Wexford

This article is about the Irish town. For other uses, see Wexford (disambiguation).

Template:Infobox Place Ireland Wexford (from the Old Norse: Veisafjǫrðr, Yola: Weisforthe, Irish: Loch Garman) is the county town of County Wexford in Ireland. It is situated near the southeastern tip of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to Dublin via the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and the national rail network. It has a population of 18,163 according to the 2006 census.

History

Wexford

Ruins of Selskar Abbey, Wexford.

Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney. According to a local legend, the town got its Irish name, Loch Garman, from a young man named Garman Garbh who was drowned on the mudflats at the mouth of the River Slaney by flood waters released by an enchantress. The resulting lake was thus named, Lake of Garman. The town was founded by the Vikings in about 800 AD. They named it Veisafjǫrðr, inlet of the mud flats and the name has changed only slightly into its present form. For about three hundred years it was a Viking town, a city state, largely independent and owing only token dues to the Irish kings of Leinster.

However, in 1169 Wexford was besieged by Dermot MacMurrough Kavanagh, King of Leinster and his Norman ally, Robert Fitz-Stephen. The Norse inhabitants resisted fiercely, until the Bishop of Ferns persuaded them to accept a settlement with Dermot. Wexford was an Old English settlement in the Middle Ages. An old dialect of English, known as Yola, was spoken uniquely in Wexford up until the 19th century.

County Wexford produced strong support for Confederate Ireland during the 1640s. A fleet of Confederate privateers was based in Wexford town, consisting of sailors from Flanders and Spain as well as local men. Their vessels raided English Parliamentarian shipping, giving some of the proceeds to the Confederate government in Kilkenny. As a result, the town was sacked by the English Parliamentarians during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. Many of its inhabitants were killed and much of the town was burned.

County Wexford was the centre of the 1798 rebellion against English rule. Wexford town was held by the rebels throughout the fighting and was the scene of a notorious massacre of local loyalists by the United Irishmen, who executed them on the bridge in the town centre.

John F. Kennedy visiting the John Barry Memorial at Crescent Quay, Wexford town, Ireland (27 June 1963).

Redmond Square, near the railway station, commemorates the elder John Edward Redmond (1806-1865) who was Liberal MP for the city of Wexford. The inscription reads: "My heart is with the city of Wexford. Nothing can extinguish that love but the cold soil of the grave." His nephew William Archer Redmond (1825-1880) sat as an MP in Isaac Butt's Home Rule Party from 1872 until 1880. The younger John Redmond, son of William Archer Redmond was a devoted follower of Charles Stewart Parnell and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party till his death in April 1918. He is interred in the Redmond family vault, St. John's Cemetery, Upper St. John's Street. Redmond Park was formally opened in 1931 as a memorial to Willie Redmond, younger brother of John Redmond. He was also an Irish Parliamentary Party MP and was killed in 1917 while serving with the 16th (Irish) Division on the Western Front during the Messines offensive, where he was buried. Willie Redmond had sat as a Parnellite MP for Wexford from 1883 until 1885.

Wexford's success as a seaport declined in the 20th century, because of the constantly changing sands of Wexford Harbour. By 1968 it had become unprofitable to keep dredging a channel from the harbour mouth to the quays in order to accommodate the larger ships of the era, so the port closed. The port had been extremely important to the local economy, with coal being a major import and agricultural machinery and grain being exported. The port is now used exclusively by mussel dredgers and pleasure craft. The woodenworks which fronted the quays and which were synonymous with Wexford were removed in the 1990s as part of an ambitious plan to claim the quay as an amenity for the town as well as retaining it as a commercially viable waterfront. Despite the bankruptcy of the contractor, the project was a success. In the early 20th century, a new port was built, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south, at Rosslare Harbour, now known as Rosslare Europort. This is a deepwater harbour unaffected by tides and currents. All major shipping now uses this port and Wexford Port is used only by fishing boats and leisure vessels.

Culture

Wexford is the home of many youth and senior theatre groups including the Buí Bolg street performance group, Oyster Lane Theatre Group, Wexford Pantomime Society, Wexford Light Opera Society and Wexford Drama Group.

Wexford's Theatre Royal opera house was recently replaced by the Wexford Opera House. Wexford town hosts the internationally recognised Opera Festival every autumn. Dr Tom Walsh started the festival in 1951, and it has since grown into the internationally recognised festival it is today.

The Wexford Arts Centre hosts exhibitions, theatre, music and dance events. Various concerts are held in St. Iberius's Church (Church of Ireland).

Until the mid-nineteenth century the Yola language could be heard in Wexford, and a few words still remain in use. The food of Wexford is also distinct from the rest of Ireland, due to the local cultivation of seafood, smoked cod being a token dish in the region.

Architecture

Wexford has witnessed some major developments such as the Key West centre on the Quays, the redevelopment of the quayfront itself, White's Hotel and the huge new residential development of Clonard village. Proposed developments include the development of a large new residential quarter at Carcur, a new river crossing at that point, the new town library, the refurbishment of Selskar Abbey and the controversial redevelopment of the former site of Wexford Electronix. Also, the relocated offices of the Department of Environment are currently under construction near Wexford on the New Ross Road.

