Nestled in the south
east of Ireland, over 714 square miles, is the picturesque
county of Waterford. The breathtaking hinterland of the
Comeragh and Knockmealdon Mountains sweeps down through
wooded hills and valleys to a coastline of dramatic cliffs
and unspoiled sandy beaches.
Derived from the Viking 'Vethrafjorthr' meaning
weather haven, County Waterford is steeped in history,
heritage and culture. Waterford's Celtic and Viking
past is on display at the Lismore Heritage Centre
and 'Waterford Treasures' at the Granary.Visitors
can enjoy the magnificent Lismore Castle, Mount Melleray
Abbey, the medieval city of Waterford and the county's
premier tourist attraction - Waterford Crystal, attracting
over 350,000 visitors each year to an outstanding
Visitors Centre and Gallery complex.
The peninsulas each side of the county are both
beautiful but quite different in character. West
of Dungarvan is a wild and beautiful peninsula containing
the historic seaside resort of Ardmore and The Gaeltacht,
a unique Gaelic speaking area. South-East of Waterford
City is the East Waterford Gaultier Coast, a peninsula
with a distinct Anglo-Norman character, containing
the seaside resort of Dunmore East.
The Celtic Sea, that part of the Atlantic which
touches and shapes the Waterford coast, has created
a coastline of rugged beauty and contains one of
the leading seaside resorts in the country at Tramore
and the smaller, popular resorts at Annestown, Bunmahon,
Stradbally and Clonea.
The rocks of the Copper Coast GeoPark record geological
events over 460 millions years. Comeragh MountainsThe
Comeragh/Monavullagh range of very accessible mountains
are the spine of the county, with superb leisure
facilities in the mountain resort of Ballymacarbry.
They stretch from the coast near Dungarvan inland
as far as Clonmel. The Knockmealdown Mountains form
the north-west boundary of the county, served from
Lismore, Cappoquin and Ballyduff.
Rising in the Devils Bit Mountains the River Suir
flows through the limestone country formaing a natural
border between South Tipperary and Waterford. It
reaches the sea at Dunmore East, between the headlands
of Hook and Crook.
County Waterford is known locally as "The Decies" (An
Déise). Sometime between the 4th and 8th centuries,
a tribe of native Gaelic people called the Déisi
were driven from the southern parts of the country,
conquering and settling here. The ancient principality
of the Déise is today roughly coterminous
with the current Diocese of Waterford and Lismore.
The Deise region has two mountain ranges, rivers and
lakes and over 30 beaches along a volcanic coast line.
It is one of the few regions in Ireland with a Gaeltacht,
an area with native Irish speaking people. The Deise
has a rich history from megalithic tombs and ogham
stones, to Vikings, to remnants of English occupancy,
including the Gaulstown Dolmen, Reginalds Tower and
The Ballysaggartmore Towers respectively. The people
who live in the Deise today are known to thrive on
Irish traditions such as hurling and eating blaas (a
type of floury bread roll, unique to the region).
