Charles Bacik, the father of the Dublin Bay South, Labour Party TD Ivana Bacik was imprisoned by the Nazis during World War II. On his release, he emigrated to Ireland and formed a partnership with an Irish gift-shop owner, Bernard Fitzpatrick to start Waterford Glass. Shortly afterwards, In the early 1950’s, the company struggled financially and was taken over by the Irish Glass Bottle Company.
Mr Bacik continued to work for the company as a manager until 1974 and as a board member until 1984. He died in 1991.
The September meeting of Waterford’s Metropolitan District heard a proposal from Green Party Councillor Jody Power to rename the Plaza in front of the current Waterford Crystal building to Charles Bacik Plaza.
The proposal was seconded by Fine Gael Councillor Lola O’Sullivan. The proposal will now be publicly advertised and a statutory two month period will be allowed to allow for public submissions.
However, according to the Waterford News & Star, the Plaza ownership is a matter of debate. Raymond Moloney from Waterford County Council Environmental Services said that the land was a public space but couldn’t say for sure who it was owned by.
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