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Dungarvan

This article is about the County Waterford town. For the County Kilkenny village, see Dungarvan, County Kilkenny. For the New Brunswick river, see Dungarvon River.

Dungarvan (Irish: Dún Garbhán, meaning 'Garbhann's Fort') is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of County Waterford. Waterford City and County Council retains administrative offices in the town.[2][3] The town is in a townland and civil parish of the same name.[4]

Dungarvan
Irish: Dún Garbhán
Town
Dungarvan's harbour
Dungarvan's harbour
Coat of arms of Dungarvan
Coat of arms
Motto(s): 
Ní Maraidhe Go Stiúrthóir
Can't Have a Mariner Without a Steersman
Dungarvan is located in Ireland
Dungarvan
Dungarvan
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°05′04″N 7°38′23″W / 52.0845°N 7.6397°W / 52.0845; -7.6397
CountryIreland
ProvinceMunster
CountyWaterford
Area
 • Total
4.63 km2 (1.79 sq mi)
Elevation
1 m (3 ft)
Population
 (2022)[1]
10,081
Time zoneUTC±0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (IST)
Eircode routing key
X35
Telephone area code+353(0)58
Irish Grid ReferenceX259930
Websitewaterfordcoco.ie

Dungarvan's Irish name means 'Garbhann's fort', referring to Saint Garbhann who founded a church there in the seventh century.[5] The town had a population of 10,081 at the 2022 census, making it the third most populous in the county.[1]

Location and access

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The town lies on the N25 road (European route E30), which connects Cork, Waterford and Rosslare Europort. It is around 40 kilometres (25 mi) south-west of Waterford and 60 kilometres (37 mi) north-east of Cork.

Dungarvan is situated at the mouth of the Colligan River, which divides the town into two parishes - that of Dungarvan to the west, and that of Abbeyside to the east. These parishes are connected in three places by a causeway and single-span bridge built by the Dukes of Devonshire starting in 1801;[6] by an old railway bridge; and by a ring-road causeway and bridge.

History

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Dungarvan Castle dates to at least the early 13th century
 
Food riot in Dungarvan during the Great Famine. (The Pictorial Times, 1846)

Evidence of ancient settlement in the Dungarvan area includes standing stone, ringfort, bullaun and reputed paleolithic burial sites in the surrounding townlands, including in Luskanargid, Kilgreany, Kilrush and Mapestown.[7][8] Several sources propose that the town is of Viking origin,[9] and evidence of Hiberno-Norse settlement in the area dates to at least the 10th century.[10]

The Anglo-Norman Dungarvan Castle, commissioned in the late 12th or early 13th century by King John of England,[11] stands by the harbour on the site of an earlier (possibly Hiberno-Norse) fortification.[12] The structure of Dungarvan Castle, including a shell keep of a type atypical in Ireland, dates to c.1209.[11]

A 13th century Augustinian abbey, now the site of Saint Augustine's Catholic Church (built 1832), was founded by Thomas FitzMaurice FitzGerald (c.1145–1213).[13][14] The remains of another 13th century church, on the opposite side of the harbour, are similarly found on the grounds of Saint Mary's church (built 1831).[15]

The town of Dungarvan was incorporated in the 15th century, was represented by two members in the Irish Parliament until the Act of Union in 1801, and returned one member to the Westminster Parliament until 1885. Unlike nearby Waterford and Duncannon, Dungarvan surrendered without a siege in the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–53).

The remains of a woolly mammoth were discovered in the town in 1859 by postmaster and amateur antiquarian Edward Brenan.[16]

The 1921 Burgery ambush, an incident in the Irish War of Independence, took place near the town.

Irish language

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As of the 2011 census, approximately 3% of the town's population, or 242 persons were then daily Irish speakers, outside of the education system.[17] Irish language immersion education is available at pre-school and primary school level in Dungarvan's Gaelscoil, Scoil Garbhán. The Irish Language Officer of Waterford City and County Council is based in Dungarvan.

