish King of Leinster Diarmuid MacMorrough, failed in an attempt to
capture Waterford
in 1167 and sought out the assistant of the Normans
of England and Wales. He returned in 1170 with Anglo-Norman mercenaries
under Richard de Clare, the 2nd Earl of Pembroke, the famous “Strongbow”,
took Waterford after a long siege (see Ros
Tapestry). In 1171, Plantagenet
King Henry II landed at Waterford and declared it a royal city, and Dublin
the capital of Ireland. After the Protestant Reformation, Waterford
remained an independent Catholic city
in the Confederation
of
Kilkenny
until 1649
when Parliamentary forces of Oliver Cromwell laid siege. Cromwell couldn't
take Waterford, even with the first use of cannons in a walled city attack,
until 8 months later when the city finally fell to Cromwell's son-in-law
Ireton in 1650. In the 18th Century Waterford flourished with ship building
and especially glass making.
The Waterford Museum
of Treasures presents the thousand year history of the rulers of Waterford
with a series of exhibits through the centuries
and periods of change with six audio visual presentations to accompany
a rare collection of unique artifacts. The Presentations depict with
voice, image and sounds – The Marriage of Strongbow to Aoife, the
daughter of the Leinster king, a Viking ship voyage, a humorous examination
of the some of the city’s odd bylaws, and the changing of Waterford’s
buildings over 1000 years (see Waterford Oldest City 1100 Anniversary).
Most notable at the
Waterford Museum of Treasures are the unique historic pieces, among
them: the only surviving piece of clothing actually worn
by King Henry VIII, a Cap of Maintenance presented to the city’s
mayor, its once vibrant Italian red velvet now aged to an inglorious
muddy brown. (Henry VIII’s armor suit is in the Tower of
London),
the only complete set of pre-Reformation High Mass Catholic Vestments
to survive in Ireland or Britain, the only complete medieval bow in Britain,
the oldest cannon in Ireland, the most impressive piece of Viking jewelry
left in Ireland, a lock of Napoleon’s hair, examples of the earliest
Waterford glass, along with silver, swords and craft items and the sword
of Thomas Francis Meagher, Irish emigrant to America who served in the
Civil War and who brought the tri-color pennant to Ireland. The exhibits
are on three floors with the oldest on top working down through the ages
and a quite impressive experience.
Visiting the Waterford Museum of Treasures
The Museum of Treasures
is located in the stone and brick Granary Building from 1872, which
has been transformed into a modern visitor’s center,
sharing the space with the Waterford Tourist office on the Waterford
Quay, a block from the Granville Hotel, though a plan is underway to
relocate the museum to a new building next to the Waterford Crystal.
The museum is open seven days a week, 9 am to 6 pm Monday to Saturday
and 11 am to 6 pm on Sundays in summer, and 10 am to 5 pm weekdays and
11 to 5 Sundays from September to May. Admission is €7 for Adults, €5
for students and seniors, €15-21 for families, children under 5
are free. There is a gift shop and a café.
Waterford History Walking Tours
For a closer look at Waterford's colorful past, guided walking tours of Historic Waterford (said to be the best thing to do in Waterford by noted celebrity travel guide Rick Steves) commence daily from the Treasures Museum at 11:45 am and 1:45 pm and from the Granville Hotel at 12 noon and 2 pm, from mid-March to mid-October and cost €7. © Bargain Travel Europe
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Waterford
Treasures
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SEE ALSO:
JERPOINT GLASS STUDIO - KILKENNY
ST DECLAN’S WELL & COAST WALK – ARDMORE
DUBLINIA EXHIBIT – VIKINGS IN DUBLIN
DUNBRODY
FAMINE SHIP – NEW ROSS
