Country Ireland Time zone WET (UTC+0) Website www.visitwaterville.ie Province Munster | County County Kerry Irish Grid Reference V499659 Local time Sunday 12:29 PM | |
Weather 12°C, Wind W at 13 km/h, 75% Humidity | ||
Waterville, historically known as Coirean (Irish: An Coireán, meaning "little cauldron"), is a village in County Kerry, Ireland, on the Iveragh Peninsula. The town is sited on a narrow isthmus, with Lough Currane on the east side of the town, and Ballinskelligs Bay on the west, and the Currane River connecting the two.
Contents
- Map of Waterville Co Kerry Ireland
- History
- Telegraph cables
- People
- Sport
- Website
- Tech Amergin
- Local features
- References
Map of Waterville, Co. Kerry, Ireland
The town's name in Irish Coireán refers refers to the shape of Ballinskelligs Bay on which the town sits; the name, however, has been transplanted onto the lake with the Irish name being Loch Luíoch or Loch Luidheach.
The Butler family built a house at the mouth of the River Currane in the latter part of the 18th century. They named their house and estate Waterville. The village that developed on the estate during the first half of the 19th century was also named Waterville.
The N70 Ring of Kerry route passes through the town. Waterville has a population of 538 (CSO 2002).
History
The first successful transatlantic cable was finally laid after a number of attempts in 1865 by the Anglo American Telegraph Company between Heart's Content in Newfoundland and Labrador and Valentia Island near Waterville. In the 1880s, Cyrus Field's Commercial Cable Company laid the first Transatlantic telegraph cable from the nearby townland of Spunkane to Canso, Nova Scotia. The cable station brought much activity to Waterville and increased the town's size.
Telegraph cables
On 13 July 1866, SS Great Eastern steamed westward from Valentia Island laying telegraph cable behind her. The successful landing at Heart's Content, Newfoundland on 27 July, established the first telegraph link between Europe and North America.
Later, additional cables were laid from Valentia Island and new stations opened at Ballinskelligs (1874) and Waterville (1884) making County Kerry a focal point for intercontinental communication. The Commercial Cable Company were able to lay cables from Waterville to Canso, Nova Scotia, with onward connections. Connections from Waterville to Weston-super-Mare in England and Le Havre in France were soon established. During the Civil War, the communication system between Paris and New York went down on 7 August 1922 when IRA irregulars seized Waterville.
There were strong proponents on both sides of the Atlantic and few more so than the Knight of Kerry who fought to have the cable come to Valentia Island.
In July 2000, the cable stations received an International Milestone Heritage Site Award from the IEEE (Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers Inc USA) for their significance in the history of electrical science. The Kerry cable stations are recognised as World Heritage Communications Sites.
People
On 4 July 2008, the American academic Cass Sunstein married Samantha Power; the wedding took place in the Church of Mary Immaculate, Lohar, Waterville, County Kerry in Power’s native Ireland.
Sport
Website
South West Kerry Communities developed a website for Waterville and launched it on 13 February 2009. The community has arranged to hold the inaugural Charlie Chaplin Comedy Film Festival on 25–28 August 2011
Tech Amergin
The Tech Amergin adult education centre (named after a mythical explorer to the area) has been refurbished. It offers successful events and shows, as well as exhibitions and vocational training.
Local features
Eightercua is a four-stone alignment (stone-row) Megalithic tomb, located 1.5 km south-south-east of the village