Wexford#History

File:185 of 'Cromwell in Ireland, a history of Cromwell's Irish Campaign ... with map, plans and illustrations' (11162225324).jpg

File:Wexford Pikeman Statue by Oliver Sheppard 2010 09 29.jpg in memory of the 1798 rebellion]]

The town was founded by the Vikings in about 800 AD. They named it Veisafjǫrðr, meaning "inlet of the mudflats". In medieval times, the town was known as Weiseforthe in the Yola dialect of Middle English. This, in turn became "Wexford" in modern English.{{fact|date=October 2024}} According to a story recorded in the dindsenchas, the town's Irish name, Loch Garman (lake of Garman), comes from a man named Garman mac Bomma Licce who was chased to the river mouth and drowned as a consequence of stealing the queen's crown from Temair during the feast of Samhain.

For several hundred years (from the 9th to the early 12th century), Wexford was a Viking town, a city-state, largely independent and owing only token dues to the Irish kings of Leinster. However, in May 1169 Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster and his Norman ally Robert Fitz-Stephen besieged Wexford. The Norse inhabitants resisted fiercely until the Bishop of Ferns persuaded them to accept a settlement with Dermot.

Wexford became an Old English settlement throughout the early to late Medieval period. An Anglo-Frisian language, known as Yola, was commonly spoken in south Wexford from the time of the Norman invasion in 1169 until it began declining in the mid-19th century. While Yola was extinct by the 1870s, its last speaker, a fisherman from Kilmore Quay named Jack Devereux, died in 1998.{{Cite web |title=Fascinating book on Yola dialect of Forth and Bargy |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexfordpeople/out-about/fascinating-book-on-yola-dialect-of-forth-and-bargy-39143296.html |access-date=14 December 2021 |work=Wexford People |date=24 April 2020 |language=en |archive-date=14 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214204336/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexfordpeople/out-about/fascinating-book-on-yola-dialect-of-forth-and-bargy-39143296.html |url-status=live }}

Compared to other parts of Ireland, the Irish language was not as widely spoken in the baronies of Forth and Bargy, which include Wexford town, from the 9th century onwards due to heavy settlement of Norse, Norman and continental Europeans.{{Cite journal |last=Mernagh |first=Michael |title=A Brief History of Languages in County Wexford: As we used to say |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44554284 |date=2008 |journal=The Past: The Organ of the Uí Cinsealaigh Historical Society |issue=29 |pages=145–164 |jstor=44554284 |place=Dublin |archive-date=22 April 2023 |access-date=15 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422203533/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44554284 |url-status=live }}{{cite magazine |url=https://historyireland.com/the-ethnic-mix-in-medieval-wexford/ |title=Ethnic mix in Medieval Wexford |magazine=History Ireland |last=Colfer |first=Billy |date=2002 |access-date=15 October 2024 |issue=1 |volume=10 |archive-date=30 November 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241130132430/https://historyireland.com/the-ethnic-mix-in-medieval-wexford/ |url-status=live }} However, Leinster Irish was the main language spoken in the more northern baronies of County Wexford, and it was spoken widely during the early to late Medieval period, until its decline in the 17th century.{{cite book |last=Ó Cuív |first=Brian |title=A New History of Ireland: Early Modern Ireland 1534-1691 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562527.003.0020 |chapter=XX The Irish Language in the Early Modern Period |date=2009 |publisher=Oxford University Presd |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562527.003.0020 |place=Oxford }}

Following the Crusades, the Knights Templar had a presence in Wexford town. Up to the present, their name is perpetuated in the old Knights' Templars' chapel yard of St. John's Cemetery, on Wexford's Upper St. John's Street. Wexford received its first charter in 1318.{{cite book |last=Lewis |first=Samuel |title=A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland |chapter-url=https://www.libraryireland.com/topog/W/Wexford-Town-Charter.php |chapter=Wexford Town Charter |date=1837 |publisher=Lewis |place=Dublin |archive-date=11 November 2022 |access-date=11 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111152701/https://www.libraryireland.com/topog/W/Wexford-Town-Charter.php |url-status=live }}

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 and much of the town was burned. In 1659 Solomon Richards was appointed Governor, but he was dismissed and imprisoned following the Restoration the next year.

