WATERFORD, a county of Ireland in the province of Munster. The area of Waterford is 458,108 acres, or about 716 sq.m. Pop. (1926), exclusive of Waterford City, 51,892. The coast line is in some parts bold and rocky, and is indented by numerous bays and inlets, the principal being Waterford Harbour; Tramore Bay, with picturesque cliffs and extensive caves, and noted for its shipwrecks on account of the rocky character of its bed, Dungarvan Harbour, much frequented for refuge in stormy weather, and Youghal Harbour, partly separating Co. Water ford from Co. Cork. The surface of the country is to a large extent mountainous, providing beautiful inland scenery, especially towards the west and northwest. The Knockmealdown Moun tains, which attain a height of 2,609 ft., form the northern boundary with Tipperary. A wide extent of country between Clonmel and Dungarvan is occupied by the two ranges of the Comeragh and Monavallagh Mountains, reaching a height of 2,504 ft.
To the south of Dungarvan there is a lower but very rugged range, called the Drum Hills. The south-eastern division of the county is for the most part level. Though Waterford benefits in its communications by the important rivers in its vicinity, the only large river it can properly claim as belonging to it is the Blackwater. This river is famous for salmon fishing, and, particularly in the stretch between Cappoquin and Lismore, flows between high, well-wooded banks, contrasting beautifully with the background of the mountains. It enters the county east of Fermoy, and flows eastward to Cappoquin, the head of navigation, where it turns abruptly southward, to enter the sea at Youghal Harbour. Waterford Harbour may be called the estuary of three important rivers, the Suir, the Nore and the Barrow, but neither of the last two touches the county. The Suir reaches it about 8 m. from Clonmel, and thence forms its northern boundary with Tipperary and Kilkenny. It is navigable to Clonmel, but the traffic lies mainly on the left bank, outside the county.
The Knockmealdown Mountains are an anticline of Old Red Sandstone, cut away at the eastern end to expose Silurian strata, which are associated with an extensive series of volcanic and intrusive rocks, often crushed by earth-movement. The im pressive scarp formed by the Old Red Sandstone conglomerate above this lower ground is called the Comeragh Mountains. The moraine-dammed cirque of Lough Coumshingaun lies in these, with a precipice i,000 ft. in height. The unconformity of the Old Red Sandstone on the greenish and yellowish Silurian shales is excellently seen on the north bank of the Suir at Waterford. Carboniferous Limestone is found in the floor of the synclinals on either side of the great anticline, that is, in the Suir valley on the north, and in the green and richly-wooded hollow of the Blackwater on the south. Rapidly repeated anticlinal and syn clinal folds continue this structure across the country between Dungarvan and Youghal. Rich copper-mines were worked, mainly in the 19th century, in the Silurian area near Bonmahon, and the region remains full of mineral promise.
In the 9th century the Danes landed, and after wards made a permanent settlement. Waterford was one of the twelve counties into which King John is stated to have divided that part of Ireland which he nominally annexed to the English crown. On account of the convenience of the city as a landing place, many subsequent expeditions passed through the county. In 1444 the greater part of it was granted to James, earl of Des mond, and. in 1447 it was bestowed on John Talbot, earl of Shrewsbury, who was created earl of Waterford. The county suf fered severely during the Desmond rebellion, in the reign of Eliza beth, as well as in the rebellion of 1641 and during the Crom wellian period. At Ardmore, overlooking the sea from Ram Head, there is a round tower 95 ft. in height, and near it a huge rath and a large number of circular entrenchments. Lismore castle, origi nally erected in 1185, is in great part comparatively modern. The chief ecclesiastical remains are those of the chancel and nave of the cathedral of Ardmore, where a monastery and oratory were founded by St. Declan in the 7th century. The see of Ardmore was abolished in the i 2th century. Here are also remains of a church and oratory, and a holy well. Mention should be made of the existing monastery of Mount Melleray, a convent of Trappists founded near Cappoquin in 183o, on the expulsion of the foreign members of this order from France. Schools, both free and board ing, are maintained; and there is a branch of the order at Roscrea (co. Tipperary).
Of the 23,343 gainfully employed in 1926, 13,521, or 58% were farmers. The land is generally better for pasturage than for tillage, although there are considerable tracts of rich soil in the south-eastern districts. In 1926 13.9% of the land was ploughed, as compared with 34.6% in 1851. There were 43,391 ac. in crops, 26,391 ac. in hay and 243,026 ac. in pasture. The crop acreage has decreased from 69,36o in 1918. Of the crop acreage slightly over half was planted to corn crops, mostly oats (23,211 ac.), and slightly less than half to root and green crops. Of the latter potatoes, turnips and mangels were the most im portant. The size of farm holdings in the county average larger than for Ireland in general. The county ranked second among Irish counties in 1926 in the number of its cattle. The numbers of cattle, sheep and poultry increase steadily, and pigs are ex tensively reared. The woollen manufacture, except for home use, is practically extinct, but the cotton manufacture is still of some importance. There are a number of breweries and distilleries and also a large number of flour-mills. The deep sea and coast fisheries have their headquarters at Waterford, and the salmon fisheries of the Suir and Blackwater have theirs at Waterford and Lismore respectively. Railway communication is provided by the Great Southern railway. Waterford returns 4 members to Dail Eireann.