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County Wexford

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County Wexford (Contae Loch Garman) is a maritime county in the south-east of Ireland, in the province of Leinster. Area: 2,352 km² (908 mi²). It takes its name from the principal town, Wexford, founded by Vikings and named by them 'Waesfjord', meaning 'inlet of the mud-flats' in the Old Norse language. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnsealaig, whose capital was at Ferns.

History

The county is rich in evidence of early human habitation. Early Irish tribes, formed the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnsealaig, an area that was slightly larger than the current Co. Wexford. The county was one of the earliest areas of Ireland to be Christianised, in the early 5th century. Later, from 819 onwards, the Vikings plundered many Christian sites in the County and Wexford town became a Viking settlement.

Wexford was the site of an the invasion of Ireland by Normans in 1169 at the behest of Diarmuid Mac Murrough, King of Uí Cheinnsealaig and King of Leinster (Laigin), which led to the subsequent colonisation of the country by the Anglo-Normans. The native Irish began to regain some of their former territories in the 14th century, especially in the north of the county, principally under Art McMurrough Kavanagh.

Under Henry VIII the great religious houses were dissolved, 1536-41 - in Co. Wexford this included Glascarrig Priory, Clonmines Priory, Tintern Abbey, and Dunbrody Abbey.

On 23 October 1641, a major Rebellion broke out in Ireland - Co. Wexford produced strong support for Confederate Ireland. Oliver Cromwell and his English Parliamentarian Army arrived 1649 in the County and captured it. The lands of the Irish and Anglo-Normans were confiscated and given to Cromwell's soldiers as payment for their sevice in the Parliamentarian Army. At Duncannon, in the south-west of the county, James II, after his defeat at the Boyne, embarked for Kinsale and then to exile in France.

Co. Wexford was the most important area in which the 1798 rebellion was fought, during which significant battles were fought at Vinegar Hill (Enniscorthy) and New Ross. The famous ballad Boolavogue was written in remembrance of the Wexford Rising.

The 19th century saw the arrival of the Railways in the county. In 1916, a small 'Rebellion' occurred at Enniscorthy on cue with that in Dublin. During WW2, German planes bombed Campile. In 1963 John F. Kennedy, then President of the United States, visited the county and his ancestral home at Dunganstown, near New Ross.

Geography

Location

The county is located in the south-east corner of the Island of Ireland. It is bounded by the sea on two sides - on the south by the Atlantic Ocean and on the east by St. George's Channel and the Irish Sea. The River Barrow forms its western boundary. The Blackstairs Mountain range forms part of the boundary to the north, as does the southern tip of the Wicklow Mountains. The adjoining counties are Waterford, Kilkenny, Carlow and Wicklow.

Towns and villages

By Population the largest town is Wexford, Enniscorthy the next largest, New Ross next, and then Gorey.

Principal port:

Physical geography

Climate

Co. Wexford is known as 'Ireland's sunny south-east' because of the high amount of sunshine it receives relative to the rest of Ireland - in general, the number of hours of sunshine received daily is higher.

Overall, Co. Wexford has a mild, but changeable, Oceanic climate with few extremes.

Temperature: January and February are generally the coldest months, with temperatures ranging between 4 - 8 on average. July and August are generally the warmest months, with temperatures ranging between 12 - 18 on average.

Wind: The prevailing winds are from the south-west.

Precipitation: Precipitation falls throughout the year - Mean Annual Rainfall is between 800-1200 mm. Generally, the county receives less Snow than more northerly parts of Ireland. Serious snowfalls are relatively rare, but can occur. The one exception is Mount Leinster, visible from a large portion of the county, which is frequently covered with Snow in the Winter months.

Frost is frequent is winter months. However, fewer days of Frost occur in coastal areas.

There is a Meteorological station located at Rosslare Harbour.

Mountains and Hills

Largely low-lying fertile land is the characteristic landscape of the county. The highest point in the county is Mount Leinster (795 m, 2610 ft) in the Blackstairs Mountains around the north-west boundary with Co. Carlow.

Other high points are:

  • Black Rock Mountain, which is 599 m (1,965 ft) high. It is located near the Wexford-Carlow border, but in Co. Wexford.
  • Another is Croghan Mountain (or Croghan Kinsella) on the Wexford-Wicklow border - 606 m (1,988 ft) high.
  • Another is Annagh Hill 454 m (1,490 ft), near the Wicklow border.
  • Lastly there is Slieveboy at 420 m (1,378 ft) high.