Wexford's early- and mid- 18th-century history is less frequently remembered than later periods, however, the impact of this period is evident from the architectural fabric of the town such as the gabled Dutch Billy houses such as on Main Street.{{cite web |url=http://irisharchaeology.ie/2012/03/dublins-forgotten-buildings-the-dutch-billy/ |title=Dublin's lost buildings: The Dutch Billy |date=10 March 2012 |publisher=Irish Archaeology |access-date=1 June 2021 |archive-date=12 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412115225/http://irisharchaeology.ie/2012/03/dublins-forgotten-buildings-the-dutch-billy/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/15503022/54-56-main-street-north-wexford-county-wexford |publisher=National Inventory of Architectural Heritage |website=buildingsofireland.ie |title=54-56 Main Street North, Wexford, Wexford |access-date=1 June 2021 |archive-date=12 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412115225/https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/buildings-search/building/15503022/54-56-main-street-north-wexford-county-wexford |url-status=live }}

County Wexford was the centre of the 1798 rebellion against British rule, and Wexford town was held by the United Irishmen throughout the Wexford Rebellion. Nearby Scullabogue was the scene of a notorious massacre of local loyalists by the United Irishmen, and there were also executions and reprisals at Wexford Bridge.

File:Wexford Opera House rises above the old skyline.jpg, amongst other buildings]]

File:JFK-John Barry Memorial.jpg visiting the John Barry Memorial at Crescent Quay, Wexford town, Ireland (27 June 1963)]]

Redmond Square, near Wexford railway station, commemorates the elder John Edward Redmond (1806–1865) who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for the city of Wexford. 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 (1825–1880) sat as an MP in Isaac Butt's Home Rule Party from 1872 until 1880. Willie Redmond sat as an MP for Wexford from 1883 until 1885. The younger John Redmond, was a devoted follower of Charles Stewart Parnell and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party until his death in April 1918. He is interred in the Redmond family vault, at the old Knights' Templars' chapel yard of St. John's Cemetery, Upper St. John's Street.

Redmond Park was formally opened in May 1931 as a memorial to Willie Redmond,{{Cite web |title=A Guide To Redmond Park |url=http://wexfordhub.com/places/redmond-park/ |access-date=21 October 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081009/http://wexfordhub.com/places/redmond-park/ |url-status=live }} who died in 1917 while serving with the 16th (Irish) Division during the Messines offensive and was buried on the Western Front.

File:Wexford Arts Centre - geograph.org.uk - 3642053.jpg]]

Wexford hosts the Wexford Opera Festival every October. Started by Dr Tom Walsh in 1951, the festival has since grown and a fireworks display is sometimes held in conjunction with the annual festival.{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/news/wexford-festival-opera-to-go-off-with-a-bang-as-opening-night-fireworks-returning-after-three-year-absence-42035574.html |title=Wexford Festival Opera to go off with a bang as opening night fireworks returning after three year absence |date=3 October 2022 |access-date=15 November 2022 |archive-date=15 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115170940/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/news/wexford-festival-opera-to-go-off-with-a-bang-as-opening-night-fireworks-returning-after-three-year-absence-42035574.html |url-status=live }}

Wexford has a number of music and drama venues including:

• The National Opera House (formerly the Wexford Opera House), developed on the site of the historic Theatre Royal opera house;
• the Dun Mhuire Theatre, which holds community theatre events including music events and hosting shows by Oyster Lane Theatre Group and Wexford Pantomime Society;
• Wexford Arts Centre, which hosts exhibitions, theatre, music and dance events;
• St Iberius' Church (Church of Ireland), various concerts are held here.

Wexford is the home of several youth and senior theatre groups, including the Buí Bolg Street Theatre Company, Oyster Lane Theatre Group, Wexford Pantomime Society, Wexford Light Opera Society and Wexford Drama Group. In 2024, Wexford hosted the Fleadh Cheoil festival.{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/wexford-district/fleadh-cheoil-na-heireann-wexford-2024-in-numbers-an-estimated-650000-enjoy-probably-the-biggest-ever/a253540703.html |work=Wexford People |title=Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann Wexford 2024 in numbers – an estimated 650,000 enjoy 'probably the biggest ever' |date=13 August 2024 |access-date=15 October 2024 |archive-date=5 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240905122014/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/wexford-district/fleadh-cheoil-na-heireann-wexford-2024-in-numbers-an-estimated-650000-enjoy-probably-the-biggest-ever/a253540703.html |url-status=live }}

The National Lottery Skyfest was held in Wexford in March 2011 and included a pyrotechnic waterfall on the town's main bridge spanning 300m.{{Cite news |last=Kane |first=Conor |date=21 March 2011 |title=Pyrotechnic spectacle banishes the gloom |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/pyrotechnic-spectacle-banishes-the-gloom-1.577935 |url-access= |url-status=live |access-date=24 October 2023 |newspaper=The Irish Times |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030043224/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/pyrotechnic-spectacle-banishes-the-gloom-1.577935 }} Buí Bolg also performed on the night.

