History
[edit]
There is a record of a settlement at Tramore in 1809, when a church was built.
The Topological Dictionary of Ireland of 1837 notes that Drumcannon Parish (including Tramore) had 4835 inhabitants. There was one endowed school, one school supported by local subscription, three private schools and a Sunday School. Tramore also had an almshouse at that time.
The Sea Horse tragedy[edit]
Main article: Wrecking of the Sea Horse, Boadicea and Lord Melville
On 30 January 1816, the transport ship Sea Horse foundered in Tramore Bay with the 2nd battalion of the 59th Regiment of Foot on board. 292 men and 71 women and children perished. A monument to the incident is located on Doneraile Walk and an obelisk marks a burial plot at Christ Church on Church Road.
The town's connection to the tragedy led to the image of a seahorse being adopted as a symbol of the town of Tramore and later adopted as the logo for Waterford Crystal in 1955.
The Metal Man[edit]
The "Metal Man" statue is visible on the leftmost of the three pillars.
From the sea, Tramore Bay can be easily confused with the traditional safe haven of the Suir estuary. After the sinking of the Sea Horse, its insurers Lloyd's of London funded the building of piers and the erection of pillars on two headlands as a visual aid to prevent similar calamities from happening. The pillars, three on Newtown Head and two on Brownstown Head, were erected in 1823.
"The Metal Man" is a 3-metre tall cast-metal figure of a sailor pointing seawards, set atop the central pillar on Newtown Head. According to local lore, he is said to warn seafarers away from dangerous shallow waters by calling out "keep off, keep off, good ship from me, for I am the rock of misery".
The Guillamene[edit]
The Newtown and Guillamene swimming coves are located just off Cliff Road at the base of Newtown Head. Until the early 1980s, the Guillamene was a men-only swimming cove. Women and children were expected to bathe at Newtown. The "men-only" sign has been preserved as a reminder of times past, but today both coves are popular with swimmers of both genders and all ages.
The Waterford and Tramore Railway[edit]
Main article: Waterford and Tramore Railway
Before the late 18th century, Tramore was a small fishing hamlet. In 1853, a 12 km (7 mile)-long railway line was opened between Waterford's Railway Square to the terminus in Tramore. It was unique in that it was not connected to any other line. This closed on 1 January 1961.[failed verification]
The Pickardstown ambush[edit]
Main article: Pickardstown ambush
On the night of 6 June 1921, during the Irish War of Independence, 50 local IRA Volunteers attempted to ambush a party of 40 British troops from Waterford City, who were coming to Tramore following an attack on the RIC barracks there. The ambush took place at Pickardstown, about a mile to the north of Tramore. The ambush failed to go according to plan as they could not see in the dark field. This caused the death of two IRA men with two more wounded. Tramore's Micheál MacCraith GAA Club is named after one of the dead Volunteers.
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