Cappoquin, also spelt Cappaquin or Capaquin (), is a town in west

County Waterford County Waterford ( ga, Contae Phort Láirge) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is part of the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region. It is named ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is on the

Blackwater river A blackwater river is a type of river with a slow-moving channel flowing through forested swamps or wetlands. As vegetation decays, tannins leach into the water, making a transparent, acidic water that is darkly stained, resembling black te ...

at the junction of the N72

national secondary road A national secondary road ( ga, Bóthar Náisiúnta den Dara Grád) is a category of road in Ireland. These roads form an important part of the national route network but are secondary to the main arterial routes which are classified as national ...

and the R669 regional road. It is positioned on a sharp 90-degree bend in the river and lies at the foot of the

Knockmealdown Mountains The Knockmealdown Mountains ( ga, Sléibhte Chnoc Mhaoldomhnaigh) are a mountain range located on the border of counties Tipperary and Waterford in Ireland, running east and west between the two counties. The highest peak of the range is Knockmea ...

. The town is a few miles from

Mount Melleray Mount Melleray, also spelled Mountmelleray (), is a townland situated in the Knockmealdown Mountains near Cappoquin, County Waterford, Ireland. It is in the civil parish of Lismore and Mocollop in the historical barony of Coshmore and Coshbri ...

and

Lismore, County Waterford Lismore () is a historic town in County Waterford, in the province of Munster, Ireland. Originally associated with Saint Mochuda of Lismore, who founded Lismore Abbey in the 7th century, the town developed around the medieval Lismore Castle. As ...

History

Evidence of Mesolithic settlement in the area was discovered during an archaeological dig, at nearby Lefanta, during the 1980s. Ancient fortifications in the area include

ringfort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...

s in the neighbouring Lyre East and Fadduaga

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

s, and records of a former medieval castle within Cappoquin Demesne. Dromana by Madelien Knight

Outside the town is

Cappoquin House Cappoquin House also known as Belmont is an 18th-century classical-style mansion overlooking the town of Cappoquin in County Waterford, Ireland. The house is the seat of the Keane Baronets of Belmont and of Cappoquin. Previous castle It is ...

, which was built in the 1770s on the site of an earlier Fitzgerald castle. It overlooks the town, and has formal gardens and landscaped grounds which are open to the public. The 18th century

Dromana House Villierstown () is a village in west County Waterford, Ireland. It is situated on the banks of the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater, and was founded in the 1740s by a local landlord, John Villiers, as a base for the linen industry, and init ...

, and its elaborate gate lodge, are also located near Cappoquin. Cappoquin Market House, within the town, was built c.1775 as a three bay

market house A market house is a covered space historically used as a marketplace to exchange goods and services such as provisions or livestock, sometimes combined with spaces for public or civic functions on the upper floors and often with a jail or lockup ...

. It is now used as a shop. In September 1849, a number of local members of the

Young Ireland Young Ireland ( ga, Éire Óg, ) was a political movement, political and cultural movement, cultural movement in the 1840s committed to an all-Ireland struggle for independence and democratic reform. Grouped around the Dublin weekly ''The Nati ...

movement led an unsuccessful attack against the constabulary barracks in Cappoquin.

Economy

Within the town's centre, employers include a number of shops and businesses, including a supermarket, pharmacy, post office and credit union. Some of the largest individual local employers are located on the Cappoquin industrial estate, located a half mile into adjoining Lefanta. Being surrounded by fertile fields on all sides, farming and agriculture plays a role in the town, providing employment on the farms and orchards in the area. Near Cappoquin is West Waterford Vineyards, an Irish wine producer. The town has suffered with the decline in the local economy and the loss of both Cappoquin pork and bacon as well as Cappoquin chickens as well as local shops and secondary school.

Sport

Affane Cappoquin GAA Affane Cappoquin GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Cappoquin, County Waterford, Ireland. The club was formed in 1969 with the merging of Affane GAA and Cappoquin GAA. At present, the team is called Cappoquin when playing hu ...

is the local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

club. Formed in 1969, with the merging of Affane GAA and Cappoquin GAA, the team won its only

Waterford Senior Football Championship Waterford Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition between the top Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_ca ...

title in 1974. Affane went on to represent Waterford in the Munster Senior Club Football Championship, losing to Austin Stacks of Kerry. Cappoquin Rowing Club is the town's oldest sporting and social organisation, and was founded in 1862 by James M. Moore and John Stanley. They were assisted by Sir John H. Keane who became the first president of the rowing club, and who had previously captained the Trinity Boat at Cambridge and rowed for Cambridge in 1936 when they defeated Oxford. In the 1880s Cappoquin joined with other rowing clubs nationwide to establish the Irish Amateur Rowing Association. Railway Athletic FC was founded in 1980 and is situated at Danes Field, Cappoquin. Jayson Molumby, who later went on to play with Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. and the

Republic of Ireland national football team , FIFA Trigramme = IRL , Name = Republic of Ireland , Association = Football Association of Ireland (FAI) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , website fai.ie, Coach = Stephen Kenny (foot ...

, formerly played for Railway Athletic FC.

Transport

Bus services

Since December 2015 there have been improvements to the frequency of the Local Link (formerly known as Déise Link) bus service. There are now four services a day each way Mondays to Saturdays inclusive to

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

including a commuter service. Connections to

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

and

Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort ( ga, Europort Ros Láir) is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeasternmost point of the island of Ireland. The port is the premier Irish port serving the European Contine ...

can be made at Dungarvan. In the other direction there are four services to and from

Tallow Tallow is a rendering (industrial), rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides. In industry, tallow is not strictly defined as beef or mutton fat. In this context, tallow is animal fat that conforms to certain techn ...

via Lismore. Connections for

Fermoy Fermoy () is a town on the River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,500 people. It is located in the barony of Condons and Clangibbon, and is in the Dái ...

can be made at

. On Saturdays, a local bus company operate a service to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. On Sundays

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidia ...

route 366 provides one service to Dungarvan and Waterford. This route only operates on Sundays and comprises a single journey in one direction (no return service on any day of the week).

Rail

Cappoquin railway station opened on 12 August 1878, but closed on 27 March 1967. It was located on the now dismantled

to Mallow line and served by the

to Rosslare

boat train A boat train is a passenger train operating to a port for the specific purpose of making connection with a passenger ship, such as a ferry, ocean liner, or cruise ship. Through ticketing is normally available. __NOTOC__ Notable named boat trains ...

. The construction of the railway bridge below the river bend was to result in tall-masted schooners being no longer able to pass under what was now known as the 'red bridge'. As compensation for this, a new "steamers' quay" was constructed just down river. The station is still extant.

Twinning

Cappoquin is twinned with Chanat-la-Mouteyre in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Notable people

* Jayson Molumby, professional footballer * Thomas McCarthy, poet, was born in Cappoquin. *

Kate Baker Catherine Baker (1861–1953) was an Irish-born Australian teacher, best known for encouraging and championing her friend Joseph Furphy, who wrote the quintessential Australian novel of its period, ''Such Is Life (novel), Such Is Life''. De ...

, teacher and literary guardian of the works of

Joseph Furphy Joseph Furphy (Irish names, Irish: Seosamh Ó Foirbhithe; 26 September 1843 – 13 September 1912) was an Australian author and poet who is widely regarded as the "Father of the Australian novel". He mostly wrote under the pseudonym Tom Collins ...

, was born in Cappoquin.

References

{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Waterford Parishes of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore