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Reginald's Tower

 

Reginald's Tower is the oldest civic, urban structure in Ireland and has played a pivotal role in the country's history. An early fort on this site formed the apex of the triangular Viking settlement at Waterford. It was strategically located on the high ground between a branch of St. John's river in the south-east (since drained and now known as the Mall) and the River Suir to the north.

 

King John visited the tower in 1210 and ordered new coins to be struck here. Richard II visited the tower in 1394 and again in 1399. On 27 July 1399, Richard left Reginald's Tower as King of England and Wales; on his arrival in England he was captured by the future Henry VI and forced to abdicate.

In 1463, the Irish Parliament established a mint in the tower. In 1495, cannon in Reginald's Tower successfully turned away the forces of Perkin Warbeck, the pretender to the throne of Henry VII. This act of loyalty earned the city its motto "Urbs Intacta Manet" - "Waterford remains the unconquered city".

 

In 1690, following his defeat at the Battle of the Boyne, King James II of England is alleged to have climbed to the top of the tower to take a last look at his lost kingdom before embarking for exile in France.

 

During the medieval period, the tower continued to be surrounded by water both to the north and the south east. When the Anglo-Normans attacked Waterford in 1170, the tower was of strategic importance and its capture heralded the fall of the city. The Hiberno-Norse (Irish-Viking) ruler of the city, Ragnall MacGillemaire, was held prisoner by the Anglo-Normans in the tower and it is from him that the tower receives its name.

 

It was in this tower that Strongbow, the leader of the Anglo-Norman invasion force, met Aoife, the daughter of Dermot McMurrough, King of Leinster. Their marriage was to change the course of Irish history forever. In later centuries, the tower took on the functions of a royal castle.

 

In the early 19th century, it functioned as a prison. In the late 19th and first half of the twentieth century it became the residence of the Chief Constable of Waterford. The tower was opened to the public for the first time in the 1950s and tours are run daily. It is presently managed in conjunction with the Office of Public Works.


Location
Corner of The Mall & The Quays,
Waterford city.
Map It !
Opening Hours etc.
Tel : +353 51 304220 
Email:  reginaldstower@opw.ie  
Daily 10am - 5pm, 6pm in summer
Average Length of Visit:  1 hour
Tour Duration: 45 minutes
Tarriff: Adults €3, Children €1