Notable Hills include: Carrigbyrne Hill, Camross Hill, Carrigmaistia, Bree Hill, Gibbet Hill, Vinegar Hill, Slievecoiltia, Forth Mountain, and Tara Hill.

Rivers and Lakes

The major rivers are the Slaney and the Barrow.

Other smaller rivers of note are the Owenduff, Pollmounty, Corrock, Urrin, Boro, Owenavorragh, Sow and Bann rivers. There is no significant fresh-water lake in the county. Small sea-side lakes or lagoons exist at two locations – one is called Lady's Island Lake and the other Tacumshin Lake.

Islands

The Saltee Islands, located off Wexford's south coast, are the only major islands in the county. They consist of two main islands - Great Saltee and Little Saltee. Two small rocks, known as Coningmore and Coningbeg, lie roughly south-west of these Islands.

Bannow Island, approx. 1.6 Kms (1 mile) in length, lies just inside the entrance of Bannow Bay.

In Lady's Island Bay are two small islets - Inish and Lady's Island.

In Tacumshin Lake there are two small islets named the Sigginstown Islands - Little and Great.

West of Ballyteige Bay are the two Keeragh Islands (or islets), a rocky reef.

About 8 kms east of Greenore Point is Tuskar Rock - on which sits Tuskar Lighthouse.

Human geography

Carnsore Point was placed on national headlines in the 1970s after a proposal to build a nuclear energy plant. A wind farm has now been built on the site, featuring 14 windmills generating electricity.

Political geography

The county is one of 12 counties located within the province of Leinster, which is currently part of the 26-county state of Republic of Ireland - part of the island of Ireland. Ireland is subdivided into 32 counties and 4 provinces - the other three provinces are Connacht, Munster and Ulster.

The main Political subdivisions are the Barony, Civil Parish and Townland.

There are currently 10 Baronies within the county. They are: Gorey, Scarawalsh, Ballaghkeen North, Ballaghkeen South, Shelmaliere East, Shelmaliere West, Bantry, Slelburne, Bargy and Forth.

The Barony is based on pre-Norman Gaelic tribal areas and is not used much anymore.

Co. Wexford contains 134 Civil Parishes.

Civil Parishes are subdivided into townlands. The townland is the smallest division and is unique to Ireland. The townland is the most often utilised division on a day to day basis.

Agriculture

The economy is chiefly agricultural. Dairying, Cattle, Sheep, Pig rearing and some Horse Breeding is the main husbandry practiced. Poultry rearing , once popular, has very much declined. Wheat, Barley, Rapeseed, and Oats are grown. Sugar Beet is no longer grown due to the closure of all the country's Beet factories. The numbers involved in farming has been declining for many years. Mushrooms are also grown indoors. The Potato and Strawberry are also grown.

Fishing

Much maritime activity takes place - especially at Kilmore Quay and Slade.

Forestry

See Flora.

Geology

Bedrock

The Blackstairs mountain range consists of Caledonian granite. Silurian rocks cover almost the rest of the entire county – these are sedimentary bedrocks of almost entirely marine origin (shales and mudstones, marls and limestones, sandstones and grits).

The bulk of the geology of the county comprises Ordovician slates and volcanics dating back to a vanished ocean bed, which was approximately 450 million year old. Overlying the Ordovician there is a succession of Devonian sandstones (ORS) passing up into Carboniferous Limestones and up into the Permo-Trias rocks.

The most common rock types in Co. Wexford are:

  • 1. Slates (1630 km2 or 69% of the county) Cambrian and Ordovician
  • 2. Greywacke, sandstone and quartzite (348 km2 or 15% of the county)

Some of the oldest rocks in Ireland are found near Rosslare in the southeast of the county - the Greenore Point and Kilmore Quay Groups are older than 620 million years.

Hook Head is noted for the many fossils that occur in the Carboniferous limestones located there. It is also noted for its Red Sandstone, quarried there in the past.

A series of volcanic rocks are located in the county, including: Carrigbyrne Hill, Camross Hill, Bree Hill and Vinegar Hill. They are said to be of Ordovician age (dating from approx. 430 million years ago). These volcanic rocks are said to have emerged from small underwater volcanoes pushing molten material up to the surface which solidified to form hard rocks that have resisted breakdown by weathering agents to the present day. Of course, these Volcanoes are long since extinct, like those elsewhere in the country. With the absence of any major fault lines, this region, like the rest of Ireland, does not experience earthquakes or tremors of any significance.