Until the mid-nineteenth century, the Yola language could be heard in Wexford, and some words, phrases and place names are still used in the locality, particularly in the baronies of southern Wexford.{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexfordpeople/news/inspector-wexford-and-the-mystery-of-irish-townlands-27658221.html |title=Inspector Wexford and the mystery of Irish townlands |date=23 March 2006 |access-date=15 November 2022 |archive-date=15 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221115171134/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexfordpeople/news/inspector-wexford-and-the-mystery-of-irish-townlands-27658221.html |url-status=live }}

Notable churches within the town include the "twin churches", Bride Street and Rowe Street with their distinctive spires; St Iberius' Church (Church of Ireland), which dates from the 18th Century; Saint Peter's College, with a chapel designed by Augustus Welby Pugin; and Ann Street Presbyterian church. A former Quaker meeting hall is now a band room in High Street. The twin churches can be seen from any part of the town and in 2008, their 150th anniversary was celebrated. The larger twin, on Rowe Street, contains a peal of ten change-ringing bells, cast by Gillett & Johnston in 1930.{{Cite web |title=Dove Details |url=http://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=wexford&Submit=+Go+&DoveID=WEXFORD |website=dove.cccbr.org.uk |access-date=8 February 2018 |archive-date=30 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030043235/https://dove.cccbr.org.uk/detail.php?searchString=wexford&Submit=+Go+&DoveID=WEXFORD |url-status=live }}

In the early 21st century, Wexford saw the redevelopment of its quay front,{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} and residential development at Clonard village.{{Cite web |url=https://independent.ie/regionals/wexfordpeople/localnotes/clonard-news-we-were-luckylife-is-good-in-clonard-village-27713297.html |publisher=Independent News & Media |work=Wexford People |title=Clonard News: 'we Were Lucky...life Is Good In Clonard Village' |date=31 March 2010 |access-date=2 January 2022 |archive-date=2 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220102165610/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexfordpeople/localnotes/clonard-news-we-were-luckylife-is-good-in-clonard-village-27713297.html |url-status=live }} Also, the relocated offices of the Department of Environment were constructed near Wexford General Hospital on Newtown Road and opened in 2010.{{Cite web |title=Press Release – Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Wexford |url=https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/3ab734-department-of-the-environment-community-and-local-government-wexford/ |access-date=26 March 2020 |website=gov.ie |date=9 January 2020 |publisher=Office of Public Works |archive-date=26 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200326181624/https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/3ab734-department-of-the-environment-community-and-local-government-wexford/ |url-status=live }}

Wexford's success as a seaport declined in the first half of the 20th century because of the constantly changing sands of Wexford Harbour.{{Cite web |title=Wexford Quay |url=http://wexfordhub.com/pictures/wexford-quay/ |access-date=21 October 2015 |archive-date=16 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160316172053/http://wexfordhub.com/pictures/wexford-quay/ |url-status=live }} By 1968 it had become unprofitable to keep dredging a channel from the harbour mouth to the quays in order to accommodate the larger ships of the era, so the port closed. The port had been extremely important to the local economy, with coal being a major import and agricultural machinery and grain being exported. The woodworks which fronted the quays and which were synonymous with Wexford were removed in the 1990s as part of a plan to claim the quay as an amenity for the town as well as retaining it as a commercially viable waterfront.

In the early 20th century, a new port was built about {{convert|20|km|mi}} to the 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.

