GREAT DRIVES: DUNGARVAN to HELVICK HEAD:A fascinating history of the sea and Ireland's insurrections unfolds along the Dungarven coast, writes BOB MONTGOMERY, and the views to sea are exciting too
IRELAND’S SOUTHEAST coast is incredibly varied, ranging from mountains such as the Comeragh’s and the Monavullagh’s to the sandy beaches of Tramore.
So too, the region’s roads are very varied from the leafy roads alongside the River Suir to the coastal roads that lead to such points as Carnsore, Hook Head and Helvick Head, the subject of today’s exploration. (The spelling of Helvick Head is sometimes disputed, but the latest Ordinance Survey map shows it with a k).
This is a gentle Sunday afternoon drive, best taken on a sunny day when visibility is good and the views across Dungarvan Harbour are at their best. And at the end of the drive there’s a memorial to a fascinating incident in Irish history, but that, for now is jumping ahead too far.
Let’s begin at the town of Dungarvan, a once sleepy fishing port that’s been transformed during the years of the Celtic Tiger so that it’s now changed beyond recognition. It’s a pretty town which had several royal charters granted to it in times past. It also has the remains of a fine castle built by King John.
Leave the town by the N25 heading south where the road skirts the waters of the harbour and where one soon comes to the junction with the road signposted for Helvic Head. This is a Gaeltacht area and therefore the signposts are in Irish. The Waterford Gaeltacht is small and encompasses the parishes of Rinn Ua gCuanach (Ring) and An Sean Phobal (Old Parish).
The road climbs slowly to reveal some marvellous views across Dungarvan harbour and towards the Monavullagh Mountains of which Seffin is the most prominent peak. Visible also across the bay is Ballynacourty Point with its whitewashed lighthouse. Follow the road to its end, past Crow’s Point and finally above Helvick New Pier from where fishing boats set forth.
It’s above this small harbour that is placed a strange memorial with the word’s “Erin’s Hope” on two of it’s four sides.
The memorial commemorates a little-known incident that followed the insurrection of 1867. Like so many Risings, this one was speedily put down but when word was flashed to America by the new Atlantic cable, the Fenian groups there believed the British authorities were spreading news to suit their purposes and they imagined groups of guerrilla fighters fighting on in the mountains of Ireland.
They quickly acquired a brigantine called the Jacknelland equipped her with a cargo of arms and fifty men to be sent to Ireland with all speed.
The Jacknellset sail on April 12th 1867 and nine days out from New York, the green flag of Erin was hoisted and the ship's name changed to Erin's Hope. After making landfall the ship proceeded to Sligo Bay where they were to land the men and arms.
This proved impossible and the Erin's Hopesailed south looking for a suitable place to land its cargo. On June 1st she came to Dungarvan and some twenty-eight men were landed just two miles from Helvick Point. Several more landings were made and the ship and its crew came close to being captured by a British frigate. By then they had concluded that their mission was impossible and they set sail once more for America, with a minimal supply of food on board. By the time they reached the American coast the entire crew and passengers were surviving on bread and water. Although the mission was a failure, the arms were successfully returned to Fenian hands in America. However, the majority of the men landed in Ireland were soon arrested and placed on trial.
So, a road that doesn’t just provide interesting views but also was touched by an all but forgotten incident in Ireland’s long history of insurrection.