Casting memories: Reliving my great-grandfather's days on the River Blackwater

Dylan O'Driscoll, winner of the Features category in the Press Pass Student Journalism Awards, reflects on his ancestors' lives eking out a living in the tranquil countryside in Co Cork

(Left to right) Brendan O'Driscoll, Maurice Keogh (grandfather), Dylan O'Driscoll and Ann O'Driscoll. Photo: Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography.

At low tide, hidden within the heart of County Waterford, a place of tranquility and opportunity begins to reveal itself. The blackened waters shrink revealing the shells of the salmon boats that once navigated the river, reminding me of generations past when these murky waters were home to local salmon fishermen in a constant battle with 'time and tide' — an excerpt from a longer phrase my grandfather often used. 

Many of these men were breadwinners who worked the land, turning to the river in times of great difficulty much like during the famine times. My great grandfather Patrick was no exception.