There are a range of activities and projects undertaken to strengthen the Irish language in the town. An Irish in Business award was established in 2009 to recognise businesses in Dungarvan and West Waterford who work to promote the Irish language.[18]

The town is home to an office of Glór na nGael, a national body that promotes the Irish language in three areas, the language in the family, in Business and enterprise, and community development. The Dungarvan office is responsible for Glór na nGael's work across South Leinster and most of Munster.[19]

There is also contact between the town and the nearby Gaeltacht area of Ring, County Waterford and Old Parish which make up Gaeltacht na nDéise. Dungarvan was identified as a potential Gaeltacht Service Town under the Gaeltacht Act 2012.[20]

Geography

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Dungarvan is situated at the mouth of the Colligan River. Dungarvan Harbour as such is formed by The Quay (on the town side) and The Causeway. A single-span bridge was built in the late 18th century by Lord Devonshire to link Dungarvan with Abbeyside and indeed Waterford via said causeway. Outside the harbour, a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) sandbar, "The Cunnigar" (Irish An Coinigéar) defines the western limit of the 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) wide Dungarvan Bay. The Cunnigar encloses the estuary of the River Brickey which flows out to sea at Abbeyside without actually joining the Colligan. The two estuaries are separated by "The Point".

Religion

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A friary in Abbeyside, founded by the Augustinians in the 13th century, is partially incorporated with the structure of a 20th-century Roman Catholic church. One of the most significant colleges in the town was also founded by these Augustinians, whose order remains active locally and maintains a parish church nearer to Main Street.[22]

Toponymy

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In everyday local usage, "Dungarvan" is taken to refer to the western, more commercial half of the town, where the administrative buildings and shopping areas are situated.[23]

Transport

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Devonshire Bridge

Road

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Dungarvan is positioned on the N25 national primary road and the R672 and R675 regional roads.

Maritime

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Dungarvan harbour

The town is separated from the open ocean by a shallow, eastward-facing bay. At its mouth, the bay is about two miles wide, with Dungarvan lying about four miles from the mouth. A meandering navigation channel marked by red/green buoys leads into Dungarvan from the ocean. For most vessels (except small dinghies) this channel is not navigable at low tide. Even at high tide, cruising yachts and larger vessels must be careful to remain in the buoyed channel. There is a concrete slipway in Dungarvan town, suitable for launching vessels up to eight metres in length.[citation needed]

Bus

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Dungarvan is served by several bus routes. The Cork to London Eurolines coach, which provides a daily overnight cross channel service, stops at Dungarvan.[citation needed] Bus Éireann Expressway route number 40 runs hourly in each direction providing a link to Cork, Waterford and Rosslare Europort. Bus Éireann's route number 362 also provides a commuter link to Waterford. Several Local Link bus services terminate in the town, including the service to Tallow via Lismore.[24] Dublin Coach serve the town on its M9 Cork to Dublin route via Waterford, passing through every two hours.

Rail

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Until 1967, Dungarvan had a railway station on the now dismantled Mallow to Waterford line and was served by the Rosslare to Cork boat train.[25] The Waterford Greenway has been developed along the former line to Waterford since 2017.[26]

Local government

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See also: Dungarvan Town Council

While there is evidence of local governance in Dungarvan from at least the 15th century, the historic corporation was extinct before the Acts of Union 1800.[27] A board of town commissioners was established in 1855.[28] Following the passing of the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, the local authority became an urban district council in 1899.[29][30] It became a town council in 2002.[31] In common with all other town councils in Ireland, it was abolished under the Local Government Reform Act 2014.[32][33]

The local electoral area (LEA) of Dungarvan elects six councillors to Waterford City and County Council. With the three-seat LEA of Lismore, it forms the Municipal District of Dungarvan—Lismore.[34] Meetings of the Dungarvan—Lismore District Council are held in the Civic Offices, Dungarvan.[35]

Industry

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GlaxoSmithKline's consumer products division has a manufacturing plant in Dungarvan which, as of 2011, employed approximately 700 people.[36] The town is also the home of Radley Engineering, the company responsible for manufacturing the Spire of Dublin.[37] Dungarvan previously had a tannery, a distillery, a gasworks, and a fishing fleet. In the later 20th century, a source of trade and employment was Dungarvan Cooperative (creamery), which connected the town of Dungarvan with its agricultural hinterland.[citation needed]

International relations

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Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland

Twin towns – sister cities

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Dungarvan has been twinned with Erie, Pennsylvania in the US since March 2007.[citation needed] Mercyhurst College, located in Erie, hosts the Global Intelligence Forum held annually in Dungarvan.

