WATERFORD, a maritime county of the province of Munster, in Ireland, is bounded on the north by the counties of Tipperary and Kilkenny, on the east by that of Wexford, on the south by the Atlantic, and on the west by the county of Cork. It lies between 51° 55' and 52° 20' north latitude, and 6° 58' and 8° 10' west longitude; extending twenty-eight miles in its greatest length from north to south, and fifty-two in breadth from east to west, and comprehending an area of 736 square miles, or 471,281 acres, of which 353,247 are cultivated land, and 118,034 uncultivated mountain or bog. It ranks as the twenty-first county in superficial extent, and the twentieth in that of its cultivated land.

In the time of Ptolemy the geographer, it was inhabited by the tribe of the Brigantes, whose territory’ extended from Carnsore Point in Wexford, westward along the coast to the Blackwater. It was afterwards peopled by the Desii, who are supposed to have emigrated from a tribe of the same name in Meath; and having spread themselves also over the plain country of Tipperary, those settled in Waterford were distinguished by the name of South Desii, and the others by that of North Desii. Here the Danes established a permanent settlement in the ninth century, making the city of Waterford their chief seat of government; and though frequently involved in wars with the surrounding natives, they retained possession of the city and district until their subjugation by the English, who, in 1170, under Strongbow, stormed Waterford, took their chieftain or prince prisoner, and brought the whole of the Decies into the possession of the English. Shortly after, Henry II. granted the greater part of the county to Robert le Poer, and the remainder, with that of Cork, then a petty kingdom, to Milo de Cogan, two of his followers. In 1210, King John erected the territory into a county, from which the city was excepted, being under a separate jurisdiction. In 1444 the county, together with the greater part of the rest of Munster, was granted to James earl of Desmond. A few years after, both county and city were granted to John Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury, who was then created earl of Waterford; but both lands and title were resumed by the king under the statute 28th Hen. VIII., which vested the lands of absentee proprietors in the crown. The county suffered severely in the reign of Elizabeth, through the rebellion of the earl of Desmond, and the Spanish invasion; and also in the wars of 1641, during the first years of which, its possession was the subject of continued sanguinary contention between the English and Irish forces, until it was ultimately reduced under the authority of the English parliament by Cromwell. During the war of the Revolution, it took part with King James, and was reduced by King William’s forces under General Kirk, after the decisive battle of the Boyne.

The general character of the county is mountainous. The Knockmeledown ridge, the highest point of which is 2598 feet above the sea-level, ranges along its north-western boundary, forming the line of demarcation on the side of Tipperary. The Cummeragh and Monevolagh Mountains lie in a direction nearly north and south from the east of Clonmel to Dungarvan; their loftiest summit, Knockanafrian, is 2469 feet high. On several of the summits of these mountains arc large piles of stones, apparently of artificial construction, but of unknown origin. To the south of Dungarvan are the Drum Mountains, much lower than the preceding, but rugged and difficult of passage. They form the division between two of the baronies. The south-eastern district is low, of alluvial formation, and [7:21:810]forms a kind of peninsula, cut off from the remainder of the county by a line of marshy land, which has the appearance of having been once under water. There are no large rivers in the interior. The Suir forms its northern boundary, from beyond Clonmel, to the estuary formed by its junction with the combined waters of the Barrow and Nore. Vessels of 800 tons come up to the city of Waterford, where they can discharge their cargoes at the quay; barks and large lighters can proceed upwards to Carrick-on-Suir, and boats of fifty tons to Clonmel. The Blackwater, called also the Owenduff and Owenmore, “the black and the great river,” after flowing through the western part of the county, forms part of the boundary on the side of Cork county, and discharges itself into Youghal harbour. It is navigable for vessels under 100 tons to its confluence with the Bride, a smaller stream which joins it from the west. The Brickey empties itself into Dungarvan harbour. The Neir, in the west of the county, is a small tributary of the Suir. There are no lakes, except a few of very small size in the Cummeragh Mountains, the largest, called Cumme-loughs, are but six or eight acres in extent, the others, called Stilloughs, smaller. A tract at Ballyscanlan, in Middlethird barony, covered with water during winter, subsides into a small lake in the dry season. The county enjoys the benefit of an extensive line of sea-coast. Two miles east of the city is the Little Island, of triangular shape: after which the coast takes a southern direction, forming the western side of Waterford harbour, at the entrance of which is the pier harbour of Dunmore, with a lighthouse exhibiting a fixed light, red towards the sea and bright inland. The harbour, in which vessels of fifteen feet draught may lie afloat, covers a cove of six acres. West of Dunmore are the small islands of Fileskirt. Farther westward, between Brownstown and Newtown-heads, is Tramore Bay, notorious for shipwrecks. A vessel caught in it finds it almost impossible to work out by plying to windward. The ground is so foul and rocky, that cables are frequently cut and ships lost. The north-west is the only part which affords a possibility of escape, the east being so shoal and rocky that vessels driven on that side are involved in terrible breakers at a considerable distance from shore. Proceeding westward are the small grassy rocks called the Islands of Jeane, and the inlets called Bonmahon, Clonea, and Rineshark. Dungarvan harbour affords shelter to vessels of ten feet water. Ardmore Bay and Whiting Bay are still farther west. Youghal harbour forms the western boundary of the county. Off the coast, and extending along that of the southern part of the adjoining county of Wexford, is the Nymph Bank, long looked upon as an inexhaustible source of supply of round fish, but, according to late reports, much less productive than had been represented; the fish not being abundant, and of a poorer description than those taken on other banks.

