Hook Lighthouse in County Wexford.Tourism Ireland
All the facts and interesting trivia about County Wexford!
Irish Name: Loch Garman - "Lake of Garma"
Nickname: The Model County
Population: 145,000
Area: 909 square miles
Province: Leinster
County Town: Wexford
GAA Colors: Purple and gold
Common Surnames in Wexford: Murphy, Sinnott, Doyle, Furlong, Walsh, Rossiter, Scallan, Brien, Brown, Stafford, Devereux and Kavanagh
Famous People with Wexford roots: John Fitzgerald Kennedy, John Barry, Admiral Earl Beatty, general John O'Herron, Thomas Moore, 'Big' Jem Roche, Bill Roche, Ned Kelly
If you like this County Page please visit the other counties in our series here.
A brief history:
Wexford is located in the southeast corner of Ireland. For centuries and right up to today one of the most important ports in Ireland is Rosslare in County Wexford. It is in Wexford where the Normans invaded in 1169. The Danes, Viking and Celts all landed first in Wexford before colonizing parts of the island. As a result of this there are many interesting historical sites and monuments in the county.
Wexford has also been the location of many famous battles in Irish history in particular the 1798 rebellion.
Wexford is famed for having the nicest climate in Ireland and is often called the Sunny South East. It is home to many stunning beaches, Curracloe Beach for example was used as the location for filming the D-Day landings in Normandy for the Hollywood blockbuster, Saving Private Ryan.
History facebook
Love Irish history? Share your favorite stories with other history buffs in the IrishCentral History Facebook group.
Key attractions:
County Wexford is an extremely popular holiday destination for Irish people. There are a number of beautiful coastal towns and villages with fantastic scenery.
One of the most beautiful places to visit in the county is the National Heritage Park at Ferrycarrig, which tells the story of the evolution of Ireland from 7,000BC through to the 12th century and the arrival of the Normans. Another notable landmark is the Hook Lighthouse which is a 100ft tower that predates the building of most other stone lighthouses by over 600 years. There is also a fantastic drive that takes in the Ring of Hook and rivals the Ring of Kerry for beauty and scenery.
Check out the County Wexford photo gallery for more stunning images, or explore Wexford via Google Earth, below: