Holiday in South East Ireland - County Waterford

County Waterford - Mention Waterford almost anywhere in the world and people automatically think of glass and crystal, but there is more to this county than a mixture of silica sand, lead monoxide, and potash. The Vikings were the first to recognize the advantages of this safe anchorage in the mid-ninth century. They occupied the city for over three hundred years and the Museum of Treasures has a large range of artifacts associated with this. The old city walls are peppered with Norman watchtowers, and later generations, notably the Georgians, added fine town houses along its affluent streets. Today the city has a buzz, doubtless as a result of the expanding student population, a thriving port, and a successful light industrial economy - this is a great place to stay for a self-catering holiday in Eire.

The largest employer in the city is, naturally, the glass factory with over 1400 people working for the firm. The tour around the factory shows the process by which the crystal is made, the blowers puffing on their tubes and patting the molten glass into various shapes, and finally the engravers carving the intricate designs into the finished product. At the end there is the obligatory factory shop, which is more than eager to liberate any spare cash you have.

In the far west of the county is Lismore and its castle - there are many holiday cottages to rent near Lismore. This is the Irish estate of the Duke of Devonshire and the building is probably the finest private castle in Ireland. Once owned by Sir Walter Raleigh, and then passed through the Earls of Cork to the Cavendish family, the estate has some beautiful Jacobean gardens still laid out as they initially were 400 years ago. The house is not usually open to the public but is available to rent for special events.

Waterford County has its ruins too, and in the far south is the Ardmore monastic site perched above the town, and with fine views over the coast. The ruins date from the 10th century with a Round Tower from the 12th. The stone tableaux are the chief attraction and can be found on the west wall of the cathedral. They feature an array of biblical scenes including St Michael weighing souls in his scales, and Adam and Eve being banished from the Garden of Eden. This is where St Declan apparently landed in Ireland, and if you are looking for a miraculous cure for rheumatism you can squeeze under St Declan's Stone. If you haven't got a bad back already, you will have after attempting this!

Irish tourist information

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