Rosslare Harbour | Cuan Ros Láir
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Rosslare Harbour, or Cuan Ros Láir in Irish, meaning ‘harbour of the middle peninsula’, sits on the south-east corner of Ireland: a fine location for marine connections with Wales and Europe.
The history of Rosslare Port begins relatively recently, with changing geographical and transport systems leading to the creation of the new harbour. Until then the adjacent Wexford town and New Ross had been the maritime centres of the region since the medieval era. Rosslare Fort, which guarded Wexford Harbour, was abandoned to the sea in 1925, although its remains have surfaced in recent years with shifting sand banks. An RNLI station was built here in 1838.
The advent of the railways in the mid-19th century enabled new connections to be created within Ireland and across the Irish Sea, and with these developments Rosslare became a port. In the 1890s the Fishguard & Rosslare Railways & Harbours Company, a joint venture between the British Great Western Railway and the Irish Great Southern & Western Railway, created the integrated rail and ferry systems, generating new commercial, migration, and tourism routes. Rosslare Harbour town developed around the port supporting the new waves of traffic.
The increasing popularity of cars and trucks in the 1940s and 50s furthered Rosslare Harbour’s role as a vital node in international transport to and from Ireland. In 1968, the port became Ireland’s newest gateway to Europe with the start of the Le Havre ferry route. While low-fares airlines have impacted the sector, goods transport and seasonal tourism have ensured that Rosslare Europort is now the second busiest port in the Republic of Ireland, with new prospects opening in light of Brexit.
Tá Cuan Ros Láir, a chiallaíonn ‘cuan na leithinse láir’, lonnaithe sa chúinne thoir theas d’Éirinn. Is láthair mhaith í le haghaidh naisc mhuirí leis an mBreatain Bheag agus leis an Eoraip.
Níor thosaigh stair Chalafort Ros Láir ach ar na mallaibh, i gcomparáid le cinn eile, agus bhí córais nua gheografacha agus iompair mar chúis le cruthú an chuain nua. Go dtí sin, bhíodh Baile Loch Garman agus Ros Mhic Thriúin, atá lonnaithe in aice láimhe, ar lárionaid mhuirí an réigiúin ón ré mheánaoiseach i leith. Tréigeadh Dún Ros Láir, lena gcosnaítí Cuan Loch Garman, isteach sa mhuir sa bhliain 1925. Dá ainneoin sin, tá iarsmaí an Dúin ag teacht ar barr talaimh le blianta beaga anuas toisc go mbíonn oitreacha gainimh ag aistriú. Tógadh stáisiún de chuid Institiúid Náisiúnta Ríoga na mBád Tarrthála (INRBT) san áit sin sa bhliain 1838.
Le teacht na n-iarnród i lár an 19ú haois, bhíothas in ann naisc nua a chruthú laistigh d’Éirinn agus trasna Mhuir Éireann. De bharr na bhforbairtí sin, d’éirigh Ros Láir ina chalafort. Sna 1890í, rinne Fishguard & Rosslare Railways & Harbours Company, ar chomhfhiontar é idir Iarnród Mór an Iarthair sa Bhreatain Mhór agus Iarnród Mór an Deiscirt agus an Iarthair in Éirinn, na córais chomhtháite iarnróid agus farantóireachta a chruthú, agus bealaí nua tráchtála, imirce agus turasóireachta á nginiúint. Forbraíodh baile Chuan Ros Láir timpeall an chalafoirt, agus é ag tacú leis na sruthanna nua tráchta.
Rud eile a chuir le ról Chuan Ros Láir mar nód ríthábhachtach san iompar idirnáisiúnta go hÉirinn agus amach aisti ba ea an tóir a tháinig ar charranna agus ar thrucailí sna 1940í agus sna 1950í. Sa bhliain 1968, tháinig an calafort chun a bheith ar an tairseach is nuaí de chuid na hÉireann chun na hEorpa tráth thús an bhealaigh farantóireachta go Le Havre. Cé go bhfuil aerlínte táillí ísle ag déanamh difear don earnáil, tá an t-iompar earraí agus an turasóireacht shéasúrach á chinntiú gurb é Eoraphort Ros Láir an dara calafort is gnóthaí i bPoblacht na hÉireann, agus ionchais nua ag teacht chun cinn de bharr an Bhreatimeachta.