Waterford is Ireland’s Oldest City and the estuary played a pivotal role in it. It was the estuary that acted as a gateway for the early Viking settlers. Norman and Cromwellian conquests also feature strongly in local history as do events from both World Wars. The Port of Waterford was a significant international port for many years and there is a wealth of history to be discovered. The river and estuary are also vibrant bio-diversity habitats with a range of flora, fauna and aquatic life.
Built by the Vikings over a thousand years ago Reginald's Tower is Irelands oldest civic building. Standing at the apex of Waterford's Viking Triangle the tower features in many historical episodes from Strongbow to Cromwell, Perkin Warbeck, King James II and many more.
In the 5th century a Welsh monk named Dubhán, seeking to lead a life of solitude, founded a monastery on the site where the old church of Churchtown now stands, 1.6 km north of Hook Head overlooking the entrance into Waterford Harbour. The promontory became known as Rinn Dubhán or Point of Dubhan. By coincidence, the word dubhán or duáin in the Irish language means fishing hook. Following the Anglo-Norman invasion, Dubhán was translated to Hook or Point of Hook. Later it was also known as Hook Head and sometimes just The Hook. The Monks maintained a fire on the peninsula as a beacon to ships. Today it is one of the oldest operational lighthouses in the world.
A monastic settlement existed on Little Island from the 6th to the 8th Century A.D. A carving of a monk’s head from this period adorns the castle entrance to this day. The Vikings arrived in the 9th century and two fortifications were constructed on Island Vryk ‘Dane’s Island’. The Normans came next invading in 1170 and Maurice Fitzgerald, Stongbow’s cousin, was held prisoner on Little Island by the Ossermen during the conquest. He was duly rewarded with much land in the aftermath and thusly the island would become home to the Earls of Kildare for eight centuries.
You will make your own way to the meeting points