File:Johnstown Castle - from the south-west.jpg

Johnstown Castle, approximately 6 km from Wexford town, is headquarters to Teagasc, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Major private-sector employers in and around the town include Wexford Creamery, Celtic Linen, Wexford Viking Glass, Parker Hannifin IPDE, Waters Technology, Kent Stainless, Equifax and BNY Mellon.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} Coca-Cola operates a research plant employing up to 160.{{Cite web |title=Coca-Cola gets green light – WexfordPeople.ie |work=WexfordPeople.ie |url=http://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexfordpeople/news/cocacola-gets-green-light-27698468.html |access-date=21 April 2013 |archive-date=1 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701160050/http://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexfordpeople/news/cocacola-gets-green-light-27698468.html |url-status=live }} Eishtec, which was acquired by Infosys in 2019,{{cite web |url=https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/eishtec-infosys-bpm-acquisition/ |website=thinkbusiness.ie |title=Waterford firm Eishtec bought by Infosys BPM |date=8 October 2019 |access-date=29 December 2021 |archive-date=29 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229161732/https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/eishtec-infosys-bpm-acquisition/ |url-status=live }} operates a call center in Wexford.{{cite web |url=http://www.eishtec.com/eishtec-to-create-250-jobs-at-wexford-call-centre/ |website=eishtec.com |title=Eishtec to create 250 jobs at Wexford Call Centre |date=17 December 2012 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103010927/http://www.eishtec.com/eishtec-to-create-250-jobs-at-wexford-call-centre/ |archive-date=3 January 2013 }} Pamela Scott, A-wear and other retailers operate in the town. Public sector employers include Wexford County Council and Wexford General Hospital.

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Curracloe Beach, approximately 10 km north of Wexford town, was the location in 1997 for the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan.{{Cite web |title=Saving Private Ryan |url=http://www.iftn.ie/locations/sublinks_static/wexford/?act1=record&aid=70&rid=1493&tpl=filmography_dets&only=1&force=1 |access-date=4 April 2011 |website=Filmography |publisher=The Irish Film and Television Network |archive-date=14 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814172930/http://www.iftn.ie/locations/sublinks_static/wexford/?act1=record&aid=70&rid=1493&tpl=filmography_dets&only=1&force=1 |url-status=live }} A nature reserve and walking trail, at Raven Point Wood, is near Curracloe Beach.{{cite web|url = https://www.visitwexford.ie/directory/raven-point-wood-walking-trail/ | website =visitwexford.ie | title = Raven Point Wood Walking Trail | accessdate = 28 February 2025}}

The Irish National Heritage Park at Ferrycarrig includes various exhibits spanning 9000 years of Irish history, allowing the visitor to wander around re-creations of historic Irish dwellings including crannogs, Viking houses and Norman forts.{{Cite web |title=The Park |url=http://www.inhp.com/park-history/ |access-date=13 December 2012 |publisher=The Irish National Park |archive-date=11 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121211034444/http://www.inhp.com/park-history/ |url-status=live }} The grounds also feature the archaeological site of Newtown, considered the first Norman fortification in Ireland.{{Cite web |title=Excavations {{!}} The Irish Archaeology Field School |url=http://iafs.ie/excavations |access-date=13 July 2018 |website=iafs.ie |language=en-US |archive-date=13 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713231619/http://iafs.ie/excavations |url-status=live }}

The Wexford Wildfowl Reserve is a Ramsar site based on mudflats, (known locally as slobland), just outside Wexford.{{Cite web |title=Wexford Wildfowl Reserve – About Us |url=http://www.wexfordwildfowlreserve.ie/about.html |access-date=13 December 2012 |publisher=National Parks & Wildlife Service |archive-date=1 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301022635/http://www.wexfordwildfowlreserve.ie/about.html |url-status=live }} It is a migratory stop-off point for thousands of ducks, geese, swans and waders. Up to 12,000 (50% of the world's population) of Greenland white-fronted geese spend the winter on the Wexford slobs. There is a visitor centre with exhibitions and an audio-visual show.{{Cite web |title=The Wexford Wildfowl Reserve |url=http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/South-East/TheWexfordWildfowlReserve/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930060125/http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/South-East/TheWexfordWildfowlReserve/ |archive-date=30 September 2012 |access-date=13 December 2012 |publisher=Office of Public Works (OPW) }}

