Teacht agus Imeacht - Landings and Leavings

Striking out from Arthurstown car park up the old Ballyhack Road, local heritage researcher Damien McLellan. will lead members of the public on a narrated walking tour that stops first at Ballyhack Graveyard on a hilltop that provides panoramic views of Waterford Estuary.

Ballyhack Graveyard is a repository of over 500 years of significant local and international history, including a touching memorial to 29 American sailors who were lost in the shipwreck of the Alfred D. Snow grain ship in 1888. Originally mapped as ‘Temple St James’, Damien believes it may in fact be connected to the medieval pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela, in Spain. He lays out his evidence in History Ireland (Vol. 24 No 3) which can be read here.

Next stop will be a nearby site where Cistercian monks from Nooke shaped millstones out of the local red outcropping sandstone in medieval times. Almost finished millstones are still to be seen there.

While there, Damien will use the great views of the villages of Crooke and Passage East across the estuary in Co. Waterford to recreate the historic landing on Passage Strand of Henry II and his invasion fleet on 17 October 1171. His research and theories were published in History Ireland (Vol 32 No.6) and can be read here.

As the walking tour descends to Ballyhack Village and meets the new road coming up from the Passage East ferry, walkers will have a choice. They can turn right and follow Damien uphill to where he believes a green pilgrim road lead eventually on to New Ross, St. Mullins, and Dublin; or they can turn left downhill to Ballyhack Castle where Andrew Doherty and Tim Spillane of the OPW will help them complete their medieval journey with a tour of the 15th century tower house. Having completed the tour, walkers can regroup at Byrne’s Bar for refreshments before taking the safe footpath back to Arthurstown car park.

The event is free to members of the public.

This guided walk is part of a joint initiative for Heritage Week 2026 by Waterford Estuary Villages Alliance (Weva), supported by Heritage Ireland and the River Basin Management Service (previously LAWPRO). Under WEVA, the five traditional fishing villages of the Estuary have come together to confront the threat of heritage loss, as well as other social and economic issues.