Arthurstown is situated on the southeast coast of Ireland, 7 miles within and on the eastern shores of Waterford Harbour. It is a small village with a pier that dries beyond the head on springs. The quay has a stone bottom and is not an ideal place to dry out, but a vessel working the tides can come alongside for a short shore visit at high water or anchor off in settled weather and land here.

The quay offers limited protection and should be considered only in settled conditions. It is exposed to everything from northeast round to northwest; it is particularly vulnerable in a northwesterly, during which options further upriver should be sought. Although shielded from the south, the pier becomes awash in very strong southerly conditions, especially at high water. Fishing boats do weather out a southerly here, but it is completely inaccessible when the pier is awash. The wide, unhindered and well-marked Waterford Harbour estuary provides safe access, night or day and at any stage of the tide.

Tidal streams are a prime consideration within Waterford Harbour: a strong adverse current will make for slow progress; conversely, a favourable passage current will make the estuary quickly traversable.

Keyfacts for Arthurstown

Position and approaches

Haven position

52° 14.407' N, 006° 57.226' W

At the end of the pier

What is the initial fix?

This waypoint is 600 metres south by southwest of the Waterford Channel No.1 starboard-hand marker (Fl G 2s on a bearing of 009° T). It is directly east of Creadan Head, upon the eastern side of the Waterford Channel, where at night you will see the Dunmore East leading lights alternate white/green.

What are the key points of the approach?

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What's the story here?

Arthurstown is a small village situated on the east bank of the River Suir, 3 miles below its junction with the Barrow. It is located directly east from Passage East, about a mile above Duncannon and 7 miles within Waterford Harbour.

The village has a small drying fishing pier with a rocky bottom that is less than ideal for drying out on. With an ample rise of tide, the outer end of the pier offers a temporary berth with depths of 2 to 3 metres.

How to get in?

Use the Port of Waterford for details of seaward approaches, entry to Waterford Harbour and the run up the estuary.


From the initial fix, set in the middle of the entrance, head northeast for the ‘Waterford’ port marker buoy and then pick up the No.1 and 2 buoys of the fairway. From here follow the marked channel up past Duncannon until the highly distinctive ‘Passage Spit’ octahedral marker, locally known as ‘the spider’, is being approached on the port side.




Arthurstown will be found opposite the Passage Spit port hand marker, to the starboard side and 100 metres off the channel on the Wexford shoreline. The pier has a street light at its head and conspicuously extends out from the south side of the recess that is King’s Bay.




With ample tide, turn onto the head of the pier and round close to it. Berth on the outer end of the pier’s inner face, where 2 to 3 metres can be found. The pier has a rocky bottom that is less than ideal for drying out on.


Alternatively, in settled conditions anchor 200 metres off the head of the pier.

Why visit here?

Arthurstown, in Irish Colmán, derives its name from Arthur Chichester, who was a descendant of Arthur Chichester, Second Earl of Donegal. As noted in the Buttermilk Point entry, the lands in this area were originally purchased by the Etchingham family after the Dissolution of Dunbrody Abbey in the 16th century. The estates came to the Chichester family in 1660 through the marriage of the Second Earl of Donegal to Jane Etchingham, the only child of John Etchingham.

It was during the first quarter of the 1800s that Anglo-Irish soldier, politician and courtier Arthur Chichester, the First Baron Templemore (1797-1837), built Dunbrody Park and the estate village of Arthurstown, providing the village with his name. Samuel Lewis’s ‘A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland’, published in 1837, says: “ARTHURSTOWN, or KING’S-BAY contained 170 inhabitants. It is situated on Waterford harbour, three miles below the junction of the rivers Barrow, Suir, and Nore, and derives its origin and name from its proprietor Arthur, the present Lord Templemore whose seat is here, and who has been mostly responsible for the estate and the building that has taken place within the last few years.”




The village became a hub around which other services developed, including a hospital, police barracks, courthouse and coastguard station. Estate revenue was earned via tolls on village markets for agricultural produce. With the aid of a Fishery Board grant, Chichester constructed Arthurstown’s pier in 1829. This was to facilitate trade and to encourage his tenants to become involved in the fishing industry. The pier provided additional estate revenue via tolls levied on all pier transactions; these were principally coal from South Wales, slates from Bangor, and the exportation to Waterford of corn, pigs, butter, eggs, honey and poultry.




Samuel Lewis astutely observed at the time: “It has a commodious quay, with a gravelly strand open to Waterford harbour; and a pier of millstone grit found in the quarries here, 306 feet in length, and originally intended for the accommodation of the boats employed in the fishery. Vessels of 100 tons’ burden can come up close to the pier, but the entrance has lately become partially choked with an accumulation of mud, which requires speedy removal, and the adoption of a plan calculated to prevent a recurrence of the obstruction. The bay is subject to a heavy sea during the prevalence of south, southwest, and northwest winds.” Advice as good then as it is today.




Today Arthurstown is a quaint holiday village that noticeably increased in size during Ireland’s Celtic Tiger years, with the addition of several holiday homes. Dunbrody House, also referred to as Dunbrody Country House Hotel and Restaurant, was occupied by the Chichesters until they sold it in the late 20th century. Set upon 200 acres of parkland, the beautiful Irish Georgian manor is just a 10-minute walk from the pier.

From a boating perspective, it is a pleasant beach and offers a quiet spot to stop off. There is a pub a short stroll from the pier and a coastal walk to Ballyhack. Arthurstown does have excellent road access, making it an ideal set down and collection point. However, the car ferry traffic uses this route from Wexford and it can be busy.

What facilities are available?

Apart from a pier with a high tide slipway (and its excellent R733 regional road, which runs along the eastern shore of the Waterford Harbour estuary), there are no other services available at Arthurstown.

Any security concerns?

There are no reported security issues in the area.

With thanks to:

John Carroll, Ballyhack, County Wexford, Ireland. Photography with thanks to Humphrey Bolton, Burke Corbett and Michael Harpur.