The eastern part of the county consists of clay-slate, interrupted by small patches of primitive limestone, susceptible of a high polish, and by conglomerate and basalt, which latter appears in a columnar form on the cliffs over the sea. A copper mine at Knockmahon has been worked for several years, with good profit, by the Mining Company of Ireland. The ore is sent in a crude state to Swansea to be smelted. The average annual produce is stated at 4500 tons, valued at L.40,000. Lead was formerly raised in large quantities in the same district. The veins in the hill of Cruach and on the shore at Kilmurrin are said to have given out a large quantity of silver. The western part of the county is old conglomerate, with red, purple, green, and gray clay-slate. It is bordered in many parts by a band of millstone grit and white sandstone, which also constitutes the fringe of a broad bed of carbonated or mountain limestone, that passes through a great part of the interior from east to west Slates from the quarries south of Lismore are raised at an average of 2800 tons annually, value L.4200. Mineral veins are also found in this district. At Ardmore an iron mine was formerly wrought from which steel of superior quality was said to have been fabricated. The sandstone in many places is wrought into millstones. Ochres, boles, and clays, fit for the manufacture of earthenware, are found in various places.

The population of the county, according to calculations made at different periods, was as follows:
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According to the last of these returns, there was one inhabitant to every 3 2 / 3 th acres of the entire surface, and the same to every 2 1 / 3 d acres of cultivated land. The population, according to the return of the Commissioners of Public Instruction in 1834, which, being stated in dioceses instead of counties, cannot be considered numerically accurate, gives a total population of 182,018; of which number the members of the established church were 8391, the Protestant dissenters 861, and the Roman Catholics 172,766. The proportion of Roman Catholics to Protestants, including Protestant dissenters, is as 1 to 0·05352, or as 1 to 1 / 20 th nearly; or the Protestants are to the Roman Catholics as 1 to 18∙67. The number of children receiving instruction in public schools was as follows, according to the returns under the population act in 1821, those of the Commissioners of Education in 1824-6, of the Commissioners of Public Instruction in 1834, and of the Board of National Education in 1836-7-8-9.
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According to the return of 1824-6, in which only the religious persuasion of the people is noticed, the numbers are, of the established church, 1373; dissenters, 100; Roman Catholics, 13,662; religious persuasion not ascertained, 46. Out of the total number of 284 schools, stated in the same return, 22, having 1363 pupils, were maintained wholly by grants of public money; 32, having 3648 pupils, by voluntary contribution; the remaining 230 schools, containing 10,271 pupils, were maintained wholly by the fees paid by the relatives of the children.

