This oldest part of the oldest town in Ireland is named after Regnall, the first (Norwegian) Viking leader of Waterford, who built a fortified oaken tower here in AD 914 and later invaded Jorvik (York, England). Dating from the late 1100s, the stone Norman tower you see today replaced the wooden one and was once the most important corner of the town wall. The tower is Ireland’s oldest intact building and the first made with mortar. Today, its four floors creak with Viking artifacts.
Inside is an interesting Viking town model. A display of early coins explains how the Vikings introduced the concept of coinage to the Irish after they eventually settled down and set up trade posts.
Look for the tiny Kite Brooch that delicately blends both Scandinavian and Irish styles. In their day, brooches were considered badges of status, and this one’s owner must have been at the top of the heap.
The statue outside is of Thomas Francis Meagher, whose short, hell-bent-for-leather life took him on precarious adventures from Waterford to Tasmania to Nicaragua to Montana and, finally, to an unknown watery grave.