Soils

Most, but not all, of the county was covered with the Ice Sheet during the last Ice Age. As the Ice retreated, Co. Wexford would have been one of the first areas to be covered with glacial drift - a mixture of boulders, clay, sand and gravel - that blanketed the existing bedrock. This has led to high quality soils, suitable for a wide range of Agriculture.

A very detailed Soil Survey of the county was published in 1964, as part of the 'National Soil Survey of Ireland'. It also contains a useful Soil map of Wexford. It classifies each area of the county according to its specific Soil type. The full reference is:

  • M.J. Gardiner & Pierce Ryan, "Soils of Co. Wexford" (Dublin: An Foras Talúntais, 1964).

Most of the county is covered with soil called Brown Earths, described as well drained and having a wide use range. After that, Gleys (poorly to imperfectly drained with a limited use range) are the next major Soil type, primarily located in the south-east of the county and east of Gorey (along the coast). Gleys are dotted elsewhere around the county in small areas, and where they occur they generally form bogland. The last major soil type is Brown Podzolics (well drained with a fairly limited use range) - located mainly near the edges of the Blackstairs Mountain range and around Bunclody and in the Baronies of East Shelmalier and South Ballaghkeen.

Though there are areas covered with other soil types, these are of limited extent.

Mines

Silver was once mined at Clonmines - primarily in Tudor times. Lead was mined at Caim, 1818-c1850 - this mine also contains Zinc; the two are usually found together. Copper ore (Malachite) is found at Kerloge, just south of the town of Wexford. Iron is found in small quantities at Courtown Harbour. The county is not noted for mineral reserves. No significant mining activity is currently practised, with the exception of quarrying for Stone.

There is one exception. In 2007, a significant Oil find was made 60 kilometres off Hook Head in Co Wexford.

Transport

The Rosslare - Dublin railway line runs through the county, serving Rosslare Europort, Rosslare Strand, Wexford, Enniscorthy and Gorey. Three trains run in each direction daily, with additional commuter services from Gorey. The Rosslare - Limerick railway line runs through the southern part of the county, serving Bridgetown, Wellington Bridge, Ballycullane and Campile.

Rosslare and Dublin are also linked by Bus Éireann route 2 , while route 5 operates Waterford-New Ross-Ennicorthy-Dublin

Rosslare Europort, located at Rosslare Harbour, operates a busy Ferry service - there are regular sailings to Wales (Pembroke and Fishguard) and France (Cherbourg, Roscoff and Le Havre) for passengers and vehicles.

There is also Ferry service in operation between Ballyhack and Passage East (Co. Waterford) at the Barrow estuary.

Wildlife

Flora

Common species of tree include: Oak, Ash, Sycamore , Alder, Blackthorn, Hawthorn (in Irish called 'Sceach'), Beech and Birch. Less common (but plentiful) are: Wild Cherry and Scots Pine (also called Red Deal). Elm is now far less common, due to the devastating effects of a disease called Dutch elm disease. Gorse (or Furze) is very common.

Evergreen tree species are extensively cultivated, especially in more recent years - Norway Spruce and Sitka Spruce are the most common varieties planted. These are generally sown on poorer quality soils (mainly in bogs and on hills or mountainsides). A small amount of Deciduous trees are also sometimes planted - but these require better soils.

There is very little natural forest in the county. Most natural trees and vegetation grows on hedgerows (or 'ditches', in Irish lingo).

Fauna

South-eastern Wexford is an important site for wild birds - the north side of Wexford Harbour, the North Slob, is home to 10,000 Greenland White-Fronted Geese each winter (roughly one third of the entire world's population), while in the Summer Lady's Island Lake is an important breeding site for terns, especially the Roseate Tern. Grey Heron is also seen.

Throughout the county Pheasant, Wood Pigeon and Feral Pigeons are widespread. The Wood Pigeon is larger than our Feral Pigeon. In Co. Wexford the Wood Pigeon is almost always called the "Woodquest".

Swans, Wild Duck, Kingfisher, and Owls (the Long-eared Owl, the Short-eared Owl, and the Barn Owl) are less common - but plentiful. Red Grouse, once common, is now extremely scarce. Smaller birds - such as Crows, Swallows, Robins, Wrens and so on - are very common.