The county is divided into the eight baronies of Coshbride, Coshmore, Decies within Drum, Decies without Drum, Gualtier, Glenaheiry, Middlethird, and Upperthird, which are subdivided into seventy-four parishes, thirty-three in the diocese of Waterford, and forty-one in that of Lismore; the cathedrals of each of these being in the cities of the same name with the respective dioceses. It sent eight members to the Irish parliament, two for the county, and two each for the city of Waterford and the boroughs of Dungarvan, Lismore, and Tallow. By the arrangements at the time of the union, the number was reduced to four, two for the county, and one each for Waterford city and Dungarvan. The reform act for Ireland added one member to the city. The constituency of the county under the act of 1829, by which the forty-shilling freeholders were disfranchised, and at other periods since the passing of the reform act in 1832, was as follows;
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The number of electors is, according to the last of these returns, to that of the number of inhabitants, as 1 to 123, and to that of families of six individuals each, as 1 to 20. The county is included in the Leinster circuit. The assizes are held in the city of Waterford, where the county prison is fixed. General sessions of the peace are held four times in the year in that city; twice a year at Dungarvan, and twice at Lismore; in each of which towns there are a court-house and a bridewell. The local government is vested in a lieutenant, fourteen deputy-lieutenants, fifty-nine other unpaid magistrates, and a stipendiary magistrate. The constabulary force consists of a county inspector, five sub-inspectors, six head constables, and 150 constables and sub-constables. The county infirmary and the lunatic asylum for the county and city are in Waterford city, where also is a fever hospital; and there are others in Dungarvan, Lismore, and Tallow. There are twelve dispensaries in various towns. Waterford, Dungarvan, and Lismore, have been fixed on as sites for the workhouses of poor-law unions.

Though the land is in general coarse, there is a considerable tract of rich soil, particularly in the south-eastern quarter; and the mountainous districts afford good pasturage for cattle. The estates are in general very large: that of the duke of Devonshire is the most extensive. Tillage has increased very rapidly within the present century. In 1779, not one thirtieth part was under the plough. At present, nearly two thirds are under tillage. The change has arisen in some degree from the custom of dividing farms. When the eldest daughter of a farmer married, the father divided the land with his son-in-law; the next daughter got half of his remaining share for her portion, the system of subdivision being continued as long as there were any daughters to be thus provided for. The sons were left to shift for themselves as best they could. But the attention latterly paid to introduce the most approved agricultural practices, has contributed in a much greater degree to this effect. The lands of resident gentry are now specimens worthy of imitation. The settlement of the religious fraternity of St Bernard la Trappe, near Cappoquin, the members of which devote much attention to the reclamation and improvement of a large mountainous tract granted to them for their residence, has still further stimulated the spirit of industrious exertion, and given it a judicious direction. Wheat is largely raised, clover very generally grown; but other kinds of green crops are not yet so general as in England. Lime for manure is abundant in the western parts, and large quantities of coralline sea-sand are carried into the interior for the same purpose. The fences are mostly banks of earth topped with furze in the flat country, and dry stone walls in the mountainous parts. The best breeds of cattle are to be seen on the pastures. Sheep are not a common stock; swine, raised chiefly for export, are very numerous, as are goats in the higher lands. Waterford is the principal dairy county in the island. The chief produce of these farms is butter, the export of which has increased considerably for several years. Very little cheese is made. The want of timber, both for ornamental and useful purposes, is much felt; but the deficiency is yearly diminished by the increased attention to plantations. There is but little bog. The extensive range of sea-coast, indented by numerous creeks and inlets, holds out great inducements for profitable employment in the fisheries. During the ten years’ continuance of the system of bounties, and of grants and loans for the building and repairs of boats and the purchase of fishing gear, adopted by the Board of Fisheries instituted in 1819, the sea-fishery was carried on with much spirit, and caused a large circulation of money, particularly in Dungarvan, the centre of the system. Some working fishermen accumulated capital; some became boat-owners, and some boat-owners masters of trading vessels. But on the termination of the bounties and grants, the business declined rapidly. The boats fell into decay, and were laid up. Those fishermen who had no land, but depended wholly on the success of their occupation at sea, were reduced to poverty, and, in seasons when the fishery wholly failed, to a state of utter destitution. Yet the market is so far from being overstocked, that the quantity of fish taken on the coast never equals the demand in the local markets, Scotish and Newfoundland fish being sold in very large quantities. A company formed in Waterford between thirty and forty years ago, for supplying the English markets with round fish from the Nymph Bank by well-boats, failed, owing, it is alleged, to mismanagement. The following summary exhibits the number of vessels employed in the last year in which the bounty and loan system was in operation, and in that when a second board of commissioners repeated the inquiries as to the state of the Irish fisheries.
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The coasts abound with shell-fish. Salmon, and other species of river-fish, are taken in large numbers in the Blackwater and Suir, and in the numerous smaller streams.

