Andrew Doherty

Andrew Doherty was born in 1965 in the village of Cheekpoint, Co. Waterford, Ireland. His family were fishermen and seafarers and on leaving school he became a traditional fisherman for 15 years. With the decline of fishing opportunities he worked initially in local industry before taking up his present career as a community worker. He is very involved as a volunteer in village affairs and is passionate about local history and remembering, if not reviving, the traditions of his fishing community.

He has written since his teens and in 2014 commenced a weekly blog on the maritime and fishing traditions of the three sister rivers of the Barrow, Nore & Suir and the harbour of Waterford. His first book “Before the Tide Went Out” was published in 2017. A memoir, it examined the culture, identity and practices within the fishing community of his home village and the wider harbour.

His latest work, Waterford Harbour Tides and Tales, is a collection of maritime themed stories exploring the link between local storytelling and their origins in actual events. It is published by the History Press.

He has contributed to numerous newspaper articles and heritage publications. He has participated in several TV programmes for RTE and is a regular contributor to the RTE Radio 1 Sunday Miscellany show, which is one of the top ten most listened-to programmes in Ireland, with an audience of over 250,000.

Andrew continues to blog regularly at www.tidesandtales.ie