The village of Rosslare Harbour grew up to serve the needs of the harbour of the same name (now called Rosslare Europort), first developed in 1906 by the Great Western Railway and the Great Southern and Western Railway to accommodate steamferry traffic between Great Britain and Ireland. Rosslare Harbour railway station opened on 30 August 1906. Although the harbour itself is located close to the previously existing settlement of Ballygeary, it was named after the village of Rosslare, some 4 km away (8 km by road) along the coast.