Carrick-on-Suir was once the centre of a very extensive woollen manufacture, which branched out into most parts of this county. It has been for many years almost extinct, the supply at present serving only for the domestic consumption of the peasantry. Linen is made in the farm-houses, but only for family use. A cotton factory has been established at Portlaw, to the west of Waterford city, which gives employment to a large number of workers. There are distilleries, breweries, and paper-mills. Flour is also extensively manufactured, and largely exported. Some glass is made at Waterford, and coarse earthenware in several places; but Waterford is not a manufacturing county. The inland trade chiefly centres in Waterford city, which is also a good emporium for the export of grain and salted provisions. Some business in both departments is also done at Dungarvan and Youghal. The exports and imports in 1838 were stated in a parliamentary return to be,—
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An act has passed for a railroad from Waterford city, to proceed along the northern side of the Suir, by Carrick-on-Suir and Clonmel, to join the great southern line near Cahir. There are six banking establishments in the county; of which one is a branch of the Bank of Ireland, two of the Provincial Bank, and the other three of the National Bank. There are eight loan companies, established under a late act, in different places. The amount of the loans in the [7:21:812]borrowers’ hands at the close of 1839 was L.4011, and the number of borrowers during the year, 3482.

Among the mansions of the nobility and gentry of large estates, the most remarkable are Lismore Castle, the seat of the duke of Devonshire, and Curraghmore, that of the marquis of Waterford. The habitations, dress, and manners of the peasantry in the rural districts, resemble those similarly circumstanced in other parts of the province, being distinguished chiefly by the difference of their modes of life, as residing on the sea-coast, the rich pasture-lands, the mountain districts, or the vicinity of a populous town. The county contains numerous remains of ancient structures. A pillar-tower at Ardmore is in a state of high preservation. Near the same place is a large rath, and several others in various parts. The remains of small circular intrenchments, mostly at short distances from each other, can also be traced. Cromlechs are also numerous, and some very large. The names of upwards of twenty monastic establishments have been preserved, but the sites of few of them are now discernible. The same may be said of the numerous castles erected in many parts of this county, long the theatre of petty wars. Natural caves are to be seen, both on the coast and in the interior, as well as others which have every appearance of owing their origin to human ingenuity. There are several mineral springs, chiefly chalybeate.

The city of Waterford is situate on the northern verge of the county, and on the southern bank of the Suir, about twenty miles from the mouth of the harbour. It was founded by the Danes, according to some authorities, as early as the middle of the second century, but, as stated by others with more probability, in the ninth century. It continued in the possession of these settlers, wholly independent of the surrounding native princes, and generally at variance with them, till the arrival of the English under Strongbow, who took it by storm, and was in the act of consummating his victory by an indiscriminate massacre of the inhabitants, when he was prevented by the interference of his ally and protector Dermott M‘Murrough, king of Leinster, whose daughter Eva he soon after married in the city. Henry II. afterwards landed here, and from that period it long continued to be one of the principal places of communication with England, and a considerable mart for foreign trade. King John, when earl of Morton, landed here in 1183. On his accession to the throne, he granted its first charter, and again visited the city the year after. In the next century it suffered twice by conflagrations, the latter time so severely, that it remained several years in a decayed state. In 1368, the citizens, under the command of the mayor, suffered a severe defeat from the Poers and O’Driscolls. At the close of the same century, Richard II. landed here on both the occasions on which he visited this part of his dominions. Money was coined here by the Danes, and a mint established by John; a privilege confirmed by Edward IV. when he abolished all the mints in Ireland except those of this city, Dublin, and Drogheda. Waterford signalized itself by its steady attachment to the royal interests during the attempts of Simnel and Warbeck, in the reign of Henry VII. The latter of these pretenders laid siege to it, but was forced to withdraw his forces, in commemoration of which the city obtained its motto, “Urbs intacta manet.” At the close of the long-continued warfare which had devastated Ireland during the latter part of Elizabeth’s reign, the citizens objected to having James proclaimed, and refused admission to Lord Mountjoy, then lord-deputy, and his forces, until compelled by his threats to submit. In the wars of 1641, they sided with the confederate Catholics, and after several vicissitudes of fortune, ultimately capitulated to the parliamentary army under lreton. In the subsequent war in 1688, they took part with King James, who here embarked for France after his defeat at the Boyne; and the city shortly afterwards surrendered, upon terms, to King William’s forces under General Kirk.

