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County Wexford

Historic Building sights in County Wexford

  1. A

    Franciscan Friary

    In 1649 Cromwell's forces made a bonfire of the original 13th-century Franciscan Friary, so most of the present building is from the 19th century. Only two original walls remain. The friary houses a relic and wax effigy of St Adjutor, a boy martyr slain by his own father in ancient Rome.

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  2. Enniscorthy Castle

    During the 1798 Rising, rebels used this castle as a prison. The stout, four-towered keep was built by the Normans; Queen Elizabeth I awarded its lease to the poet Edmund Spenser for the flattering things he said about her in his epic The Faerie Queene. Rather ungratefully, he sold it to a local landlord. Like everything else in these parts, the castle was attacked by Cromwell in 1649. It now houses a good local museum which includes displays showing how the town grew and a spectacular rooftop deck.

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