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Waterford's Quaker trail traces refuge, trade and trust

Historian Joan Johnson connects a former meeting house, banking landmarks and the Jacob family home on a walk through the city's Cultural Quarter.

Channel: RTÉ News ·

IrelandStory of October 27, 2026Trari Newsroom

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Waterford's Quaker Trail | Nationwide

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0:21Johnson describes Quakers seeking refuge in Waterford and building local trust through honesty in trade.
1:17The trail map connects Quaker businesses and historic sites in a walk lasting about 40 minutes.
1:43Stops include Garter Lane Theatre, the Savings Bank, the port company building and the Jacob family home.
2:38Johnson explains how the trail celebrates Waterford's history and supports its Cultural Quarter.

Garter Lane Theatre once served a different gathering: it was a Quaker meeting house. The building is among the stops on Waterford's Quaker Walking Trail, a route that connects familiar city streets with the history of a community that arrived seeking refuge.

In "Waterford's Quaker Trail | Nationwide," Ireland's RTÉ News joins local Quaker historian Joan Johnson to explain the people behind those places. Asked why she wanted to create the trail, Johnson answers: "Well, I felt it was an untold story."

She describes Quakers arriving in Waterford after persecution and imprisonment, looking for a better life. Their reputation for honesty in trade, she explains, helped them earn the trust of the local Catholic community. Business relationships became an important part of how they established themselves in the city.

An illustrated map lays out a roughly 40-minute rectangular walk through Quaker-linked buildings and businesses. Alongside the former meeting house, built in 1791, the report highlights the Savings Bank, the Port of Waterford Company building and the Jacob family home. A blue plaque marks the family's connection to the house, while the presenter recalls the crackers and biscuits that made their name familiar far beyond Waterford.

Johnson also sees the trail as a way to support the city's Cultural Quarter: preserving local history by giving people a route through the places where it happened.

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