Tenements and Poverty in Waterford
“All of the 18th and 19th century visitors marvelled at the Quay of Waterford. Its beauty, its elegance and expanse, comparing it to the finest quays in Europe. Its river full of masted ships, Its beautiful exchange, where the merchants conducted their business, and the adjacent Mall with its bowling green, where the gentry took their evening stroll and their wives paraded in their finery. However this was the veneer of Waterford and beneath that veneer, was a warren of filthy lanes, of disease ridden hovels, bereft of furniture, toilet facilities, and the means to sustain life”
excerpt from
Dermot Power’s article ‘Housing for the labouring class of Waterford City from 1800 to 1940’
Film Notes
Read Dermot Power’s article on the Slums and Poverty – View PDF
Decies is the name of Waterford’s history magazine and you can find lots of detailed research on local history – here is a link to some of their eJournal archive from 1976 to 2009: View Archive
About Waterford Cultural Quarter
Created and produced by Waterford Youth Arts in 2021 with support from Waterford Council Arts Office, Waterford Cultural Quarter and Creative Waterford. All Film and Audio by Keith Currams. Website by Thomas Fitzgerald. Producer and Interviewer Ollie Breslin. Special thanks to Michael O’Sullivan and all the members of Waterford History Group (Facebook) and to the National Library Ireland .
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