WATERFORD

town (township), New London county, southeastern Connecticut, U.S., on Long Island Sound just west of the city of New London. The area, settled about 1653, was separated from New London and incorporated as a town in 1801. Drained by the Thames and Niantic rivers, it has a name descriptive of local fordable shallows. Early industries included paper mills and a granite quarry, which was a source of millstones. It remained a rural residential suburb until after 1950, when several industrial parks were established (mainly for offices, warehouses, and light engineering plants). The Millstone Nuclear Power Plant is part of the New England Power Pool, the region's power network. Waterford is the home of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center (1963) and its annual National Playwrights' Conference. Area 33 square miles (85 square km). Pop. (1990) 17,930; (1996 est.) 17,971. Irish Port Lirge county in the province of Munster, Ireland. With an area of 710 square miles (1,838 square km), it is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the south and from west to east by Counties Cork, Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Wexford. The county's northern boundary follows the River Suir through the city of Waterford. Included within the county are the lower reaches of the Rivers Blackwater and Bride. The upland areas of Waterford are mainly ridges 600-800 feet (180-240 m) high, grading into lowlands and marked by ranges of mountains, principally the Knockmealdowns, Comeraghs, and Monavullaghs, all reaching heights of about 2,300 feet (700 m). The Comeraghs and Monavullaghs comprise a single range that includes Coumshingaun, a steep-walled basin, or cirque, with sides 1,000 feet (300 m) high. To the east of the Comeraghs the older rocks form a lowland surrounded by sharp hills drained by the River Clodiagh. Most of the coast is cliff, though there are bays at Tramore, Dungarvan, and Ardmore. Waterford city, of Norse foundation and an important port and centre of trade, was a bridgehead for the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century. The eastern part of the county came under the control of the Le Poers, or Powers, family, and the western part, called the Decies, came under a branch of the Fitzgeralds. The city had a period of prosperity in the 18th century, and some of the smaller towns were improved. The native Irish character of the population was never wholly obliterated; and in the west, near Dungarvan, Gaelic continued to be spoken into the 20th century. The county council meets in Dungarvan, and there is a county manager. Dungarvan is an urban district and Waterford a county borough. Two-thirds of the county is under crops and pasture, with most of the remainder in rough pasture, though there are some fine woods on the hill slopes and on estates. Permanent grass covers seven-tenths of the total farmed area in the county, hay nearly one-tenth, and crops more than one-fifth, with oats as the main cereal crop. Farming is mixed, though dairying is important; and cattle are exported. Waterford is important for its coasting trade, its agricultural industries, and its traditional glassmaking industry. Pop. (1986) excluding Waterford county borough, 51,622. Irish Port Lirge city, port, and county borough of County Waterford, and the major town of southeastern Ireland. It is on the south bank of the River Suir, 4 miles (6 km) above the latter's junction with the Barrow at the head of Waterford Harbour. Waterford became a cathedral city in 1096. The 2nd Earl of Pembroke, known as Strongbow, captured the place in 1170; and Henry II landed there in 1171. Waterford received a charter from King John, who also defined the shire (county). In the later Middle Ages the city was virtually an independent commune. Waterford's Roman Catholic cathedral was completed in 1796, and its Church of Ireland (Anglican) cathedral was built in 1773-79 on the site of a church founded in about 1050. Other significant buildings include the remains of a Dominican friary and Reginald's Tower. The Norsemen enclosed some 15 acres (6 hectares) of the city with walls and fortifications that were rebuilt by the Normans. The city received its first charter in 1205. In 1603 it took a prominent part in opposition to the government and the Anglican church but submitted on the approach of the forces of Baron Mountjoy, lord deputy of Ireland. It resisted Oliver Cromwell in 1649 but surrendered to his son-in-law Henry Ireton in 1650. The city sent two members to Parliament from 1374 to 1885, when the number was reduced to one. In 1898 it became a county borough. Waterford is now an important export centre for fruit and meat, notably for containerized goods. The main industries are food processing, brewing, papermaking, and glassmaking; its crystal is world famous (see Waterford glass). A modern industrial estate has chemical, pharmaceutical, and light manufacturing plants. The city is the headquarters of extensive salmon and sea fisheries and the most important port on the south coast after Cork. Waterford Harbour is a winding and well-sheltered bay formed by the estuary of the Suir and the joint estuary of the Nore and Barrow. The Suir is navigable to Waterford for vessels drawing 22 feet (6.7 m). The city is also the site of a regional technical college. Pop. (1986) 39,529.