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- This article is about the town in Ireland. For other meanings, see Wexford (disambiguation)
Wexford (Irish: Loch Garman) 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.
History
Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney. The town was founded 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.
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.
Present Day Wexford
The town of Wexford closely follows the quays, which run in a northwest to southeast direction. 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, runs into the square called the Bull Ring, then proceeds as Main Street. Almost all the shops in Wexford lie along this one line. 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, Benneton, Adams, Boots and Tesco, 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. It is expected that the census results of 2006 will show a substantial increase in the population of the town.
Culture and trivia
Wexford town hosts a well known 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. 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 Wexford.
See also
Towns in Wexford | Wexford | Loch Garman | Wexford | Wexford | Wexford | Wexford
"Wexford"