Wexford O'Hanrahan railway station opened on 17 August 1872.{{cite book |first=R.V.J. |last=Butt |title=The Directory of Railway Stations |publisher=Patrick Stephens Ltd |year=1995 |isbn=1-85260-508-1 |pages=247 }} On 10 April 1966, the station was named after Michael O'Hanrahan, one of the executed leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising. The railway line from Dublin to Rosslare Harbour runs along the quayside on the northeastern edge of the town. In 2010 the Rosslare Strand-Waterford rail services were suspended, due to budget cuts at Irish Rail.{{Cite web |title=Waterford-Rosslare Reports – National Transport Authority |work=National Transport Authority |url=https://www.nationaltransport.ie/public-transport-services/rail/contracts/service-changes/waterford-rosslare-reports/ |access-date=31 January 2017 |archive-date=24 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024204328/https://www.nationaltransport.ie/public-transport-services/rail/contracts/service-changes/waterford-rosslare-reports/ |url-status=live }}

Wexford is also served by local and national bus networks, primarily Bus Éireann, Wexford Bus and Ardcavan Bus. There are direct bus routes to Dublin, Carlow and Waterford.{{Cite web |title=70 per cent increase in fuel costs for Wexford Bus |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/news/70-per-cent-increase-in-fuel-costs-for-wexford-bus-41451540.html |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=independent |date=16 March 2022 |language=en |archive-date=14 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414143045/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/news/70-per-cent-increase-in-fuel-costs-for-wexford-bus-41451540.html |url-status=live }} There are also many local taxi and hackney providers. Wexford Bus also operates a shuttle bus service which has stops at the town's main facilities.

Rosslare Europort is {{Convert|19|km}} south of Wexford. Car ferries run between Fishguard and Pembroke in Wales and Cherbourg and Roscoff in France. The ferry companies operating on these routes are Stena Line and Irish Ferries. Foot passengers can use the SailRail tickets from Wexford O'Hanrahan station via Rosslare Europort and Fishguard Harbour to reach Swansea, Cardiff Central and onwards including London Paddington.

The closest airport to Wexford is Waterford Airport which is approximately one hour away (70 km), but is not served by commercial flights.{{Cite web |title=Waterford Airport granted permission to extend runway in bid to attract commercial flights again |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/waterford-airport-granted-permission-to-extend-runway-in-bid-to-attract-commercial-flights-again-41318325.html |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=independent |date=6 February 2022 |language=en }} Dublin Airport is the closest airport to Wexford which operates commercial flights, which is approximately two hours away.

{{wide image|Wexford.jpg|600px|Wexford panorama}}

Wexford Football Club was admitted to the League of Ireland in 2007, and was the first Wexford-based club to take part in the competition. The club was the brainchild of former property developer and politician Mick Wallace, who funded the construction of a complex for the new team's home at Newcastle, Ferrycarrig. In 2015, the team won the League of Ireland First Division. The club launched Wexford Youths WFC, a Women's National League team, in 2011. A new team, Yola FC, was proposed in 2020 but was refused a license by the FAI.{{Cite web |title=Yola FC proposal for new team is rejected by FAI |url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexfordpeople/news/yola-fc-proposal-for-new-team-is-rejected-by-fai-39863007.html |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=independent |date=15 December 2020 |language=en |archive-date=14 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414143042/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wexfordpeople/news/yola-fc-proposal-for-new-team-is-rejected-by-fai-39863007.html |url-status=live }}

Wexford is also home to several Gaelic Athletic Association clubs. Though the town was traditionally associated with Gaelic football, with six teams providing ample outlets for its youngsters, it was not until 1960 that hurling took its foothold, with much due to local man Oliver "Hopper" McGrath's contribution to the county's All-Ireland Hurling Final triumph over the then-champions Tipperary. Having scored an early second-half goal to effectively kill off the opposition, McGrath went on to be the first man from the town of Wexford to receive an All-Ireland Hurling winner's medal.

Although the team has not achieved county senior football success since 1956, St. Johns Volunteers of Wexford Town hold a record eleven county senior titles, as well as six minor titles. Other notable Gaelic football clubs in the town are Sarsfields, St. Mary's of Maudlintown, Clonard and St. Joseph's.

One of the town's local hurling clubs, Faythe Harriers, holds a record fifteen county minor championships, having dominated the minor hurling scene in the 1950s, late 1960s and early 1970s. The senior side has also won five Wexford Senior Hurling Championships.

