Welcome to Festive Star 2025, Waterford's Christmas Annual - OUT NOW!

I’m delighted to introduce you to our bumper seventh edition of Festive Star, which is in shops now!

Waterford is a particularly special place at Christmas time - and not just because we are home to Winterval, Ireland’s supreme Christmas festival. We are also home to so much more that is quintessentially Waterford at Christmas. 

The Christmas Swim

We are home to possibly the greatest selection of festive swim destinations in the country - from Tramore to events all along the Copper Coast as far as Dungarvan and beyond. Most Déise families will have a brave festive dipper or two among their number! 

We’ve a wonderful story in Festive Star on our love of the sea-swim - which, of course, we just call... swimming!

Our loyal contributors bring you this, and countless more distinctly Waterford anecdotes and memories, sharing their immense local knowledge in our choice of stories.

Nostalgia

Christmas nostalgia is something Waterford people have long cherished, and which our local newspapers, in time-honoured tradition, love to promulgate. A Christmas supplement to the Waterford News & Star was part and parcel of Christmas in the newspaper right back to the 19th century - from hence it has continued almost uninterrupted. 

The Festive Star Christmas Annual continues this delightful tradition, showcasing photos and stories of yore for Waterfordians to enjoy. 

Whether that is looking back 25 years to our recent past, with our wonderful photographic selection - Waterford News & Star photographer and keeper of our archives, Joe Evans, has gathered a fantastic collection of memories of the Millennium year for this year’s Festive Star, including some delightful festive snapshots.

Milestones

We also like to mark other milestones, such as what was happening in Waterford a century ago, and the many great organisations, communities, businesses and groups that celebrate their own significant birthdays this year - such as Waterford Panto Society, Waterford Youth Arts and the Waterford city community of Ballybeg.

So You Think You Know Waterford!

Here in our offices in Gladstone Street we also love to concoct some challenges for you, dear reader, and we have two masterminds on board once again, with Cllr Jason Murphy’s ‘So You Think You Know Waterford!’ quiz and Dan Linehan’s The Great Waterford Crossword.

Fun for the whole family

Our Christmas Annual is for the whole family - we’ve a gift and fashion guide to direct you through the season, a delicious array of recipes, children’s puzzles and fun competitions, a superb selection of sports stories, and so much more. 

Competitions

Don’t forget to send in your competition entries before the January 2nd deadline - our very generous businesses have come up with some fantastic prizes for us to give away!

Greetings, creative writing and more...

Thanks to all those who contributed in any way to this edition of Festive Star, whether you sent in Christmas greetings, short stories, poems, personal memories, social history, recipes, and so much more besides.

Festive Star has become a family and we are delighted to once again grace Waterford coffee tables - alongside the RTÉ Guide no doubt!

The harder news of the day can wait a while, so put the kettle on and curl up by the fire with Festive Star, make it part of your Christmas traditions!

Beannachtaí na Nollag gach daoine,

Mary Frances Ryan

Festive Star Editor