County Wexford

County Wexford's navigable rivers and fertile farmland have long lured invaders and privateers. The Vikings founded Ireland's first major town on the wide, easy-flowing River Slaney, which cuts through the middle of the county. Today the Viking city of Wexford is a centre for opera and art, complementing a beach-fringed coastline and a rural hinterland dotted with cute villages and thatched cottages.

Explore County Wexford

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Latest Stories from County Wexford

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout County Wexford.

  • Lighthouse

    Hook Lighthouse

    On its southern tip, Hook Head is capped by the world's oldest working lighthouse, with a modern light flashing atop a 13th-century tower. Access is by…

  • Gardens

    Johnstown Castle Gardens

    Parading peacocks guard the splendid 19th-century Johnstown Castle, the former home of the once-mighty Fitzgerald and Esmonde families (the estate was…

  • Museum

    Dunbrody Famine Ship

    Called 'coffin ships' due to their fatality rate, the leaky, smelly boats that hauled a generation of Irish emigrants to America are reimagined on board…

  • Beach

    Curracloe Beach

    Soft white sand, gentle surf and lack of development are the big draws of the 11km-long, Blue Flag–rated Curracloe Beach. Families flock here on sunny…

  • Animal Sanctuary

    Courtown Seal Rescue

    Tucked behind Courtown harbour, 35km northeast of Enniscorthy off the M11, this volunteer-run centre rescues orphaned, lost and injured seals and…

  • Ruins

    Tintern Abbey

    Tintern Abbey is named after its Welsh counterpart, from where its first monks hailed. The atmospheric remains of the abbey enjoy a lovely setting amid 40…

  • Island

    Saltee Islands

    Once the haunt of privateers, smugglers and ‘dyvers pyrates’, the Saltee Islands now have a peaceful existence as one of Europe’s most important bird…

  • Museum

    National 1798 Rebellion Centre

    This exhibition does a fine job of explaining the background to one of Ireland's pivotal historical events. It covers the French and American revolutions,…

  • Castle

    Enniscorthy Castle

    This stout, four-towered keep was originally built by the Normans; like much else in these parts, it was surrendered to Cromwell in 1649. During the 1798…

  • Museum

    Irish National Heritage Park

    Over 9000 years of Irish history are squeezed together at this open-air museum 5.5km west of the town centre. After a short audiovisual presentation, take…

  • Historic Building

    Loftus Hall

    Situated 3.5km northeast of Hook Head, this crumbling manor house gazes across Waterford Harbour to Dunmore East. Dating from the 1600s and rebuilt in the…

  • Nature Reserve

    Ballyteigue Burrow Nature Reserve

    The beach and sand dunes of Ballyteigue Burrow Nature Reserve stretch for 9km northwest from Kilmore Quay, covering 227 hectares in all. It's the summer…

  • Ruins

    Selskar Abbey

    After Henry II murdered his former ally Thomas Becket, he did penance at Selskar Abbey, founded in 1190. Basilia, the sister of Richard Fitz Gilbert de…

  • Arts Centre

    Creative Hub

    An abandoned 20th-century shopping mall was transformed in 2018 into this innovative arts centre. Its former shops are now home to more than 25 artists,…

  • Ruins

    Our Lady's Island

    Lady's Island Lake encloses Our Lady's Island, the site of an early Augustinian priory, which still has an annual pilgrimage in August/September. Pilgrims…

  • Park

    John F Kennedy Arboretum

    This beautiful woodland park, dedicated to the memory of JFK, the late US president, has 4500 species of trees and shrubs spread across 252 hectares of…

  • Museum

    Athenaeum

    Built as a theatre and town hall in 1892, the Athenaeum became the headquarters for Enniscorthy's volunteers during the 1916 Easter Rising. A small museum…

  • Nature Reserve

    Wexford Wildfowl Reserve

    The North Slob (from the Irish slab, meaning 'mud' or 'mire') is a large area of reclaimed land to the north of Wexford harbour, drained by ditches and…

  • Historic Site

    Kennedy Homestead

    The birthplace of Patrick Kennedy (great-grandfather of John F Kennedy) is a farm that still looks much as it must have done when he departed for America…

  • Historic Site

    Vinegar Hill

    Scene of one of the most important battles of Ireland's 1798 rebellion against British rule, this hill just outside Enniscorthy is topped with a memorial…