Other sights in County Wexford
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Dunbrody Heritage Ship
Emigrants’ sorrowful yet often-inspiring stories are brought to life by actors during a 30-minute tour of the Dunbrody Heritage Ship, a full-scale replica 1845 Famine ship (also known as a ‘coffin ship’, due to the number of passengers who didn’t survive the journey). Prior to the tour, a 10-minute film gives you background on the original three-masted barque and the construction of the new one. Admission includes access to the onsite database of Irish emigration to America from 1845 to 1875, containing over two million records.
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John F Kennedy Arboretum
Containing 4500 species of trees and shrubs in 252 hectares of woodlands and gardens, the John F Kennedy Arboretum is the promised land for families on a sunny day. The park, 2km southeast of the Kennedy Homestead, has a small visitor centre, tearooms and a picnic area; a miniature train tootles around in the summer months. Slieve Coillte (270m), opposite the park entrance, has a viewing point from where you can see the arboretum and six counties on a clear day.
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Kennedy Homestead
About 7km south of New Ross, the Kennedy Homestead was the birthplace of Patrick Kennedy, great-grandfather of John F Kennedy, who left Ireland for the USA in 1848. When JFK visited the farm in 1963 and hugged the current owner’s grandmother, it was his first public display of affection according to his sister Jean. Jean later unveiled the plaque here. The outbuildings have been turned into a museum that examines the Irish-American dynasty’s history on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Fransiscan Friary
In 1649 Cromwell’s forces made a bonfire of the original 13th-century Fransiscan Friary, so most of the present building is from the 19th century. Only two original walls remain. Some parts, such as the tabernacle, are very modern, creating an appealing architectural incongruity. 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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Tintern Abbey
In better structural condition than its Welsh counterpart, from where its first monks hailed, Ireland's moody Tintern Abbey is secluded amid 40 hectares of woodland. William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, founded the Cistercian abbey in the early 13th century after he nearly perished at sea and swore to establish a church if he made it ashore.
The abbey sits amid wooded trails, lakes and idyllic streams. The grounds are always open, and a walk here is worth the trip at any time.
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Yola Farmstead Folk Park
Farm animals and flapping birds roam the reconstructed 18th-century thatched cottages, working windmill and tiny, four-pew church at Yola Farmstead folk park. The name of this small heritage centre comes from the local dialect, which still survives today. The park is just outside Tagoat, on the N25.
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Johnstown Castle & Gardens
Parading peacocks guard this splendid 19thcentury castellated house, the former home of the once-mighty Fitzgerald and Esmonde families.The empty castle overlooks a small lake and is surrounded by 20 hectares of wooded gardens.
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Irish Agricultural Museum
The outbuildings of the Johnstown Castle house the Irish Agricultural Museum. It has an interesting collection of farm machinery and Irish country furniture, a horse-drawn caravan and a small Famine exhibition.
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