Tramore Trá Mhór
|
|
---|---|
Town | |
Tramore Beach
|
|
Location in Ireland | |
Coordinates: 52°09′32″N 7°08′47″W / 52.1588°N 7.1463°WCoordinates: 52°09′32″N 7°08′47″W / 52.1588°N 7.1463°W | |
Country | Ireland |
Province | Munster |
County | Waterford |
Elevation | 20 m (70 ft) |
Population (2011) | |
• Town | 10,328 |
• Urban | 9,722 |
• Environs | 606 |
Irish Grid Reference | S576014 |
Website | waterfordcoco |
Tramore (/trəˈmoʊr/; Irish: Trá Mhór, meaning "big strand/beach") is a seaside town in County Waterford on the southeast coast of Ireland. A small fishing village until the arrival of the railway in 1853, the town has continually expanded since. Initially the town flourished as a tourist destination and latterly it has developed as a seaside satellite town of Waterford City, which is 13 km to the north. Waterford Airport is located about 6 km northeast.
The town is situated on the north-western corner of Tramore Bay on a hill that slopes down to the strand, or sand spit, that divides the bay. Behind the spit lies the tidal lagoon known as the Back Strand. Tramore has an imposing Gothic Revival Catholic Church (which is dominated by an asymmetrical tower and spire), on a monumental site overlooking the town, built 1856–1871 by J. J. McCarthy.
The area within a 16 km (10 mi) radius of Tramore is an area rich in megalithic structures (e.g. Ballindud Cromlech; Ballynageeragh Portal Tomb; Knockeen Dolmen; Gaulstown Portal Tomb), signifying habitation long before Christianity.
Before the late 18th century, the town was a small fishing hamlet. Thereafter its potential was realised as ‘a pleasant retreat for the citizens of Waterford and others who assembled there for the benefit of the salt water’. A tourism boom has left a legacy of buildings dating from the 1860s such as the terraced housing on Strand Street. Opened in 1853, a 12 km (7 mi) long railway line ran from Waterford's Railway Square to the terminus in Tramore. It was unique in that it was not connected to any other line. Tramore railway station opened on 5 September 1853 and finally closed on 1 January 1961.