Hook Head

Hook Head projects into the sea on the eastern side of the entrance to Waterford Harbour. Its limestone tower has guided ships toward the estuary and the port of New Ross since the thirteenth century, when William Marshal had it built as a landmark and light. Coal and timber fuelled the beacon at its summit. By the seventeenth century the light had ceased to be maintained, and shipwrecks prompted sailors and merchants to seek its restoration. A lantern was later fitted to shelter the fire from the weather.