800 AD to the coming of the Normans

The name Waterford is derived from an old Norse word Vedrarfjiordr that can be traced back to the late 9th century.

Vedrarfjiordr is believed to be derived from either Fjord of the Rams, probably a reference to the export of sheep from the area, or more prosaically, from windy fjord. This latter meaning probably refers to Waterford as being a safe haven for Viking ships sheltering from a windy Irish Sea.

The Vikings, realising the strategic and trading importance of the three rivers which empty into Waterford Harbour, built a longphort or dock at the confluence of the St. John's River and the River Suir.

Waterford City was founded in 914 AD and developed into a significant urban area during the 10th century. Waterford is arguably the oldest area of continuos urban settlement in Ireland. Reginald’s Tower marks the site of the first defensive structure built by the Viking settlers. The Tower is mentioned in the Irish Annals as early as 1088 thus making it the oldest civic building structure on this island. In the 1080s, a Viking fleet at Waterford had become a major force in the tangled web of Irish and Welsh political intrigue when Diarmuid O’Brien, King of Munster, negotiated that the fleet go to Wales to assist Gruffydd ap Cynan to recover the Kingdom of Gwynedd in Wales.

A hundred years later it was the turn of a dispossessed Irish king to seek help from beyond the sea in order to regain his lost kingdom. Thus it was, that in 1169 a group of Anglo-Norman mercenaries landed in Wexford at the invitation of Dermot McMurrough and by 1170 they were at the walls of Waterford. After a bloody battle the city fell to Strongbow and his armour clad Anglo-Norman supporters. Strongbow was made heir to the McMurrough lands in Leinster and as previously agreed married Dermot’s daughter Aoife.

The Marriage of Strongbow to Aoife Mc Murrough

This marriage which took place in Waterford's Reginald's Tower, symbolises the long and sometimes tortuous birth of a new Ireland. In 1171 the King of England, Henry II, arrived in Waterford and anxious to exercise his control over a process of conquest that was taking place almost despite him, began to demand the submissions of the Anglo-Norman knights.

The submission of Strongbow and his followers was received by Henry at Waterford. Henry II recognised Strongbow as McMurrough’s heir to Leinster but the strategically important port cities of Dublin and Waterford, which Strongbow had captured, were retained by the King. Henry II elevated Waterford to the status of a royal city - a status that was to change the course of the city’s history dramatically.

Consequently in the years after the invasion, many English and French merchants settled in Waterford. This new merchant class with it's trading contacts in England and on the continent was to make Waterford medieval Ireland’s chief port for the import of wine and a major exporter of wool and hides. The city flourished during the 13th century and many new monasteries, friaries and churches were built.

New stone-built defences protected it's citizens and a sophisticated form of local government developed whereby the citizens elected a mayor on an annual basis to rule over the city.

Published courtesy of Waterford City Council.