Families Welcome — Dunmore East with Kids
By The Spinnaker Team · Dunmore East, Co. Waterford
Dunmore East works well for families with children, and it works well in a way that is not manufactured. The village has not been designed as a family destination in the way that some Irish coastal resorts have — with soft play centres and organised children's activities and the general infrastructure of keeping children occupied. Dunmore East is a fishing village that happens to be an excellent place to bring children because the things that make it good for adults — the harbour, the boats, the beaches, the outdoor space — are things children find genuinely interesting.
What Kids Love About Dunmore East
The harbour is the first thing. Children who have grown up seeing fishing boats only in books or in aquariums find the working pier at Dunmore East immediately absorbing. The trawlers are real working vessels — not scaled-down harbour attractions but proper commercial fishing boats with all the rope, chain, nets and gear that implies. The lobster pots stacked on the quay are crabbing pots to a child, and the question of what might be inside them is a reliable ten minutes of attention.
The seals that hang around the harbour — following the fishing boats in for scraps, hauling out on the lower rocks when the tide is right — are the reliable crowd-pleaser for children of any age. They are large, unworried and completely approachable (in the sense that they will tolerate close observation without moving). They are arguably the best free wildlife encounter available in the south-east of Ireland.
Counsellor's Strand, the beach below the road on the south side of the village, is accessible at low tide and is a good family beach: sheltered, gently shelving, with the rock pools at the edges that children in Ireland have been investigating with buckets for generations. The swimming is good in summer, though the water temperature is honest about the fact that this is the Irish coast.
Ladies Cove, on the north side of the harbour, is another option — smaller, more sheltered, with calmer water on most days. It is the swimming cove of choice for the Dunmore East locals who know both.
The Spinnaker Bar for Families
The Spinnaker Bar is child-friendly in a straightforward sense: children are welcome, the kitchen will feed them, and the staff are used to families. The pub does not have a dedicated children's play area or an extensive children's menu with characters on it — it is a pub, not a family restaurant in the modern chain sense. But children are welcome, the menu has options that suit them, and high chairs are available on request.
The stone-baked pizzas (€13.50–€21) are the family order at The Spinnaker — the range of toppings means there is something for every preference and they are genuinely well-made. The fish and chips (€22.50 for the adult beer-battered version) is a hit with older children and teenagers who actually like fish. The chicken korma (€22) is the reliable option for the fussier eater who needs something familiar. Burgers at €20. Sides at €5.
The deck is dog-friendly and child-friendly in summer — there is open outdoor space and the harbour view that keeps adults interested while children eat. In cooler weather, the indoor bar is comfortable and the kitchen is just as full-service.
Practical for Families
Free parking at the harbour — important when you are travelling with children and their associated kit. The harbour itself is fenced where the drops are significant and the pier is wide and flat for the most part, but young children should be supervised near the water as with any harbour.
Walk-ins welcome at The Spinnaker on most days. For groups of six or more (a family with grandparents qualifies), ring ahead on (051) 383 133. The team will arrange the table and the high chairs. The pub is 16km south-east of Waterford City, about 20 minutes by car.
What to Do: A Family Day Plan
Arrive late morning. Walk the pier — seals, boats, lobster pots. If the tide is low, head down to Counsellor's Strand for an hour. Come back to the village for lunch at The Spinnaker — pizzas, burgers, whatever the children will eat. Walk the short harbour loop after lunch. Ice cream from the village if the mood requires it. Drive home before the late-afternoon traffic on the road back to Waterford.
Simple. Works every time. Dunmore East does not need to be complicated to be good for families — the village and the harbour and the sea do the work.
Come Eat With Us
Walk-ins welcome most days. Ring ahead for Friday & Sunday evenings or groups of 6+.
Lower Village, Dunmore East — on the harbour.