The clubhouse and course of Wexford Golf Club were finished in 2006 and 2007 respectively.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

As of 2024, Wexford Wanderers RFC was playing in Division 2A of the Leinster League.{{cite web |url=https://wexfordrugby.com/fixtures/1st-xv-fixtures/ |website=wexfordrugby.com |title=Senior Men - First XV Fixtures |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211214745/https://wexfordrugby.com/fixtures/1st-xv-fixtures/ |archive-date=11 December 2024 }}

Ireland's former boxing head coach and Olympian Billy Walsh is a native of Wexford and is associated with St. Ibars/Joseph's boxing club in the town.{{cite web |url=https://www.sportireland.ie/news/to-watch-sports-nationwide-january-2009 |title=To Watch: Sports Nationwide January 2009 |date=8 January 2009 |website=sportireland.ie |access-date=11 December 2024 |archive-date=13 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241213133717/https://www.sportireland.ie/news/to-watch-sports-nationwide-january-2009 |url-status=live }}

There are five secondary schools serving the population of the town. These are Wexford CBS, Loreto Secondary School (girls' school); St Peter's College (boys' school); Presentation Secondary School (girls' school); and The Vocational College/Selskar College (mixed school).

File:Wexford Borough District Office - 2024-08-31.jpg

The historic borough of Wexford was abolished under the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840.{{cite book |title=Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 (3 & 4 Vict., c. 108), Section 13 and Schedule B |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xJZFAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA602 |pages=602, 652 |publisher=Creative Media Partners, LLC |isbn=9780331531558 }} However, by petition, it was re-established in 1846.{{cite book |title=Return of Towns in Ireland from which Petitions have been presented for Charters of Incorporation |url=http://www.dippam.ac.uk/eppi/documents/11985/eppi_pages/285735 |access-date=11 September 2016 |series=Sessional papers |volume=HC 45 335 |date=22 May 1845 |archive-date=18 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918182022/http://www.dippam.ac.uk/eppi/documents/11985/eppi_pages/285735 |url-status=live }} Under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, the area became an urban district,{{cite book |last=Clancy |first=John Joseph |author-link=J. J. Clancy (North Dublin MP) |title=A handbook of local government in Ireland: containing an explanatory introduction to the Local Government (Ireland) Act, 1898: together with the text of the act, the orders in Council, and the rules made thereunder relating to county council, rural district council, and guardian's elections: with an index |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookoflocalg00clan/page/432/mode/2up |page=432 |year=1899 |publisher=Sealy, Bryers and Walker |location=Dublin }} while retaining the style of a borough corporation.{{cite ISB |name=Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 |section=22 |stitle=County districts and district councils |year=1898 |number=37 |regy=61 & 62 Vict. |parl=uk |date=12 August 1898 |access-date=3 November 2022 }} Wexford Borough Corporation became a borough council in 2002.{{cite ISB |year=2001 |number=37 |name=Local Government Act 2001 |schedno=6 |stitle=Local Government Areas (Towns) |date=21 July 2001 |access-date=3 August 2022 }} The boundary of the town was extended in 2008.{{cite ISB |name=Wexford Borough Boundary Alteration Order 2007 |type=si |year=2007 |number=818 |signedby=John Gormley, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government |date=18 December 2007 |access-date=28 November 2022 }}{{cite ISB |name=Wexford Borough Boundary Alteration (Supplementary) Order 2007 |type=si |year=2007 |number=819 |signedby=John Gormley, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government |date=18 December 2007 |access-date=28 November 2022 }}

On 1 June 2014, the borough council was dissolved and the administration of the town was amalgamated with Wexford County Council.{{cite ISB |name=Local Government Reform Act 2014 |year=2014 |section=24 |stitle=Dissolution of town councils and transfer date |number=1 |date=27 January 2014 |access-date=21 May 2022 }}{{cite ISB |name=Local Government Reform Act 2014 (Commencement of Certain Provisions) (No. 3) Order 2014 |type=si |year=2014 |number=214 |signedby=Phil Hogan, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government |date=22 May 2014 |access-date=3 November 2022 }} The local electoral area of Wexford forms the borough district of Wexford, as the town retains the right to be described as a borough.{{cite ISB |year=2018 |type=si |number=637 |name=County of Wexford Local Electoral Areas and Municipal Districts Order 2018 |access-date=9 September 2021 |archive-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909110533/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2018/si/637/ }}{{cite ISB |year=2014 |number=1 |section=19 |name=Local Government Reform Act 2014 |stitle=Municipal districts |date=27 January 2014 |access-date=5 September 2020 |archive-date=15 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215171029/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2014/act/1/section/19/enacted/en/html }} The chair of the borough district uses the title of mayor, rather than Cathaoirleach.{{cite ISB |year=2014 |number=1 |section=37 |name=Local Government Reform Act 2014 |stitle=Alternative titles to Cathaoirleach and Leas-Chathaoirleach, etc. |date=27 January 2014 |access-date=3 November 2022 }}

