How did Scouting in Waterford begin?
In 1926 the first Scout troop in Waterford came into being. It was known as St.Josephs and it had it’s headquarters at Hennessy’s Road in the city. The De La Salle Scout Group was founded in early 1928 and it was inspired by the good work done in St.Josephs. For many years De la Salle was the only Group in the city, but a Sea Scouts Group had been founded in Tramore in 1933. It was not until the late 60s and early 70s that new Scout Groups began to emerge in the city with the Sacred Heart and Ballygunner in 1967, St. Pauls in 1972 and Ferrybank in 1973. These developed at the same time as the suburbs of Waterford grew.
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Up until 1976 Scouting in Waterford had been organised on a Diocesan basis and included the wide area of Dungarvan and Clonmel, so in 1976 a Regional Structure was set up which took in just the Groups in Waterford City and South Kilkenny. This lasted until the 1st of January 2004 when the Waterford Scout County was established which once again includes the Dungarvan area. It has long been acknowledged that Waterford has been a stronghold of Scouting in Ireland. It has for example, an unparalleled record of success in national competitions and further information is available on our County History page.