Wexford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the town in Ireland. For other meanings, see Wexford (disambiguation)
| Wexford Loch Garman |
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| 'Per Aqua et Ignem' 'Through Water and Fire' |
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| Location | ||
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| Irish Grid Reference T051213 |
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| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Leinster | |
| County: | County Wexford | |
| Dáil Éireann: | Wexford | |
| European Parliament: | East | |
| Dialling Code: | 053, +353 53 | |
| Elevation: | 1 m | |
| Population (2006) - Town: - Rural: |
8,931 9,659 |
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| Website: www.wexfordcorp.ie | ||
Wexford, derived from Old Norse Waes Fjord,, also Irish: Loch Garman, Latin: Menapia) is the county town of County Wexford in the Republic of Ireland. It is situated near the south-eastern tip of Ireland, close to Rosslare Europort. The town is connected to the capital Dublin via the N11 National Primary Route (European route E1), and the national rail network. The railway line from Dublin to Rosslare Harbour runs along the quayside south of the town railway station. Recently Wexford enjoyed a building boom resulting in new developments across the county and town.
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[edit] History
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 settled by the Vikings in about 800 AD. They named it Waes Fjord, inlet of the mud flats, and the name has changed only slightly into its present form.
Wexford was the site of an invasion by Normans in 1169 at the behest of Dermot MacMurrough Kavanagh, King of Leinster, which led to the subsequent colonisation of the country by the English. It is largely accepted that the Murphy Clan of Wexford descended from the King's brother.
Wexford in the Middle Ages was an Old English settlement. 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 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 centre of Wexford town.
Redmond Square, near the railway station, commemorates the elder John Redmond who was Liberal M.P. for the city of Wexford between 1859-65. 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 sat as an M.P. in Isaac Butt's Home Rule Party between 1872 and 1880. The younger John Redmond, son of William Archer Redmond was a devoted follower of Parnell and leader of the Irish parliamentary party till his death in 1918. Redmond Park was formally opened in 1931 as a memorial to Willie Redmond, the younger brother of John Redmond. He was also an Irish parliamentary party M.P. and was killed in 1917 while serving with the 16th (Irish) Division on the Western Front. Willie Redmond had sat as a Parnellite M.P. for Wexford from 1883-1885.
Wexford was not very successful as a port, because of the constantly changing sands of Wexford Harbour. 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.
[edit] Modern Wexford
The town of Wexford closely follows the quays, which run in a northwest to southeast direction and are built upon re-claimed land. The main street runs more or less parallel to the river and is about a mile long from Redmond Square at the northwest end to Barrack Street at the southeast end. It starts as Selskar Street, then North Main Street from the junction with George's Street, runs into the square called the Bull Ring, then proceeds as South Main Street. Almost all the shops in Wexford lie along this one line, although new retail centres on the town's outskirts are now attracting the larger multiples. Wexford serves a large hinterland in South County Wexford, including townlands and villages such as Ballycogley and Castlebridge. Other important Wexford towns include Gorey, Enniscorthy and New Ross, the ancestoral home of the Kennedy family whose members include JFK, Bobby Kennedy and senator Ted Kennedy.
A modern bridge connects Wexford town with the northern part of the county. It is one of the longest bridges in Ireland.
Wexford is known as one of the main shopping centres in the South east of Ireland. Many international brand names are represented here, such as Superdrug, Argos, Benetton, Adams and Boots, as well as Irish stores such as Dunnes Stores, Carraig Donn, Hughes and Hughes, Shaws, Sasha and Heatons. Many local stores add variety to the retail sector in the town.
Over the last decade, Wexford has witnessed some major developments such as the Key West centre on the Quays, the redevelopment of the Quayfront itself, Whites Hotel and the huge new residential development of Clonard Village, roughly 4km from the town centre. Recently, Tesco opened up a new store in the town, on the former site of the Pierce Foundry. The store is the supermarket chain's largest in Ireland outside Dublin.
Modern building developments in Wexford have not shirked from the architectural cutting edge, as attested to by buildings such as Whites Hotel, the new Theatre Royal (currently under construction) and the new headquarters of Wright's Insurance group. Developments currently in the pipeline 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 relocation of a government department (most likely the Department of the Marine) has been mooted for the currently wasted reclaimed land at Ferrybank.
From an employment point of view, major employers in and around the town are Sola Optical, Wexford Creamery, ABS Pumps, Waters Technology, Kent Construction, Equifax and PFPC. In the public sector, employment is provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture and the usual public services located in a county town, such as the Revenue Commissioners.
An announcement is expected soon of the opening in the town of a Coca Cola bottling plant.
[edit] Culture
Wexford town hosts the internationally recognised Opera Festival every autumn. Eoin Colfer, the author of the Artemis Fowl series of children's books, is from Wexford, and is sometimes seen in the Wexford Book Centre on Main Street, signing books or promoting children's literature. Singer and playwright Larry Kirwan of the Celtic-Rock band Black 47 is a native of Wexford. Similarly, award-winning novelists Colm Toibin and John Banville were born and educated there. The playwright Billy Roche has set all of his stage plays in one of Wexford's most renowned bars, Heffernans on the Corner. Actor Padraic Delaney also hails from the area. An early example of the Mummers play is known from Wexford from about 1817 [1].
[edit] Sport
This year a new football team, Wexford Youths, was admitted to the FAI National League. This is the first time Wexford has had a town in the competition. Wexford Youths are the brainchild of construction magnate Mick Wallace, who has funded the construction of a state-of-the-art complex for the new team's home. Their first home game in the league was a 1-0 win against Roy Keanes first club, Cobh Ramblers.
Wexford is a major hurling county. The county last won the All-Ireland Hurling Championship in 1996 with Martin Storey as captain. They beat Limerick in the final by 1-13 to 0-14.
[edit] Trivia
- Father Ted, one of the main characters of the British eponymously-named situation comedy, once served in Wexford.
- Saving Private Ryan, The opening scenes of the film were filmed on Curracloe Beach, Co. Wexford. The beach lies a few miles to the north across the bridge at the village of Curracloe.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] General References
[edit] Flora and fauna
Parkes, H.M. and Scannell, M.J.P. 1969. A list of marine algae from the Wexford coast. Ir. Nat. J. 16: 158 - 162.