Entente Florale

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Dungarvan participated in the 2018 Entente Florale competition, organised by the European Association for Flowers and Landscape (AEFP), and received a silver medal.[38]

Literature

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Tadhg Gaelach Ó Súilleabháin (c. 1715 – 1795), a composer of 18th century Irish bardic poetry, lived in Dungarvan for several years. While there, he experienced a religious conversion and subsequently wrote mainly Christian poetry in Munster Irish.[citation needed]

The British poet laureate, Sir John Betjeman (who lived in Ireland from 1941 to 1943) mentions Dungarvan in his poem, "The Irish Unionist's Farewell to Greta Hellstrom". Each stanza closes with the line, "Dungarvan in the rain". Irish poet Mai O'Higgins was born on Saint Mary Street in the town centre.[39]

Dungarvan is referred to in the collection of short stories Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges: "He was Irish, from Dungarvan. Having said this, he stopped short, as if he had revealed a secret".[citation needed] Dungarvan is also mentioned in the 2002 novel The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor.[citation needed]

People

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Church and old cemetery in Dungarvan
See also: Category:People from Dungarvan

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Interactive Data Visualisations: Towns: Dungarvan". Census 2022. Central Statistics Office. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  2. ^ "County Waterford In Context". Waterford City and County Council. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  3. ^ Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee Report 2013p. 124: The new local electoral area in the west of the county acknowledges the position and status of Dungarvan, which is currently the 'county' town of Waterford County Council and has a town council.
  4. ^ "Dún Garbhán/Dungarvan". Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Dungarvan History". dungarvan.ie. Archived from the original on 31 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Factual - Key Dates in the History of Dungarvan - Waterford County Museum". www.waterfordmuseum.ie. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  7. ^ Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford. Dublin: Government Stationery Office. 1999.
  8. ^ Tratman, E. (1929). "Excavations at Kilgreany Cave, near Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, 1928". Nature. 123 (757): 757. Bibcode:1929Natur.123..757T. doi:10.1038/123757b0.
  9. ^ Curtis, E (1929). "Sheriff's accounts of the house of Dungarvan, Twescard in Ulster and of County Waterford, 1261-63". Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 39C: 1–17.
  10. ^ "2000:0990 - Shandon, Dungarvan, Waterford". excavations.ie. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Dungarvan Castle". heritageireland.ie. Office of Public Works. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  12. ^ Keohan, Edmond (1924). Illustrated History of Dungarvan (PDF). Waterford News Ltd. p. 9 – via waterfordcoco.ie.
  13. ^ "Saint Augustine's Catholic Church, Friar's Walk, Abbeyside, Dungarvan, Waterford". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  14. ^ Bradley, J.; Halpin, A.; King, H (1989). Urban archaeology Survey of Waterford City and County. Office of Public Works. pp. 34–40. An Augustinian abbey was founded c. 1290 by Thomas Fitzmaurice Fitzgerald. By the Suppression in 1541 it served as a parish church and it was in ruins by 1654 [..] The tower is incorporated into the modern St Augustine's RC church which is built on the site of the N transept
  15. ^ "Saint Mary's Church (Dungarvan), Emmet Street, Dungarvan, Dungarvan, Waterford". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Key Dates in the History of Dungarvan". waterfordmuseum.ie. Waterford County Museum. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Census 2011 Reports". CSO. April 2011. Archived from the original on 4 May 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Irish Language" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015. GRADAM GNÓ NA nDÉISE Irish in Business Awards 2016 - Waterford City and County Council
  19. ^ "Glór na nGael office in Dungarvan". Glór na nGael.[permanent dead link‍]
  20. ^ "Gaeltacht Service Towns". Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. 3 December 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  21. ^ "Post 2002 figures include environs of Dungarvan". Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2009. For a discussion on the accuracy of pre-famine census returns see J. J. Lee "On the accuracy of the pre-famine Irish censuses" in Irish Population, Economy and Society edited by JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson (1981) p54, and also "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700–1850" by Joel Mokyr and Cormac Ó Gráda in The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Nov. 1984), pp. 473–488
