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In 1814 dramatic changes took place
when Alexander Nimmo, the Scottish engineer (builder of Limerick's Sarsfield Bridge) commenced work on
the new harbour at Dunmore to accommodate the packet station for ships, which
carried the Royal Mail between England and Ireland. The work
consisted mainly of a massive pier or quay with an elegant lighthouse at the
end. Nimmo's original estimate had been £20,000 but at the time of his death in
1832 £93,000 had been spent and the final cost was £108,000. By then (1837) the
harbour had started to silt up, and the arrival of steam meant that the winding
river could be negotiated easily, so the packet station was transferred to
Waterford.
However the existence of what for that
time was a great sheltered harbour meant that Dunmore East was to gradually
become an important fishing port.
In addition, the village has been a popular
holiday resort for many years. The Haven Hotel, formerly the Villa Marina, was
a holiday home built by the Malcolmsons, who
were involved financially in the American civil War. The Fisherman's Hall in
the village was also built by the family
