Things to do in County Wexford

Ballyteige Castle is a ruined tower house on the south Wexford coast near Kilmore Quay, associated with the Rossiter family, a prominent Old English dynasty who held significant landholdings in County Wexford throughout the later medieval period. The castle stands in the flat coastal peninsula between Kilmore Quay and Forlorn Point, with the offshore Saltee Islands visible on clear days. County Wexford has a remarkably rich medieval heritage as one of the earliest areas of Anglo-Norman settlement in Ireland, and the Wexford coastline was the landing point for the original invasion force in 1169. The area around Kilmore Quay retains a strong fishing tradition.

Coolhull Castle is a well-preserved tower house in County Wexford, standing near Carrick on the tidal Barrow above its confluence with the Nore and Suir at the Three Sisters estuary. Dating from the fifteenth or sixteenth century, the castle was associated with Anglo-Norman families controlling the rich agricultural landscape of south Leinster close to the important port of New Ross. The solid tower house with its vaulted ground floor and remains of a surrounding bawn reflects the standard defensible residence of a family of moderate local standing. The landscape around the Three Sisters confluence is one of the more scenically distinctive areas of southeast Ireland.

The castle is sited on rock at the head of the tidal Slaney river in the centre of Enniscorthy, 13 miles north of Wexford in the south west of Ireland. Enniscorthy Castle is a grey stone Norman castle. It consists of four communicating three quarter drum towers at the corners and a rectangular keep 4 storeys tall. The castle sits in the centre of the town on a small patch of land. Facilities Enniscorthy Castle; now used as the Wexford County and Folk Museum has recently been refurbished and reopened to the public. It has an extensive display of items related to the rebellion in 1798 and a special display of items relating to its use of a prison. It also features items of local and agricultural interest throughout the centuries. The castle was built during the 1230's by Gerald de Prendergast. The original building was passed by marriage into the Rochford family in 1253 and during the 15th century to the MacMurrough Kavanaghs who granted it a group of Franciscan monks. Enniscorthy Castle became property of the crown in the 1530's and was home to the poet Edmund Spencer. The castle was leased to Spencer who was popular with Queen Elizabeth I because he linked her with King Arthur and heaped praise upon the Tudors. It is believed that the poem 'The Faerie Queen'; written by Spencer, was based on Queen Elizabeth herself. She was said to be so pleased that she chose to grant him a pension for his life and made a gift of the castle to him. In 1649 the castle was captured by Cromwell's troops after a siege and in 1798 was used as a prison during the rebellion. The castle was restored twice in the 19th century once by the Earl of Plymouth and changed into a dwelling and again by local MP at the end of the century, when it remained a home until 1951. The castle is now home to the Wexford County Museum and has the reputation of being one of the longest inhabited castles in Ireland The Arts Enniscorthy is noted for a number of festivals. The Strawberry Fair is held in the last week of June each year and features amusements, live bands and crowning of the Strawberry Queen. The annual Blackstairs Blues festival features concerts and workshops by international and local performers. The Enniscorthy Street Rhythm and Dance Festival in August each year includes dance exhibitions, fireworks, parade, concerts, dancing and dance workshops.

The Ferns Castle is found in the centre of Ferns, in Ireland's County Wexford. Ferns Castle, is now in a state of predominant ruin. About half of the castle still stands, with the towers being in varying states of disrepair. There are remnants of what was once a three-storey square keep with a tower at each corner. As the towers go, one has been lost completely, another is mostly ruin, and a third is still about half-standing. The fourth and almost completely preserved tower is the southwestern one, which still has a circular chapel, seven of its fireplaces, ornamental carving, and a vaulted basement. The remains of a moat surround the castle's keep. Facilities Ferns Castle is open to the public between the 24th of May and the 29th of September each year. Opening hours are between 10:00am and 6:00pm. Its restaurant seats up to 30 people, while its tour accommodates 15 and lasts for 30 minutes. Access to the castle is free. It provides car parking, toilets including toilets for the disabled, although disabled access to the castle itself is somewhat limited by its narrow and plentiful staircases. The castle sometimes has exhibitions and seasonal events, information about which is available upon request. There is no exact date for the building of Ferns Castle, though it is suspected to have begun in 1222 by Earl William Marshall the younger. It was not completed, however, until the mid 13th century. William de Valance was its owner by this time. The castle's use as a residence was discontinued very early in the 14th century; the moat was filled in by around 1310 and it had reached a state of disrepair by 1324. It changed hands quite often after then - it was taken and reclaimed several times by different parties until 1551, when it was taken for the Crown by John Travers. The Crown then held possession of it until the mid 17th century. It was then handed to Cromwell's soldiers who are suspected to have brought about its demolition.

