County Wexford

County Wexford

Ireland is a place of great natural beauty and rich historical wonder. It is a place that has seen war, famine, prosperity, and poverty which is part of the almost mystical intrigue surrounding the island they call Eire. Ireland is home to about six million people and they are spread about its four provinces: Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster. The capital of Ireland, and its biggest city, is Dublin which is located in County Dublin and is home to a half a million people. County Dublin is, of course, a very popular tourist attraction, but there are many other lesser known counties that have a lot to offer tourists as well. This paper will serve as a guide to County Wexford; a county on the southeastern shore of Ireland in the province of Leinster.

As is the case with most places in Ireland, County Wexford and its history is steeped in folklore and local legend. According to one such legend, a man named Garman Garbh stole the crown of the queen of his tribe. In searching for Garbh, the queen sought assistance from a local enchantress who used her powers to summon a great flood to drown Garbh. The crown was recovered and the waters that drowned Garman Garbh settled in the lowlands of southeastern Ireland to form Loch Garman, which is located in present day Wexford. Historically, County Wexford got its name from the county town, Wexford, which was founded by the Normans as their first settlement in Ireland. The name Wexford itself comes from the Norman word “weissfjord” which means “land of mud-flats”. County Wexford is home to about 130,000 people and is known as the one of the sunniest places in Ireland. It has a fairly temperate climate with very few extremes in temperature being around 40 degrees in its coldest months and around 60 degrees in its warmest months. This is mainly due to its location in the midst of the North Atlantic drift and the Gulf Stream which help to moderate winter temperatures. Also contributing to its temperate climate is the geographical makeup of the county. Wexford is known for its low-lying, fertile lands with small mountains and hills disbursed throughout. The highest point in County Wexford is Mount Leinster, which is part of the Blackstairs Mountain Range that runs along the border between County Wexford and County Carlow, and has an elevation of 2,610 feet. County Wexford is also home to many rivers and islands which add another degree of natural beauty to the county. One major river in Wexford is the River Slaney whose mouth is Wexford Harbor, also known as Loch Garman. The other major river in Wexford is the River Barrow which is the second longest river in Ireland at 120 miles long. The only major islands in the county are the Saltee Islands. The two islands, Great and Little Saltee, have not been inhabited by man since the early 20th century, but that does not take away from their importance. The Saltee Islands are now home to many species of common, rare, and endangered species of birds and seals and provide sanctuary during their migrations. If you are looking for something beyond these natural wonders of Wexford there are many fun, historical sites that can be visited as well.

One major tourist attraction is the plethora of abbeys and monasteries that still exist in County Wexford today. Most remain unused for housing or religious purposes but they are nearly all open for touring. One of the more popular abbeys is called Dunbrody Abbey. Dunbrody Abbey was built in the 12th century, which makes it over 900 years old. This cross-shaped, Cistercian monestary is one of the biggest in all of Ireland in terms of its length. It was built on a grant of land given to the monks on the conditions that they build an abbey and that inside that abbey there would be a Sanctuary for all malefactors. It was founded it 1170 on the instructions of Strongbow, a Norman lord, and was completed in 1220. The abbey flourished for a few centuries until Alexander Devereux became its abbot. He granted the abbey and all of its possessions to the King of England in 1542 and the abbey soon came to be owned by the Etchingham family. The Etchingham heiress then married the Earl of Donnegal and their descendants own the land to this day. Caretaking duties have since been relegated to the Office of Public Works. Aside from Dunbrody Abbey there are many other abbeys and monasteries that are available to tourists like Tintern Abbey and Selskar Abbey.

Another major historical attraction is the various castles and castle ruins left from centuries ago that dot the map of County Wexford. Perhaps the most famous of these castles is Enniscorthy Castle. It has had a very interesting history of ownership and events and is famous for one story in particular. As the story goes a poet named Edmund Spencer wrote a poem called the “The Faerie Queen” which was widely known to be about, and very flattering towards, Queen Elizabeth I of England. In return for Spencer’s kind words the Queen leased Enniscorthy Castle to Spencer for a few days. It is located in Enniscorthy which is the second-largest town in County Wexford. This daunting, Norman structure is mostly responsible for the fact that Enniscorthy is one of the longest continuously-occupied sites in Ireland. It sits on the banks of the River Slaney and is compromised of a four-story, rectangular keep that is strengthened