A radio documentary series which begins this weekend will be charting the history of Waterford over the past 40 years.
Produced by Brian Nolan, the WLR series, Waterford - From the Sixties to Y2K, recalls events which dominated the news of the day, from the closure of the Waterford-Tramore rail link in the 1960s to the 14-week strike that brought Waterford Crystal to the brink of disaster in 1990.
It reveals, says Nolan, not just how things have changed in four decades but also how much they have stayed the same. In 1960, for example, the Chamber of Commerce made the establishment of a university in the city its main aim. It remains a priority today. The second bridge over the Suir, needed to alleviate traffic congestion and due to be opened in 2005, has been on the agenda since the 1970s.
But dramatic social changes are also documented. In the 1960s, the social scene revolved around the showbands and visiting acts such as Roy Orbison, who played the former Olympia Ballroom on Parnell Street in 1965. Work practices have undergone a revolution, with the closure of many of the city's large manufacturing enterprises. Soccer fans, hoping for a revival of past glories when Waterford United play in this season's FAI Cup semi-finals, will be reminded that such occasions were routine in the 1960s when the Blues dominated Irish soccer with Shamrock Rovers.
Nolan, who will co-present the series with WLR's head of news Liz Reddy, has been working on the documentaries since last summer. The first of the two-hour programmes begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
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Readers who wish to contact Chris Dooley can leave messages by dialling 016707711, extension 6298; e-mail address: cdooley@irish-times.ie