The walls of the Danish city enclosed a triangular area of about fifteen acres. The only remaining vestige of them is a round tower, built by one of the Danish sovereigns, and from him named Reginald’s Tower, which has been rebuilt from its ruins, and is now occupied as a barrack. The county of the city extends along the river from Carrick-on-Suir to Passage, and on the north side beyond the river into Kilkenny county. This portion is connected with the main body by a wooden bridge. It comprehends an area of 9683 acres, including 822 on which the city stands, and contains twelve parishes, three of which are rural. The corporation consists of a mayor, who has a sword borne before him, two sheriffs, eighteen aldermen, and eighteen assistants, with a recorder and inferior civic officers. The city returns two members to the imperial parliament. The constituency, since the passing of the reform act, consists of the resident freemen, the L.10 freeholders, the L.20 and L.10 leaseholders for a term of years, and the 40 shilling freeholders during the continuance of the existing lives. The numbers registered have been,
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The municipal courts are, a court of record twice in the week; a civil bill court, for debts from forty shillings to ten pounds; a court of conscience, for debts under forty shillings; the mayor’s court, for disputes as to servants’ wages; and a court leet and court of admiralty, both now obsolete. The city business is transacted in the town-hall, an elegant modern building. Besides the county court-house and prison already noticed, there is a city gaol, and a penitentiary or house of correction. The ecclesiastical buildings are, the cathedral, founded in 1076, but since taken down and rebuilt; several parochial churches, Roman Catholic chapels, and dissenting meeting-houses. There are several endowed schools, the principal of which are the blue-coat schools for boys and girls. Among the charitable institutions are, the Widows’ Houses; the Leper House, now a general infirmary; the Hospital of the Holy Ghost; the Fever Hospital, the first founded in Ireland; and the District Lunatic Asylum, confined to the county and city, and maintaining at present 101 patients, of whom eighteen are idiots, and eighty-three lunatics, of whom thirty-four are supposed to be curable. The literary and scientific institutions are, the Waterford Institution, with a library and museum; the Literary and Scientific Society, where lectures are delivered; an Agricultural, and a Horticultural Society. There are cattle-markets twice in the week, and chartered fairs three times in the year.

The quay, which extends along the bank of the river from one end of the town to the other, and from which most of the other streets branch out, is the most ornamented part of the city. The custom-house is in its centre. Waterford derives its wealth and importance from its commerce, which is now chiefly with Great Britain. So early as the commencement of last century, it adopted the liberal policy of admitting foreign traders to the freedom of the city, which induced several intelligent merchants from the continent to settle here. The exports are mostly cattle, sheep, pigs, grain, flour, and salted and dried provisions. Mercantile affairs are superintended by the Chamber of Commerce, incorporated in 1815, and by the Board of Harbour Commissioners, established by act of parliament in 1816 for the improvement of the port. Under their management a dock-yard has been constructed, capable of receiving vessels of very large dimensions, and the main passages of the river have been cleansed and deepened. The [7:21:813]consequence has been a rapid and extensive increase of trade. Steamers of the first class have for several years plied regularly to Liverpool and Bristol.

The population of the county of the city amounted in 1821 to 28,679, in 1831 to 28,821, and in 1834 to 29,352. Of the last-named number, 4427 were members of the established church, 429 Protestant dissenters, and 24,433 Roman Catholics. The population of the other towns containing more than 2000 souls each, was, in 1831, Dungarvan, 6519; Tallow, 2998; Lismore, 2894; Carrickbeg (a suburb of Carrick-on-Suir), 2704; Cappoquin, 2289; and Tramore, 2224. (c. P.)