Duncannon Harbour is located on the southeast coast of Ireland, on the eastern shores of Waterford Harbour six miles north of Hook Head lighthouse. It is a small fishing port and village where a vessel may dry out on, anchor off or temporarily come alongside its commercial wall.

Duncannon is good harbour but exposed to everything from northeast round to northwest where Dunmore East on the opposite shore would be a better option. The wide, unhindered and well-marked Waterford Harbour estuary provides safe access, night or day, at any stage of the tide and the harbour is less than 100 metres from the channel.

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 Duncannon

Position and approaches

Haven position

52° 13.327' N, 006° 56.283' W

At the end of the pier.

What is the initial fix?

This waypoint is 600 metres south by southwest of the Waterford Channel Number 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?

Duncannon is a tourist and fishing village situated on the east bank of the River Suir. The village is made unmistakable by its lofty rocky promontory that juts out into the channel upon which there is a 16th-century fort. In the corner of the bight, immediately to the northeast of the fort, is a small fishing harbour comprising two piers. The inner pier encloses an old drying dock and the outer is the commercial quay used by fishing boats.




A vessel visiting Duncannon has several mooring possibilities. Vessels that can take to the mud will find the old drying dock, situated in the northeast corner, offers excellent protection and has a good sandy bottom to dry upon. 3 metres will be found at high water in the old dock.




The outer commercial quay offers minimum depths of as little as 0.5 metres on low water springs but a minimum of 1.5 metres on low water neaps at the very end of the pier. Depending on a vessels requisite draft, with a spring 4.7 metre and neap 2.4-metre tidal range added, it provides reasonable pier access most of the time. Fishing vessels have priority access to the commercial quay, and leisure vessels should fit any berthing around their operations.

Deep keel vessels may anchor close north of the quay in 3- 4 metres. This is not an ideal long-term anchoring point as it is subject to wash, being immediately just off the main channel. It also has strong and confused tidal streams, that wrap around the headland, and is subject to poor holding ground.

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 and follow the marks up the harbour. Duncannon’s highly distinctive fort on the headland will be visible all the way with its prominent white light tower. At night the tower exhibits a directional light F WRG 13m 10M leading up the entrance channel. Duncannon point is steep-to, but the bight close south is filled by a mud flat.




Once past the fort, the wall of the commercial quay will be seen extending north-westward from the north face of the peninsula. Round the head of the pier to address the harbour.





The old drying harbour is tucked into the northeast corner. A small privately-owned shallow water pontoon moored just outside the old dock may be a possibility for some craft if the dock is full but check locally.




Vessels coming alongside the commercial quay for a short stay should note that fishing vessels have priority access. Please seek agreement before rafting up to fishing vessels and be ready to move at short notice. The quay suffers from a limited amount of stepping points making it difficult to scale the wall at low water.




Deeper keel vessels may anchor close north of the quay in 3- 4 metres and at the public boat slip alongside its pier. This is not an ideal long-term anchoring point as being just off the main channel it is subject to wash, has strong and confused tidal streams wrapping around the headland and has poor holding.

Why visit here?

Duncannon, in Irish 'Dún Conan', derives its name from the Irish "the Fort of Conán" with Conán thought to be the 3rd-century Conán mac Morna of the Fianna. The Fianna were a small, semi-independent warrior band in Irish mythology that featured in the stories of the Fenian Cycle. They were led by the mythical hunter-warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill, known in English as Finn McCool or Finn MacCoul.




Sitting on a rocky promontory that juts out into the Waterford harbour channel, whilst overlooking and defending the harbour entrance, it is unsurprising that the strategically prominent headland retained its military importance for sixteen centuries after the time of Fianna. It became the site of a Celtic and then a Norman Fortress and the current imposing star-shaped citadel fort which consumes the headland today was commenced by the British in 1588. The construction of Duncannon Fort was motivated by both security and economic concerns but it was certainly initiated as a defence against an attack by the Spanish Armada. The Armada never arrived but for four centuries the fort was to play a crucial part in the trials and tribulations of the region.




During the Irish Confederate Wars (1641-1652), the fort was besieged three times until it was taken by an Irish Confederate army in 1645. During the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Duncannon was besieged in 1649 by Oliver Cromwell under which the fort's Irish garrison held out. In July 1650, after the fall of Waterford, the fort and town finally surrendered. At the time Cromwell is reputed to have coined the timeless expression, that Waterford would fall 'by Hook or by Crooke', that is, by landing his army at Hook Head or Crooke on the opposite Waterford shore, during the 1649 to 50 siege of the town.




