The Marine Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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The Marine
A quick p&g on a famous landmark on the N25, which brings you to one of the most famous pubs in County Waterford.
The Location
'Twas in the 1700s and the Marines had to trudge from Cork Harbour to Waterford Harbour. It's a fair slog, particularly on a hot summers day, what with heavy red wool coat, vest, breeches, legging and lugging sword, bayonet, cartridges, musket, blanket and food.
Just about halfway between the two towns on the old road rose the Drum Hills. These drumlins, or glacial hills aren't all that tall, but from either side, there's a long, long climb up the rolling slopes.
The Marines were well blown by the time they reached the top. The local widow woman was roused out of her cow-shed. The story, as it's come down to us, is that the thirsty Marines drank her dry. No dozen pitchers of milk could quench their powerful thirst.
The sergeant had an idea. If the widow was willing to open a 'shebeen', the sergeant would speak to the local magistrate and get her a licence.
Right, says she. She spit on her hand before shaking to clinch the deal. Then came a busy fortnight. The animals had to be moved from the biggest shed and the place made cloean. Her male relatives hastily built a table or two from rough planking. Hay would do fine for the Marines, but the sergeant and visiting gentry needed a stool. A barrel or two of whiskey was rolled in from that secret still in the hills run by her cousin. Mugs were gathered from the entire community - enough to do a company of Marines. Finally came the carton of tiny paper umbrellas to place in the drinks. She was open to business.
As well as serving to the needs of the Marines, the shebeen turned into a coach house for business men from Clonmel, who dealt both with Cork and Waterford. This was the famous Banconi Stagecoach Line.
The place boomed. But only for a while! By 1834, the nations first railway line had opened from Dublin to the nearby port of Kingstown (now, Dun Laoghaire), some 11 miles away. The writing was on the wall and the Marine lost the bulk of its traffic.
Then the Famine struck, and wagon-loads of the dead were hauled to anonymous graves just down the old road from the Marine (is there a geocache near there? I'm sure there is!)
After the clearout to America of the local Kielys, Murphys' and the Daleys. A century later one of these Daleys rose to prominence in Chicago. The monument to Richard Daley, the famous Chicago mayor, who made Jack Kennedy president, is just a mile down the road from the Marine (is there a geocache near there? I'm sure there is!)
And the picture turns, In 1994 Christie O Neill bought the fading local pub. By now, any vestigal memory of the Redcoats had faded and everyone assumed that the Marines being referred to were the souls who braved the nearby Irish Sea as fisherman and merchant men.
200 years and the Marine is still a shebeen at heart. Christie and Helen still run the pub, Christie is a fine musician and the pub is renowned for its music sessions. Christie is more than happy to have let me place this cache here.
The Cache
The cache is a small tupperware click-lock box, with a logbook and pen enclosed. For the ftf and ftt (first to take) there's a free coffee on me somewhere close. Parking is available on site. As for stealth, use discretion. Please replace the cache in the way you found it. Have fun....Mini-Tap
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oruvaq n ynetr gerr, 1 zrger uvtu