Waterford (Port Láirge)

 city, county town - UK/Ireland

Nice city on the River Suir, which was founded in 914 by the Vikings. Despite its name, Waterford is not the county town of the county (Dungarvan). Parts of the town on the eastern shore of the River Suir lie in County Kilkenny.
Throughout the medieval period, Waterford was Ireland's second city after Dublin. In the 15th century Waterford repelled two pretenders to the English throne: Lambert Simnel and Perkin Warbeck. As a result, King Henry VII gave the city its motto: Urbs Intacta Manet Waterfordia (Waterford remains the untaken city). After the Protestant Reformation, Waterford remained a Catholic city and participated in the confederation of Kilkenny – an independent Catholic government from 1642 to 1649. This was ended abruptly by Oliver Cromwell, who brought the country back under English rule; his son-in-law Henry Ireton finally took Waterford in 1650 after a major siege. In 1690, during the Williamite War, the Jacobite Irish Royal Army was forced to surrender Waterford in the wake of the Battle of the Boyne.
The 18th century was a period of huge prosperity for Waterford. Most of the city's best architecture appeared during this time. A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion of the Cavalry Barracks at the end of the 18th century. In the early 19th century, Waterford City was deemed vulnerable and the British government erected three Martello towers on the Hook Peninsula to reinforce the existing Fort at Duncannon. During the 19th century, great industries such as glass making and ship building thrived in the city. In July 1922, Waterford was the scene of fighting between Irish Free State and Irish Republican troops during the Irish Civil War.
Today, Waterford is known for Waterford Crystal, a legacy of the city's former glass making industry. Glass, or crystal, was manufactured in the city from 1783 until early 2009, when the factory there was shut down after the receivership of Waterford Wedgwood plc. The Waterford Crystal visitor centre in the Viking Quarter, under new owners, opened in June 2010, after the intervention of Waterford City Council and Waterford Chamber of Commerce, and resumed production. Waterford is also known for being the "starting point" of one of the biggest European airlines – Ryanair's first flight was a 14-seat Embraer Bandeirante turboprop aircraft, flying between Waterford and Gatwick Airport.
Waterford Crystal has its headquarters in the western part of the city.