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Situated in the south eastern corner of Ireland, Wexford is a county of gentle agricultural land and coastal settlements with a rich maritime heritage.
The main town of the county is Wexford, established by Viking settlers in AD 850. It was an important port for Norse raiding parties into the surrounding counties of Wicklow, Carlow, Kilkenny and Waterford and soon became a key maritime port. This logistic pattern was followed centuries later by the Norman invaders of Strongbow in 1169 and today Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford is one of the main entry points to Ireland with ferry crossings from mainland Europe and the UK.
Outside of the town, Wexford is a county of low lying fertile land and scenic sandy coasts stretching from Courtown in the north of the county, to Kilmore Quay in the south and right around the timelessly scenic Hook Peninsula. On the tip of the peninsula is Hook lighthouse the oldest in Europe.
Throughout its history Wexford stood as a rebellious county to outside authority. During the Cromwellian Wars, Wexford town was laid siege by English troops. Fresh from massacring the population of Drogheda, they overcame the town and put some 1,500 of the town's inhabitant to the sword. County Wexford again was the scene of an Irish massacre during the rebellion of 1798, at Vinegar Hill close to Enniscorthy.
Famous names connected to Wexford include J F Kennedy whose great grandfather emigrated from here. There is a memorial centre to JFK and the Kennedy Homestead outlines the Kennedy heritage and is still farmed by relatives of the late president.
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