Waterford Ireland

We have been twice to Waterford when the large crystal factory was up and running. The town is charmless-has an industrial feel to it and does not compare to Dingle at all. If you decide you must see Waterford I highly recommend the charming B&B, Foxmount Farm, a short way into the countryside. The owner will prepare dinner for you.

They had reopened a factory tour when we were there last summer. We decided to skip it, but you can read reviews of it at - http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g186638-d208112-r93894708-Waterford_Crystal-Waterford_County_Waterford.html

So what did you think of Waterford? Did you like it? How much time did you spend there? Would you go back?

I'll second the recommendation for Foxmount. One of the finest B&B's we've ever had the pleasure of visiting. Elegant, huge rooms, wonderful breakfasts. But I'll also second the comment about the industrial feel of Waterford. You'll have to weigh whether or not the crystal factory means that much to you. We enjoyed it, but unless you have plenty of time, head for Dingle!

Waterford City isn't so great, but there is a lot in Co. Waterford to see and do. In fact I will add the often overlooked Wexford and Cork to that list too. If you are of Irish Catholic descent there is a better than 50 percent chance your ancestors came from this part of Ireland. Lismore and Ardmore are both worth a stop. Both have rich, long histories. The countryside is beautiful and not overrun with tour buses.

Thank you for all of the wonderful feedback. I think we may skip Waterford this trip then, and save it for another time!

I've been to Waterford. We went before the Crystal Factory was closed down. The factory tour was so-so, the rest of the town had nothing special to recommend it. Knowing what I know now, I would have skipped it.

I like Mike's comment about ancestry of Irish Catholics in the US probably originating from the Waterford area...being from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, a province that was and is heavily influenced by Irish culture ( I've met Irish nationals who've visited our province and mistook some locals as being Irish because of the Newfoundland accent), we have a similar link. A few years ago, a local tv station broadcast a documentary about a local man who returned to the Waterford area to trace his family's roots. While there he toured the local cemetary, and of all the surnames on the headstones, he could find only one that didn't have a surname that was/is common in Newfoundland and Labrador today...
It was my understanding that many( if not the majority) of Irish immigrants to North America in the 1800s departed on ships leaving from the Waterford area, and thus would have travelled from all parts of the country to reach that area....perhaps I'm mistaken on that point

A great many left from Cobh. Another little publicized fact is the number of Irish immigrants who entered the US through the port of New Orleans. The ships would leave Britain carry immigrants who they deposited along the gulf coast,mostly New Orleans, and then took bales of cotton back to Britain for the textile mills there.

Pat is right about the Irish influx in New Orleans. Irish who came in that route tended to be ones with no money, since passengers were just a bonus for the returning ships. Irish with some degree of money entered through Canada or Boston.