Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [145]
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Population: 377,617
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AREA: 7147.19 SQ KM
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COUNTY WEXFORD
pop 131,749
County Wexford’s navigable rivers and fertile land have long lured invaders and privateers. The Vikings founded Ireland’s first major towns on the wide, easy-flowing River Slaney, which cuts through the middle of the county. The most enjoyable way for visitors to unwrap Wexford’s swashbuckling maritime history is pausing in pretty waterfront villages and sampling catches from the surrounding waves.
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WEXFORD TOWN
pop 8931
At first glance, Wexford (Loch Garman) appears a sleepy port town where the silted estuary now sees less traffic than Waterford and Rosslare Harbour. However, there are reminders of its glorious Viking and Norman past in the meandering lanes off Main St – as well as some medieval monuments and a world-class opera festival in autumn, held in the city’s state-of-the-art new opera house.
History
The Vikings named it Waesfjord (meaning ‘harbour of mud flats’) and its handy location near the mouth of the Slaney encouraged landings as early as AD 850. It was captured by the Normans in 1169; traces of their fort can still be seen in the grounds of the Irish National Heritage Park.
Cromwell included Wexford in his destructive Irish tour from 1649 to 1650. Around 1500 of the town’s 2000 inhabitants were put to the sword, including all the Franciscan friars. During the 1798 Rising, rebels made a determined, bloody stand in Wexford town before they were defeated.
Orientation
From Wexford Bridge at the north end of the town, the quays lead southeast along the water, via the small kink called the Crescent, home to a statue of Commodore John Barry (1745–1803), who emigrated from Wexford to America and founded the US navy. Most shops are a block inland on North and South Main St.
Information
BOOKSHOPS
Readers’ Paradise ( 053-912 4400; 2 Slaney St; 9.30am-6pm Mon-Sat) Good stock of Irish-interest second-hand fiction and nonfiction.
Wexford Book Centre ( 053-912 3543; 5 South Main St; 9am-6pm Mon-Thu & Sat, 9am-7pm Fri, 1-5pm Sun) Lots of new Irish titles plus a limited selection of foreign newspapers and magazines.
INTERNET ACCESS
Tangiers ( 053-914 6404; 19 Trimmers La; per hr €3.50; 9am-10pm Mon-Sat, 10.30am-8pm Sun)
Wexford Library ( 053-912 1637; McCauley Car Park, off Redmond Sq; www.wexford.ie/library; 10.30am-5.30pm Mon-Tue & Thu-Sat, 10.30am-8.30pm Wed) Free internet access (one hour time limit).
LAUNDRY
My Beautiful Laundrette ( 053-912 4317; St Peters Sq; 9.30am-1pm Mon-Sat) Opening hours can vary.
LEFT LUGGAGE
O’Hanrahan Station ( 053-912 2522; Redmond Pl; 6am-9pm Mon-Sat, 8am-9pm Sun) Has left-luggage facilities for €2.50 per item per day at the southern end of the platform.
MEDICAL SERVICES
Wexford General Hospital ( 053-915 3000) On the N25, 2.5km west of the centre.
MONEY
There’s an AIB bank and a National Irish Bank on North Main St near Common Quay St.
POST
Main post office ( 053-914 5314; Anne St)
TOURIST INFORMATION
Tourist office ( 053-912 3111; Quayfront; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat Apr-Oct plus 11am-1pm & 2-5pm Sun Jul & Aug, 9.15am-1pm & 2-5pm Mon-Sat Nov-Mar)
Sights
Originally a beach where provisions were boated into the city, the Bull Ring became a centre for bull baiting in medieval times: the town’s butchers gained their guild charter by providing a bull each year for the sport. The Lone Pikeman statue commemorates the participants in the 1798 Rising, who used the place as an open-air armaments factory.
The only survivor of the six original town gates is the 14th-century Westgate. It was originally a tollgate, and the recesses used by the toll collectors are still intact, as is the lockup used to incarcerate ‘runagates’ – those who tried to avoid paying. Some stretches of the town wall are also in good nick, including a particularly well-preserved section near Cornmarket.
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VIKING