Dunmore East

Dunmore East is a small village on the coast of County Waterford in southeast Ireland. Its Irish name Dún Mór means "big fort", and has been applied to innumerable hillocks where ancient people huddled in the wind and rain, so this one is specifically Dunmore East. It acquired a good harbour in the 19th century, and became a fishing port and tourist resort. In 2016 it had a population of 1808.

Get in
See Waterford for long distance routes by air, rail and road.

Suirway Bus 611 runs from Waterford M-Sa every 90 min, taking 25 min. In Waterford it starts from the bus stop on the quay outside the main bus station. In Dunmore it starts from opposite Bay Cafe.

Get around
The village is small enough to walk around.

See

 * The Harbour is surprisingly large for such a small village. In the early 19th century there were grand schemes for a new mail and passenger service from England, and Dunmore was to be the Irish port. A new harbour was completed in 1837, massively over-budget and just in time to be obsolete, as steam-powered ships could wend their way upriver to Waterford city. However it did boost the local fishing industry, and helped with tourism as cruise liners could land passengers here by tender.
 * Upper Village is the area north of the harbour. The coast here is rocky, good for angling. The Round Tower is all that's left of the castle built in 1640: it's just a stump.
 * Lower Village north of that has the sandy Lawlor's Beach.

Do

 * Dunmore Adventure by the harbour run various water-based activities, including the Wibit inflatable obstacle course.
 * Dunmore Angling is a boat charter operation, mostly for angling but when there's demand they do scenic boat trips and dive trips.
 * The cliff walk follows the coast west for 5 km to Portally Cove, which has road access.
 * Dunmore East Golf Club contains the holiday resort, see Sleep. There's an amateur golf classic tournament in April: the next is probably 26-29 April 2021 but tbc.
 * Bluegrass Festival is held at the end of August. The 2020 event was cancelled and the next is expected to be 27-29 Aug 2021.

Buy

 * By the harbour are Centra (daily 07:00-22:30) and Spar (daily 07:00-21:00).

Eat

 * O'Shea's Fish & Chips on Glenville Terrace is open Su, Tu-Th 16:30-21:00, F Sa 16:30-22:00.
 * Star House Chinese restaurant by the harbour is open daily 16:30-22:00.

Sleep

 * Avon Lodge is a smart B&B at The Garage on R684, tel +353 51 385 775.

Connect
As of Oct 2020, there is a good mobile and 4G signal from Three and Vodafone, but no coverage by Eir. 5G has not reached this area.

Go next

 * Waterford for city amenities and the excellent medieval museum.
 * Tramore is a bigger resort with a better beach, as its name implies.
 * Lismore has several castles, gardens and mansions, some downright eccentric.