The parliamentary borough of Wexford returned two MPs to the Irish House of Commons until 1801. Under the Act of Union, the parliamentary borough returned one MP to the United Kingdom House of Commons, until its abolition under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885. It was thereafter represented by the South Wexford from 1885 to 1922, and by the Dáil constituency of Wexford from 1921 to the present.

{{see also|:Category:People from County Wexford}}

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• John Banville, writer
• Clementina Rowe Butler, missionary
• Eoin Colfer, writer
• Robert McClure, Arctic Explorer
• Brendan Corish, politician
• Mary Frances Crowley, educator and nurse
• Thomas D'Arcy McGee, Canadian politician
• Kevin Doyle, footballer
• Jane Elgee 'Speranza', mother of Oscar Wilde
• Mary Fitzgerald (trade unionist)
• Gerald Fleming, meteorologist[http://www.rte.ie/weather/presenters/flemingg.html RTE.ie] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100602074730/http://www.rte.ie/weather/presenters/flemingg.html |date=2 June 2010 }}, The Weather Team on the RTÉ website
• Brendan Howlin, politician
• Rianna Jarrett, footballer
• William Kehoe, iron founder
• William Kenealy, recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Larry Kirwan, writer and musician
• William Lamport, Irish soldier upon whom Zorro is said to be based
• Michael Londra, singer
• Declan Lowney, director
• Fintan O'Carroll, composer{{cite web |title=Fintan O'Carroll |url=https://hymnary.org/person/OCarroll_F |website=Hymnary.org |access-date=29 August 2024 |archive-date=29 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829031006/https://hymnary.org/person/OCarroll_F |url-status=live }}
• Dan O'Herlihy, Oscar-nominated actor
• Chris O'Neill (Oney), animator and internet personality
• Billy Roche, playwright
• Dick Roche, politician
• Jem Roche, boxer
• Declan Sinnott, musician
• John Sinnott, recipient of the Victoria Cross
• Pierce Turner, singer-songwriter
• Billy Walsh, boxer/coach
• Dean Walsh, European boxing medallist
• John Welsh, writer
• Cry Before Dawn, 1980s rock band from Wexford

{{div col end}}

{{Main|List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland}}

Wexford is twinned with the following places:

• {{flagicon|USA}} Annapolis, MD, United States{{Cite web |title=Our Town and History |url=http://www.wexfordboroughcouncil.ie/OurTownandHistory/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021124522/http://www.wexfordboroughcouncil.ie/OurTownandHistory/ |archive-date=21 October 2014 }}
• {{flagicon|France}} Couëron, Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France{{Cite web |title=Jumeblages |trans-title=Twinnings |url=http://coueron.info/Jumelages |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413123755/http://coueron.info/Jumelages |archive-date=13 April 2014 |language=French }}
• {{flagicon|Italy}} Lugo, Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy{{Cite web |title=Twinning Pact between the towns of Wexford and Lugo |url=http://www.comune.lugo.ra.it/content/download/11783/143793/file/Twinning_Pact_Lugo-Wexford.pdf |access-date=11 April 2014 |archive-date=13 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413131430/http://www.comune.lugo.ra.it/content/download/11783/143793/file/Twinning_Pact_Lugo-Wexford.pdf |url-status=live }}

• List of Market Houses in Ireland
• List of towns and villages in Ireland

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last=Billy Colfer |title=Wexford: A Town and Its Landscape |date=20 April 2008 |publisher=Cork University Press |isbn=9781859184295}}
• Fortune, Michael. 2023. The Folklore of Wexford: Living Folklore, Traditions, Stories and Calendar Customs. Castleisland: Walsh Print. {{ISBN|978-1-7398403-3-4}}

{{wikivoyage|Wexford}}

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• {{Cite Collier's|wstitle=Wexford|short=x}}

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{{County Wexford}}

{{Largest urban areas in the Republic of Ireland by population|state=collapsed}}

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Category:Boroughs in the Republic of Ireland

Category:County towns in the Republic of Ireland

Category:Viking Age populated places