Cheekpoint is a traditional fishing village located 7 miles downstream from Waterford City. It has been an important navigation point for the ports of Waterford and New Ross as it is located at the meeting point of the three sister river network, the Barrow, Nore and Suir. Between them they drain an area of land second only to the Shannon.  The Suir 114 miles long, and the Barrow 119 miles long, (the Nore joins the Barrow above New Ross) combine beside Cheekpoint and create the estuary that flows out to the Atlantic.

Meeting of the Three Sisters.  Photo via Anthony Rogers

Cheekpoint was reputed to have a settlement of Ostmen (Vikings) in the distant past.  It was also of strategic importance to the Normans.
The first references to a quay date from the time that the Mail Packet Station moved to the village.  The Station was created in Cheekpoint
in 1785 by local landlord Cornelius Bolton.  Cheekpoint Quay would have been the point of departure for all mail, including some freight and passengers, from Waterford to Milford Haven in Wales during that time.  Several ships were employed on the service and it was run by a Welsh Quaker, Captain Thomas Own.  The station operated until 1813, when it was moved further down river to Passage and then to Dunmore East in 1824.  The
present quay was constructed in the 1870’s, as was the lower quay breakwater, and both have seen several upgrades and additions down the years.  More about the quay here.

Cheekpoint in 1960’s  photo by Martin Power via Déaglán De Paor

The Barrow rail bridge was for over 100 years the connection that linked the SW of Ireland via Waterford to Wexford and Rosslare port.  It is 2131 feet in length and consists of 13 fixed spans mounted on twin 8 foot diameter cast iron cylinders filled with concrete.  11 spans are 148 feet long and the two
closest the opening are 144 feet.  Because the port of New Ross is above the bridge and an opening span had to be added at the deepest part
of the river channel.  The railway is a single track steel line, built within the protective casing of a mild steel girder frame with cross trusses.

It has several distinctions as a bridge; it is the longest railbridge in Ireland and it was also the last major rail line to be constructed in Ireland and the bridge the last major piece of infrastructure. Previously we covered the planning and construction of the bridge, its opening and eventual closure.

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Power stations

There are now two Power Stations across the river at Cheekpoint at Great Island.  The station
on the left is a redundant oil burner.  The building of the station started in 1965 and the first phase was finished in 1967. A second phase and chimney was added by 1972.   The chimneys are 450 feet high and are almost as high as the Minaun.  There were 5 storage tanks on the site each
holding 17,000 tons of oil, which was delivered via oil tanker ships.  At it’s height the station employed up to 70 people.  The most recent station is gas burning and its set to open this month, November 2014.  The gas is delivered by pipe and the new station is said to have a lifespan of 30
years.  The entire site is believed to be over 170 acres of land.

Fishing Weirs