Notable churches within the town include St. Iberius, Bride Street and Rowe Street with their distinctive spires, the impressive Saint Peter's College, with a chapel designed by Augustus Welby Pugin and Ann Street Presbyterian church. A former Quaker meeting hall is now a band room in High Street. Two of the most noticeable buildings in Wexford are the "Twin Churches" Rowe St. and Bride St. These churches can be seen from any part of Wexford and in 2008 celebrated their 150th anniversary. This was a huge event for the churches. Joe Kinsella is the caretaker of Rowe St. Church.

Economy

From an employment point of view, major employers in and around the town are Carl Zeiss Vision (formerly Sola Optical), Wexford Creamery, Celtic Linen, Wexford Viking Glass, Snap-Tite, Waters Technology, Kent Construction, Equifax and PNC Global Investment Servicing (formerly PFPC). Coca Cola are about to start construction of a new plant just outside the town. In the public sector, employment is provided at Johnstown Castle by Teagasc, the Agriculture and Food Development Authority of the Department of Agriculture.

Transport

Wexford railway station opened on 17 August 1874. The railway line from Dublin to Rosslare Harbour runs along the quayside south of the town.

Sport

Golf

Wexford Golf Club has a newly built clubhouse and course, which were finished in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

Soccer

The Wexford Youths football club were admitted to the League of Ireland in 2007. Wexford Youths are the first Wexford-based club to take part in the competition. Wexford Youths is the brainchild of construction magnate Mick Wallace, who has funded the construction of a complex for the new team's home at Newcastle, Ferrycarrig.

Gaelic games

Wexford is also home to several Gaelic Athletic Association clubs. Though the town was traditionally associated with Gaelic football, with six teams providing ample outlets for its youngsters, it wasn’t until 1960 that hurling took its foothold, with much due to local man Oliver “Hopper” McGrath’s contribution to the county’s All-Ireland Hurling Final triumph over the then-champions Tipperary. Having scored an early second-half goal to effectively kill-off the opposition, McGrath went on to be the first man from the town of Wexford to receive an All-Ireland Hurling winner’s medal.

One of the town’s local hurling clubs, Faythe Harriers, holds a record fifteen county minor championships, having dominated the minor hurling scene in the 1950s, late 1960s and early 1970s. However, the senior side has only enjoyed briefly successful periods, having won just five county senior championships.

Although the team has not achieved county senior football success since 1956, Volunteers (“the Vols”) of Wexford Town hold a record eleven county senior titles, as well as six minor titles. Other notable Gaelic football clubs in the town are Sarsfields, St. Mary’s of Maudlintown, Clonard and St. Joseph’s.

Rugby

Wexford has one rugby club, called Wexford Wanderers.

Boxing

Ireland’s boxing head coach and former Irish Olympian Billy Walsh is a native of Wexford town and has contributed greatly to the success of underage level boxers with local club St. Ibars/Joseph’s.

People

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1821	8,326	—
1831	10,673	+28.2%
1841	11,252	+5.4%
1851	11,958	+6.3%
1861	11,494	−3.9%
1871	12,077	+5.1%
1881	12,163	+0.7%
1891	11,545	−5.1%
1901	11,168	−3.3%
1911	11,531	+3.3%
1926	11,879	+3.0%
1936	12,247	+3.1%
1946	12,296	+0.4%
1951	11,979	−2.6%
1956	11,840	−1.2%
1961	12,247	+3.4%
1966	12,744	+4.1%
1971	13,293	+4.3%
1981	15,364	+15.6%
1986	15,365	+0.0%
1991	15,393	+0.2%
1996	15,862	+3.0%
2002	15,231	−4.0%
2006	17,586	+15.5%

• Novelist John Banville was born in Wexford.
• Father of the American Navy Commodore John Barry was born in the village of Tacumshane, 15 km south of Wexford.
• Writer Eoin Colfer comes from Wexford.
• Jane Elgee 'Speranza', mother of Oscar Wilde came from Wexford.
• Meteorologist and TV presenter Gerald Fleming is from Wexford where he continues to live.
• Larry Kirwan, an expatriate Irish writer, musician, Sirius-XM Celtic Crush host is from Wexford Town, County Wexford
• Playwright Billy Roche.
• Dick Roche TD.
• The only Irish boxer to fight for a world heavyweight title Jem Roche comes from Wexford.
• Singer and songwriter Pierce Turner.
• Actor John Welsh and his brother Dr. Tom Walsh, founder of Wexford Festival, came from Wexford.
• Oscar nominated actor Dan O'Herlihy was born in Wexford. He is probably best known for his role in Robinson Crusoe

Wexford in popular culture

• Cry Before Dawn, rock band who found success in the late 1980s

Twinning

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland

Wexford is twinned with the following places:

• Coueron, France
• Annapolis, Maryland

See also

• List of Market Houses in Ireland
• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Yola language

Further reading

• Billy Colfer (20 April 2008). Wexford: A Town and Its Landscape. Cork University Press. ISBN 1859184294. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |isbn13= ignored (help)

External links

• KilmoreGenealogy.com, Hidden Wexford Genealogy, a genealogy website devoted to those researching Wexford institutions
• Wexford GAA.ie
• WexfordWeb.com, The Web Portal for Wexford
• Anglican.org, Wexford Union and Kilscoran Union, Church of Ireland