A Dungarvan landmark has now been reinstated.
The Moresby Buoy was removed from the Causeway in Abbeyside before Christmas because the council said it had deteriorated beyond repair.
A replica with some of the original has now been reinstalled and local councillor, Damien Geoghegan says it's welcome news:
"It's great to see it back in place now. Noel Coffey and his team here at Coffey Engineering in Dungarvan have done a fantastic job.
"It's a replica that includes parts of the original - a number of people have been asking that question. And it's now back on the Causeway, with the final touches still to be given to it.
"There'll be a light put on top of it and the timbers are going to be put back on it.
"It's great to see it there. It's been part of our history here in Dungarvan and Abbeyside for years."
History of the Moresby Buoy
The buoy had long stood as a memorial to the lives lost when the Moresby Ship sank off the coast there in 1895.
On the 21st of December that year, the ship had set sail from Cardiff, carrying a cargo of 1,778 tons of coal and was bound for Pisagua in South America.
There were 23 crew on board, including the captain, Caleb Francis Coomber, who also had his wife, Edith, and two-year-old daughter, Ivy, with him.
Disaster struck on the 23rd when the ship encountered rough weather but managed to drop its anchor less than a mile from Ballinacourty lighthouse.
In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the weather worsened and at 4.30am the anchor broke and the ship went on its side.
All but five people were drowned - the captain, his wife and baby being among the dead and all three were buried together in Dungarvan.
Four years later, in 1899 a large buoy (painted green) was purchased by Dungarvan Urban District Council and on March 16th, 1900, was placed on the site where the ship had gone down.
It was this buoy that came ashore after breaking its moorings in 1954 and decades later was placed on the Causeway.
Replica reinstalled
Initially, there had been some fears locally that it had been permanently removed but Councillor Geoghegan says those fears have now been put to rest:
"Absolutely. I mean, it was never the situation that it wouldn't be returned. There were a lot of things said and there was a lot of discussion on social media and that.
"But in the background there really was a lot of work going on and there's some great credit due to people like Richard Power in Abbeyside.
"Richard was actually one of the people who originally rescued the buoy from obscurity about 30 years ago and now it has been revamped and restored and it will be there again for quite a number of years, I'm sure."
The upkeep and responsibility for the Moresby Buoy lies with Waterford City and County Council.
It's hoped that this replica will not face the same level of deterioration that the original did.
"Because of the work that was done on it quite a number of years ago," Councillor Geoghegan continued, "a different approach was taken on this occasion.
"Quite a lot of money has been spent on it now. It went off for special treatment and was galvanised so it really is a decent job and it will last for quite a number of years.
"I think, people will have to appreciate as well that the location of the buoy there on the quayside, it would have been very much exposed to the elements.
"So, it has to be treated properly and kept and maintained."
