placenamesOld Parish
An Seanphobal
An Sean Phobal forms part of the Waterford Gaeltacht, with a twentieth-century church and an older lighthouse on its coast.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An Seanphobal · Irish · main form · validated name
- Old Parish · English · main form
Place & story
Part of the Waterford Gaeltacht
An Sean Phobal and neighbouring An Rinn together form the Waterford Gaeltacht. Waterford City and County Council identifies the two parishes as the county’s Irish-speaking coastal area. It records the establishment of Comhlucht Forbartha na nDéise in 2005 to support the language through community and cultural development. The organisation’s work connects local cultural life with the continued use of Irish. [2]
The parish church rebuilt
Martin Coffey’s local history records the replacement of the parish’s 1839 church after deterioration during the 1960s. The new church’s foundation stone was laid on 12 March 1971, and Bishop Russell opened it on 5 December that year. The account also records a new belfry and identifies the contractor as M. Wallace of Campile, County Wexford. [3]
Mine Head’s stone tower
On the coast of the wider parish, Mine Head Lighthouse dates from 1851. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage describes a tapering circular granite tower with four stages and a glazed lantern beneath a copper-clad dome. Stone corbels support the platform around the lantern, enclosed by wrought-iron railings. The structure preserves the form of a nineteenth-century navigation aid rather than a coastal defensive tower. [4]
Changing lighthouse technology
The Commissioners of Irish Lights record electrification at Mine Head in 1964 and the withdrawal of resident watchkeeping in 1973. A later equipment programme installed a new lamp and remote monitoring system, with the new light entering operation on 10 September 2003. These changes document successive ways of operating the same coastal station, from staffed lighthouse work to remotely monitored equipment. [5]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Waterford
- Barony
- Decies-within-Drum
- Civil parish
- Ardmore
- Within
- Barranastook
- Coordinates
- 51.98962, -7.63603 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 133838 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Old Parish. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- The Waterford Gaeltacht · Waterford City and County Council
- History of Old Parish Church,27January2008 · Martin Coffey
- Mine Head Lighthouse, NIAH22903904 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Mine Head Lighthouse · Commissioners of Irish Lights
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.