Following Cromwell's successful Irish campaign, Duncannon was designated one of the principal forts of the Kingdom being described as 'The Second Fort of the Realm' and bearing the title 'The Royal Fort of Duncannon'. In around 1684, armed with more than thirty cannons, Robert Leigh noted of the fortress 'About a mile from Ballihack to the south-east nearer the mouth of the river of Waterford lies the fort of Duncannon, accounted of considerable strength and well manned with a sufficient number of great guns and other armour, and commands the mouth of the river, so that no ship can go in or out but shall be called to account by those in the fort. '




In 1690 Duncannon Fort hosted two kings of England. Routed from his defeat at the 'Battle of the Boyne', in the Williamite War in Ireland (1689-91), James II set sail from Duncannon for Kinsale from where he went into exile in France. Later his son in law and enemy, William of Orange, marched on the fort to receive its surrender without resistance. Bad weather then delayed his return to England and William stayed at the fort in September 1690 before returning home as the victor. The site where James' boat departed bears the name 'King James' Hole'.




The fort was one of the few places in County Wexford that did not fall to the rebels during the 1798 rebellion where it became a sanctuary for fleeing loyalists and troops in south Wexford. It was also used as a prison and place of execution for suspected rebels. The gruesome dungeon, seemingly a munitions store, in which the young 1798 rebels were imprisoned in the ‘Croppy Boy’ cell. The name "croppy" referred to the closely cropped hair that was the badge of the 1798 rebels; the ‘croppy boys’ being those aged between 14 and 21. The fashion came from French revolutionaries of the period which associated the crop cut with the anti-wig, and therefore, anti-aristocrat. The "croppys" were subjected to torture by flogging, picketing and half-hanging but the reactive contemporary torture, pitch-capping, was specifically invented to target the "croppys". "The Croppy Boy" is one of the saddest ballads of the rebellion, relating the despair of a doomed young "croppy" processed in Duncannon Fort.




During the early years of the 19th-century two Martello towers were built on high ground above the fort. It remained in the control of the British Government until the War of Independence in 1919. In 1922 it was set alight by the old IRA and it then lay in ruins until the outbreak of World War II. Then it was rebuilt and occupied by the Army who used it as an observation base during the war. Though its military significance had greatly diminished, it was used as a modest Irish army post mainly for summer training until 1986. In 1993 the Department of Defence handed the fort over to Wexford County Council and it is currently being refurbished by the Duncannon Heritage Group.




Today the fort is open to visitors from June to September seven days a week and has a café, craft shop, maritime plus war museum, craft centre and artist studio. A guided tour around the outer ramparts is a must visit. The inner facing star-shaped walls are protected by an unusual 10-metre high dry moat. All its major buildings are arranged around its central parade ground. The white lighthouse, that hosts the harbours leading lights, was constructed in 1774 and is one of the oldest lighthouses of its kind in Ireland. Not only does it provide views over the fortress's much-noted dry moat, but also spectacular views across the estuary down to Hook Head, over to Creadan Head and up to Passage East.




Today Duncannon is primarily a fishing village but it also relies heavily on tourism. Situated on the very scenic ‘Ring of Hook’ drive it bustles with life during the summer. Duncannon’s popular mile long golden beach called ‘The Strand’ has Blue Flag status. It is very safe for families and is a favourite for kite surfing. It also hosts an International Sand Sculpting Festival and Kitesurfing Festival every August. Likewise, it has all the amenities you would expect as a prime tourist destination. However the village of Duncannon owes its existence to its fortress and military history, and this makes it a stand out destination for visitors to the area.

What facilities are available?

Duncannon has all the pubs, restaurants and shops that you would expect a prime tourist destination to have, all within a short stroll from the quay.

Any security concerns?

Never an incident is known to have happened to a visiting yacht in Duncannon. However, if leaving the vessel unattended make sure that it is secure.

With thanks to:

John Carroll, Ballyhack, Co.Wexford, Ireland. Photography with thanks to Burke Corbett, Michael Harpur and Marion Coady, Manager, Duncannon Fort Trust.

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