Dungarvan

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 being connected in three places by a causeway and single-span bridge built by the Dukes of Devonshire starting in 1801;[5] by an old railway bridge; and by a ring-road causeway and bridge.

Food riot in Dungarvan during the Irish Potato Famine. (The Pictorial Times, 1846)

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

• 
  Dungarvan harbour
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  The old cemetery in Dungarvan
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  Devonshire Bridge
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  Dungarvan Castle
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  The Waterford Memorial next to Dungarvan Castle

Just over 3% of the town's population, or 242 persons are daily Irish speakers, outside of the education system. (Census 2011).[6] Education through the medium of Irish is available at pre-school and primary level in the town in the local 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.[7]

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.[8]

There is also significant contact between the town and the nearby Gaeltacht area of Ring, County Waterford and Old Parish which make up Gaeltacht na nDéise. Dungarvan has been identified as a potential Gaeltacht Service Town under the Gaeltacht Act 2012.[9] Under the Gaeltacht Act 2012, Gaeltacht Service Towns are defined as those towns situated in or adjacent to Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas and which have a significant role in providing public services, recreational, social and commercial facilities for those areas. Under the act, a language plan for the town will be developed. The aim of the language plan will be to enhance the use of the Irish language in the town.

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".

A friary in Abbeyside, founded by 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 survives and maintains an Augustinian church nearer to Main Street.[11]

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.[12]

One of the few major manufacturing facilities for GlaxoSmithKline consumer products is located in Dungarvan, employing more than 700 people. The town is also the home of Radley Engineering, the company responsible for manufacturing the Spire of Dublin. In days now gone, Dungarvan had a thriving tannery, a distillery, a gasworks, and a fishing fleet. In the latter 20th century, a major source of trade and employment was Dungarvan Cooperative (Creamery), which firmly bonded the town of Dungarvan with its agricultural hinterland.

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".

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."

Poet Mai O'Higgins was born on Saint Mary Street in the town centre.[16]

Dungarvan is also mentioned in the 2002 novel The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor.

• Physicist and Nobel Laureate Ernest Thomas Sinton Walton (6 October 1903 – 25 June 1995) was born in Abbeyside, near Dungarvan, to a Methodist minister father, Rev. John Walton (1874–1936) and Anna Sinton (1874–1906).[17] Walton was famous for his work with John Cockcroft on the splitting of the atom. The "Walton Causeway Park" in Abbeyside was dedicated in his honour. Walton himself attended the ceremony in 1989. After his death, a plaque was placed on the site of his birthplace in Abbeyside.
• John Deasy
• Austin Deasy
• Maura Derrane

• Abbeyside, near the Dungarvan urban area, on the northern side of the Colligan River.
• Dungarvan Town Council, Local authority in Dungarvan stretches back before surviving records, the earliest reference in 1463 when described in a Wexford parliament meeting of Edward IVs as an asset the King of Ireland, until destroyed in war
• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Market Houses in Ireland

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dungarvan.

• Official Dungarvan Tourist Information
• Dungarvan Town Council