Fethard Castle is situated in the seaside resort of Fethard, the main town on the Hook Head peninsula in County Wexford. Fethard Castle is a ruined L-shaped fortified house, with a prominent four storey round tower at the outer corner of the "L". Facilities The castle grounds are open to the public and can be entered without charge. It is possible to walk around the castle but entry to the ruins is not permitted. The borough of Fethard was granted to Hervey de Montmorency after the Normans arrived in Ireland in 1169. He gave the land to Christ Church Canterbury who built a castle on the site of motte and bailey construction. The mound of the motte is still visible. The stone castle now on the site was built on the site in the 15th century, probably by the Bishop of Ferns. Fethard passed to the Loftus family in the 17th century, before the family moved to nearby Loftus Hall. The castle was then occupied by tenants of the Loftus estate, and underwent several modifications before being abandoned in 1922. The castle has since fallen into ruin.

Hook Head Lighthouse at the tip of the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford is one of the oldest operational lighthouses in the world, a tower begun in the twelfth century by William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, on the site of an earlier monastic beacon established by St Dubhán in the fifth century to warn mariners of the treacherous rocks at the entrance to Waterford Harbour. The light has warned ships of this hazard for nearly a millennium in a continuity of maritime service unmatched by any other lighthouse in the world. The lighthouse tower is one of the most impressive and most historically significant buildings of its kind in existence. The twelfth-century Norman structure, approximately 35 metres high and with walls four metres thick, is the earliest example of a purpose-built lighthouse tower in the world, predating the modern lighthouse tradition by several centuries and demonstrating the sophistication of the medieval understanding of maritime safety. The monks who operated the lighthouse during the medieval period maintained the beacon as an act of Christian charity and maritime responsibility. The headland on which the lighthouse stands is one of the finest and most dramatic on the Wexford coast, the black and white banded tower visible from a wide area of the sea and the views from the headland across the Waterford Estuary to the Waterford coast providing an excellent overview of the geography of one of the most historically important estuaries in Ireland.

Kilmore Quay is one of the most attractive and most authentically preserved fishing villages on the Wexford coast, a small thatched village around a working harbour whose combination of the whitewashed and thatched cottages, the active fishing fleet and the character of a community where sea fishing has been the primary activity for centuries creates one of the most completely genuine coastal village experiences in the southeast of Ireland. The harbour remains busy with fishing vessels working the offshore grounds and the fish and shellfish landed here are among the freshest available on the Wexford coast. The Saltee Islands visible offshore from Kilmore Quay are the largest private islands in Ireland and one of the most important seabird colonies in the country, supporting breeding populations of puffins, razorbills, guillemots, gannets, shags and many other species in numbers that make them one of the finest seabird watching sites in Ireland. Boat trips from Kilmore Quay to the islands during the breeding season provide one of the finest accessible seabird experiences in the southeast. The Maritime Museum in a lightship moored in the harbour provides an excellent account of the maritime history of the Wexford coast and the fishing tradition of the Kilmore Quay community. The combination of the village character, the fishing heritage, the Saltee Islands boat trips and the Wexford coastal landscape makes Kilmore Quay one of the most rewarding coastal destinations in Leinster.