  22. ^ "The History Of The Augustinians In Dungarvan". www.thefriarydungarvan.ie. Archived from the original on 21 December 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  23. ^ "Photo Archive - Waterford County Museum". www.waterfordmuseum.ie. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  24. ^ "New Local Link 6-day Service - Tallow to Dungarvan and Fermoy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  25. ^ "Dungarvan". Eiretrains.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  26. ^ "Deise Greenway, the Waterford Greenway group". Deisegreenway.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  27. ^ Commissioners appointed to inquire into the municipal corporations in Ireland (1835). "Dungarvan". Appendix to the First Report, Part I: Southern, midland, western and south-eastern circuits, and part of the north-eastern circuit. Command papers. Vol. 27. HMSO. p. 64. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  28. ^ William Fraher (1991). "A Calendar of the Minutes & Records of Dungarvan Town Commissioners & Urban District Council 1855–1950" (PDF). Dungarvan Museum Society – via waterfordcoco.ie.
  29. ^ "Downgrading our towns". Dungarvan Observer. 25 April 2014. The Urban District Council, taking over from Town Commissioners, was established in 1899
  30. ^ Clancy, John Joseph (1899). A handbook of local government in Ireland: containing an explanatory introduction to the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898: together with the text of the act, the orders in Council, and the rules made thereunder relating to county council, rural district council, and guardian's elections: with an index. Dublin: Sealy, Bryers and Walker. p. 437.
  31. ^ Local Government Act 2001, 6th Sch.: Local Government Areas (Towns) (No. 37 of 2001, 6th Sch.). Enacted on 21 July 2001. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 3 August 2022.
  32. ^ Local Government Reform Act 2014, s. 24: Dissolution of town councils and transfer date (No. 1 of 2014, s. 24). Enacted on 27 January 2014. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 May 2022.
  33. ^ "Dáil Éireann debate - Wednesday, 26 Sep 2018 - Local Government (Restoration of Town Councils) Bill 2018: Second Stage". Houses of the Oireachtas. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  34. ^ City and County of Waterford Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 (S.I. No. 635 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Archived from the original on 23 January 2020. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 5 October 2022.
  35. ^ "About the Dungarvan/Lismore District Council". Waterford City and County Council. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  36. ^ "130 jobs lost at GlaxoSmithKline plant in Dungarvan". thejournal.ie. Journal Media Ltd. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  37. ^ "Radley Engineering - About Us". radleyeng.com. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  38. ^ "Press Release: Silver on the double for beautiful Dungarvan in Entente Florale" (PDF). waterfordcouncil.ie. Waterford City and County Council. September 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  39. ^ "Mai O'Higgins back on song". Waterford News & Star. 8 October 2004. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011.
  40. ^ "'There were some really dark days' - Niamh Briggs finds a new lease of life". the42.ie. Journal Media Ltd. 10 March 2018. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  41. ^ "John Deasy TD". finegael.ie. Fine Gael. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  42. ^ "Political and family life of late Austin Deasy recalled". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 12 June 2017. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  43. ^ "There's no holding her back". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 10 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  44. ^ "Moe Dunford: 'Patrick spoke to me. I know Patrick very well'". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 6 February 2015. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  45. ^ O'Reilly, Terence (2009), Rebel Heart: George Lennon: Flying Column Commander, Mercier, Pg 30, ISBN 978-1-85635-649-7
  46. ^ "Michael Lyster is ready to give it Wellie in Castlecomer!". Kilkenny People. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 25 August 2024. Michael Lyster was born in Dungarvan, Co Waterford but he grew up in Barnaderg, Co. Galway
  47. ^ "Roll of Honour". dungarvangaa.ie. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  48. ^ "Ó Súilleabháin, Tadhg Gaelach". The Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature. Oxford University Press. 2000. ISBN 978-0-19-280080-0 – via Oxford Reference.
  49. ^ Bailey, Ryan (27 December 2015). "'I supported the guys I rode against but knew something wasn't right with Lance'". The42. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  50. ^ "Million reasons for feeling home is where the heart is". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 6 September 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  51. ^ "Ernest T.S. Walton". nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB. Archived from the original on 4 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
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