Land Mammals include: Badger, Rabbit, Otter, Hedgehog, Red Fox, Mink, Bats, Squirrel (Red and Grey Squirrel), Rat (Brown and Black), and Mice (the Wood (or Field) Mouse and House Mouse).

Two types of Hare - the Irish (or Mountain) Hare and the less common Brown (or European) Hare - are found. Hare is not nearly as common as Rabbit.

The Stoat is also reasonably common. Locally the Stoat is just as often called a Weasel - incorrectly so, as it is not a Weasel.

Only two types of Seal are found on Co. Wexford's coast - Atlantic Grey Seals are very plentiful in coastal areas, but the slightly smaller Common (or Harbour) Seal is less common, yet plentiful.

The Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly (reddish-orange colour, with black markings) is the most common species of Butterfly in the county. Various types of Moth are also common. The Common Frog is plentiful, and is the only type of Frog found.

Extinct species include the Irish Elk and the Irish Wolf. Some evidence suggests Wolves became extinct in Co. Wexford in the 1730s.

Media

The local radio station is called South East Radio.

Some of the counties main Newspapers are: The Wexford People, The New Ross Standard, The Gorey Guardian, and The Enniscorthy Echo.

Damien Tiernan is currently RTÉ's South-East Correspondent.

Sport

GAA is very popular in the county, which is noted most for Hurling. Wexford last won the All-Ireland Hurling Championship in 1996, beating County Limerick in the final. However, there has been a rapid decline since then in terms of success. In recent years the county Football team has been making rapid advances. Camogie, a Women's version of hurling is also played.

Wexford Racecourse (Horse Racing) is located at Wexford town and there is a Greyhound Racing track at Enniscorthy.

Wexford Youths F.C., recently formed, is the major Soccer Club in the county.

There are numerous Golf Clubs in the county - including Rosslare, New Ross, Enniscorthy, and another located near Gorey. There are also many Par-3 courses in the county.

Angling is also popular.

A range of other Sports are also played and pursued - these are just some of the main ones.

Politics

Wexford is a 5-seat constituency - returning 5 T.D.s to Dáil Éireann.

The current T.D.s representing the constituency are:

Public Libraries

There are public libraries located at Wexford, Gorey, Enniscorthy, New Ross and Bunclody.

Places of Interest

The scenic Bannow Drive, popular amongst tourists, it's a signposted route through four Wexford villages including Duncormick, Cullenstown, Bannow and Wellingtonbridge.

Ballyteigue Burrow, located by Duncormick, is one the finest protected sand dune systems in Ireland. Rich in wild flowers, wild life and butterflies, this 9km coastal stretch is a protected nature reserve by the golden sands of Ballyteigue Bay, spectacular scenery, a joy to walk over.

The Hook Peninsula is noted for its many beaches and spectacular scenery. It features the medieval Hook Head lighthouse and the historic townland of Loftus Hall.

Some other places of interest include: Ferns Castle & Abbey, Enniscorthy Castle & Museum, Vinegar Hill, National 1798 Visitor Centre (Enniscorthy), Boolavogue, Oulart Hill, Castleboro (Ruins), Johnstown Castle, Selskar Abbey (Wexford town), Irish National Heritage Park (Ferrycarrig), St. Mary's Church (New Ross), Dunbrody Abbey, Tintern Abbey, Ballyhack Castle, J.F. Kennedy homestead and Park, Slieve Coilte, and Duncannon Fort.

Popular Beaches are located at Courtown, Curracloe, and Duncannon.

Famous Natives

In popular culture

Beaches in Curracloe, Co. Wexford were used to film the opening scenes of the movie Saving Private Ryan, which depicted the D-day assault on Omaha Beach

References & Footnotes

Bibliography

  • Thomas Carlyle, "Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches", Vol. 1 (New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1845).
  • Giraldus Cambrensis, "Expugnatio Hibernica - The Conquest of Ireland" (Dublin: R.I.A., 1978).
  • K. Wkelan (ed) & W. Nolan (assoc. ed.), "Wexford: History and Society" (Dublin: Geography Publications, 1987).
  • Francis J. Byrne, "Irish Kings and High Kings" (Dublin, 1973-2001).

See also

External links



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