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COUNTY WEXFORD

Wexford

Sandy beaches for starters

County Wexford is the county closest to mainland Britain. As such it is the most welcoming to visitors leaving ships in Rosslare Harbour. Its closeness to Britain has not always been an advantage however and the Irish National Heritage Park at Ferrycarrig near Wexford Town charts how the Celtic, Norman and Viking invaders and settlers changed the country.

The coastline of Wexford, bordering both the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea, is full of quaint fishing villages and seaside resorts. The coast is dotted with sandy beaches, those at Courtown, Curracloe, Duncannon and Rosslare being particularly worth a visit. Kilmore Quay is a village of thatched cottages with a harbour and marina, famous for its fresh seafood restaurants. Boat trips leave the harbour to visit the island of Saltee and its colonies of sea birds. Birdwatching is good all along the coast, but especially at the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve north of Wexford Harbour. At the furthest south point of the county, one of the oldest operating lighthouses in the
world looks over the entrance to Waterford Harbour on Hook Head.

Travellers have not just arrived in the county, some have left as well. Near New Ross the John F Kennedy Park and Arboretum celebrates the Presidents historic links with Ireland. Also at New Ross is the replica Dunbrody Ship that remembers those who left Ireland during the famine years. Wexford is the warmest and sunniest county in Ireland, the easiest to get to and one of the most welcoming. A must see-county on anyones Irish holiday.

Worth a look...

Duncannon Military Fort

This star shaped fortress was built on a strategically important promontory in Waterford Harbour in 1588 in expectation of an attack by the Spanish Armada.

Yola Farmstead Folk Park

An 18th century themed farmstead located between Wexford town and Rosslare Europort

Dunbrody Ship

The Dunbrody, a full-scale reproduction of a 19th century famine ship, is an authentic replica of a three masted barque built in Quebec in 1845.

Tourist Offices:

Wexford, tel: 00 353 532 3111
New Ross, tel: 00 353 5142 1857
Gorey, tel: 00 353 552 1248
Enniscorthy, tel: 00 353 543 4699
Rosslare Harbour, tel: 00 353 533 3232

Did You Know

This is Kennedy country.
JFK's great grandfather farmed here and the president visited in 1963, one of his last overseas trips before being assassinated. The John F Kennedy Homestead near Campile is open to visitors, and exhibition of JFK memorabilia and an audio visual display are on offer. The buildings are original.

At the end of the last century, a fearful battle was fought at Curracloe.

American film director Stephen Speilberg decided that these beaches were a dead ringer for Normandy. Thus did he stage his Oscar-winning epic Saving Private Ryan here. The long D-Day landing scenes were all shot on this stretch of coast.

In 1649, Oliver Cromwell was ready to attack the town of Waterford. His line of attack would take him via Hook or Crooke which is on the west side of Waterford Harbour. One of these ways would get him to his gaol. The phrase 'By hook or by crook' originated from this.