About County Wexford
County Wexford occupies the southeastern corner of Ireland, its long coastline, fertile farmland and Viking heritage giving it a distinct character. Wexford was the first place the Normans landed in Ireland in 1169, and the county's history since then has been a long negotiation between Gaelic, Norman and more recent traditions. The county is known as the Model County for its agricultural productivity.
History
The 1798 rebellion burned most fiercely in Wexford, where Father John Murphy led a peasant army that briefly controlled the county before being crushed at Vinegar Hill. The rebellion's memory is kept alive with notable intensity in Wexford, where the names of the dead are still recited. New Ross, on the Barrow estuary, was the ancestral home of President Kennedy's family.
How Wexford families left Ireland
New Ross was one of Ireland's significant emigration ports, and Wexford families left in large numbers during the Famine. The county's connection to American history is particularly strong, the Kennedys, Walshes and many other prominent Irish-American families trace their origins to the fertile farmlands of Wexford.
Places worth visiting in County Wexford
- Dunbrody Famine Ship, the full-scale replica of an emigrant vessel at New Ross, one of Ireland's most powerful heritage experiences
- Irish National Heritage Park, a walk through 9,000 years of Irish history on the banks of the Slaney
- Johnstown Castle and Gardens, the Gothic Revival castle set in notable ornamental grounds
- Hook Lighthouse, the oldest operational lighthouse in the world, standing sentinel at the entrance to Waterford Harbour
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