Dunmore East
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Dunmore East Irish: An Dún Mór Thoir |
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Dunmore East harbour and lighthouse
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 Dunmore East
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| Coordinates: 52°09′18″N 6°59′46″W / 52.155°N 6.996°WCoordinates: 52°09′18″N 6°59′46″W / 52.155°N 6.996°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| County | County Waterford |
| Elevation | 40 m (130 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 1,559 |
| Irish Grid Reference | S687007 |
Dunmore East (Irish: An Dún Mór Thoir) is a popular tourist and fishing village in County Waterford, Ireland. Situated on the west side of Waterford Harbour on Ireland's southeastern coast, it lies within the barony of Gaultier (Gáll Tír – "foreigners' land" in Irish): a reference to the influx of Viking and Norman settlers in the area.
Iron Age people established a promontory fort overlooking the sea at Shanoon (referred to in 1832 as meaning the 'Old Camp' but more likely Canon Power's Sean Uaimh, 'Old Cave') at a point known for centuries as Black Nobb, where the old pilot station now stands, and underneath which a cave runs. Henceforth the place was referred to as Dun Mor, the Great Fort.
Fish was an important part of the people's diet, and for hundreds of years a fishing community lived here.
In 1640, Lord Power of Curraghmore, who owned a large amount of property in the area, built a castle on the cliff overlooking the strand about two hundred metres from St. Andrew's Church. The castle was falling into ruin by the middle of the next century and now just one tower remains.
The old church of Killea (Cill Aodha — Aodh's Church, Aodh is Irish for Hugh) is thought to have been built in the twelfth century and one wall still stands, opposite the Roman Catholic church of The Holy Cross, at the top of Killea hill.
In Smith's history of Waterford, the village was mentioned as being a fishing port about the year 1745. The fishermen's homes were situated in the Lower Village near the Strand Inn and boats were launched from the slip at Lawlor's Beach before the harbour was built. There is mention of a fleet of fifty fishing boats working from Dunmore East in 1776.
In 1812 a decision was made at Westminster to create an entirely new landing point for passengers and mails coming to Ireland from London and southern England. The location selected was Dunmore East and £118,000 was set aside for the erection of a pier there. In 1814 dramatic changes took place when Alexander Nimmo, the Scottish engineer (builder of Limerick's Sarsfield Bridge) commenced work on the new harbour at Dunmore to accommodate the packet station for ships, which carried the Royal Mail between England and Ireland. The work consisted mainly of a massive pier or quay with an elegant lighthouse at the end. Nimmo's original estimate had been £20,000 but at the time of his death in 1832 about £93,000 had been spent and the final cost was £108,000. By then (1837) the harbour had started to silt up, and the arrival of steam meant that the winding river could be negotiated easily, so the packet station was transferred to Waterford.
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