I live in the village of Ring, across Dungarvan Bay from the larger market town of Dungarvan. Ring is located in An Ghaeltacht, the only Irish speaking area of Co. Waterford. In Irish, the name of the village is An Rinn.
All the signage is in both Irish and English and there is an Irish secondary school here. Not this year, but most summers, students come from all over Ireland to perfect their Irish at the summer programs.
Dungarvan Bay is sheltered,tidal, and part of it is quite shallow. So twice a day, when the tide is out, large portions of land emerge from the water.
In the middle of the Bay, is a narrow strip of land called The Cunnigar, or An Coinigéar which extends out across the Bay about 3 km nearly reaching all the way to Dungarvan. There are two sides to it – the “sea” side, which faces the Celtic Sea, has a wide sandy and partially rocky beach rife with shells and sea glass. The other side, the “bay” side is more sheltered, rockier, and a wonderful place to see lots of varieties of wading birds. In between, is grassland and sandy dunes, filled with wildflowers, birds, and the occasional cow.
An Coingéar is totally accessible at both low and high tides. And both offer the visitor a completely different experience.
On warm summer days, when the tide is high it is normal to see families and children paddling, swimming, and playing in the shallow water. Gentle waves lap at the beach and provide just enough background sound. Dogs can be off-leash and race through the water, splashing and jumping, appreciating all the tantalizing smells.
I’ve even met a fisherman – in waders – casting his line. He said he hadn’t caught anything, but there was always hope.
At low tide, the Cunnigar is a completely different experience.
The water recedes revealing a vast expanse of sand that extends out into the Bay. About a km out from the beach, oyster beds appear. If you are walking the beach at this time it is normal to see a few tractors appear from over the dunes and trek across the sand for the daily check of those beds.
Along the beach are thousands of colourful shells: oyster, whlek, scallop, cockle shells and more that I couldn’t name. And sea glass. I have never really hunted for sea glass, but I seem to find some every time I go out, so I’m starting a little collection for my garden.
During low tide it is not unusual to see horses on the beach. Thoroughbred horses in training, ponies, groups of kids riding. The parking lot is small, and when you get a couple of horse boxes in there, it fills up quickly!
There is also a trail to walk along the dunes and the bay side of the Cunnigar. Apparently in the winter, this is a spectacular place to view a wide range of coastal birds. In summer, there are wildflowers, especially a variety I’ve never seen before called a Sea-Holly. It’s a beautiful bluish-green flower with sharp edges shaped just like, you guessed it, holly! When it blooms, the center is a soft blue flower.
It is really wonderful to have such natural beauty so close. Although I usually drive down to An Coinigéar to walk the beach, I could actually walk there from my house. It’s about a 20 minute walk down a quiet, country road. The views are stunning and the scenery changes every day. There are always people to say hello or a cute pup to visit.
I’m looking forward to seeing the changes in the landscape as the seasons change.