Loftus Hall is set in a bleak and open site on the Hook Peninsula overlooking Waterford harbor and Dunmore East, 12 miles from Waterford. Loftus Hall is a huge rectangular nine bay mansion house built over 3 floors. It is set on a site of 63 acres of arable land with its own private beach. The Hall is in good repair and consists of 22 bedrooms and 7 reception rooms. One of the outstanding features of the mansion is the hand-carved oak staircase. The original hall was built during the period of the 'Black Death' in 1350 by the Redmond family. During Cromwell's invasion it was confiscated from the family and handed over to the Loftus family in the 1650's who had to repair the hall from the considerable damage caused by cannon fire. The head of the family had many titles but in the 1800's was created Marquess of Ely. In 1870 the hall was demolished by the 4th Earl and the present hall was built on its foundations. The only remaining parts of the old hall that were left were the foundations of a circular tower and an underground passage. The new hall was very up market for its time including a handmade Italian staircase, gas lighting and central heating. In 1917 the hall was sold to the Holy Order of the Sisters of Providence. They converted the hall into a school and convent for young girls and it remained in their care until 1983. This time it was converted into a hotel by Michael Devereaux but in the late 1990's it was forced to close. The hall remained in the Devereaux family until 2008. It is currently owned by the Quigley family. The hall is a tourist attraction with guided tours of the property and vartious events are hosted there. The Arts A film 'The Legend of Loftus Hall was released in 1993 and another with title 'Loftus Hall' was released in 2014. Legends It is believed that in 1762 a man visited the house from a ship docked on the Hook Peninsula. Anne Loftus invited him into the house and noticed he had a cloven foot, she screamed and the man went up through the roof in a puff of smoke leaving a large hole which could never be properly repaired.

The Saltee Islands off the south Wexford coast of Ireland are the most important seabird breeding site in Ireland, two uninhabited islands rising from the sea south of Kilmore Quay whose cliffs and rocky shores support over three million seabirds from over twenty breeding species during the spring and summer season. The combination of the enormous bird numbers, the possibility of close approach on the islands without disturbing nesting birds, and the spectacular marine setting make the Saltees one of the finest seabird watching destinations in Britain and Ireland. Great Saltee, the larger of the two islands, is the principal seabird site, its southern cliffs providing nesting habitat for gannet, puffin, guillemot, razorbill, kittiwake, shag, fulmar and several other species in concentrations that create one of the most spectacular and most dramatic wildlife spectacles available in Ireland. The puffins in particular, which nest in burrows in the turf of the island slopes and can be observed at very close range during the breeding season, are the most popular attraction for the boat trips from Kilmore Quay that provide the only practical access. Great Saltee was owned by the Prince of the Saltees, Michael Neary, who purchased the island in 1943 and crowned himself its prince in a ceremony whose eccentric charm has become part of the island's folklore. The stone throne on which the self-styled prince sat for his coronation remains on the island and is a popular photographic subject. The autumn migration passage through the Saltees, when large numbers of migrant birds from across Europe pause on the islands during their southward migration, provides a different and equally rewarding wildlife watching experience from the spring seabird season.

Slade Castle at the village of Slade on the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford is a beautifully situated fifteenth-century tower house rising directly from the rocky shoreline of the village harbour, associated with the Laffan family who controlled the fishing resources and coastal trade of the Hook Peninsula. One of the most picturesque and historically coherent coastal settlements on the southeast coast of Ireland, the castle forms part of a complete medieval harbour composition together with the village, its pier and its fishing heritage. The Hook Peninsula is one of the most historically remarkable stretches of coastline in Ireland, with Hook Head Lighthouse at its tip claimed as the oldest operational lighthouse in the world.

Taghmon Castle is a ruined tower house in the village of Taghmon in County Wexford, a medieval settlement founded on the site of the seventh-century monastery of Saint Munnu. The castle dates from the later medieval period and reflects the well-settled Anglo-Norman agricultural landscape of mid-Wexford. The village takes its name from the Irish Tech Munnu, house or church of Munnu, and the medieval parish church standing as a direct successor to the early Christian monastery gives the village an unusual continuity of religious purpose across fourteen centuries. County Wexford has a particularly rich heritage of early Christian monasteries, Norman manors and tower houses reflecting its status as one of the earliest and most thoroughly colonised parts of Anglo-Norman Ireland.