Best Scenic Place in County Wexford, Ireland - Map and Reviews

The John F. Kennedy Arboretum is one of Ireland's most significant and expansive tree collections, established as a living memorial to the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, following his assassination in November 1963. Spanning approximately 252 hectares on the southern slopes of Slieve Coillte in County Wexford, it holds a collection of over 4,500 types of trees and shrubs from temperate regions around the world, making it one of the most diverse arboreta in Europe. The arboretum is managed by the Office of Public Works (OPW) and is classified as a National Monument and amenity site, drawing nature lovers, families, botanists, and heritage visitors from across Ireland and abroad. The connection to Kennedy is deeply personal — his great-grandfather Patrick Kennedy emigrated from New Ross, just a few miles to the northwest, during the Great Famine of the 1840s, making Wexford ancestral territory for the Kennedy family. When JFK visited Ireland in June 1963, just months before his death, his visit to the region was among the most emotionally resonant moments of his short presidency. The arboretum was formally dedicated in 1968, five years after Kennedy's assassination, on lands donated and developed to honour both the man and his Irish roots. Ireland's close ties to the Kennedy family made this a project of national significance, and the site was deliberately chosen for its connection to the New Ross area from which Kennedy's ancestors had emigrated. The planting of the arboretum was a long-term horticultural endeavour, with specimens sourced from across North America, Asia, Australasia, and Europe, arranged both by taxonomy and by geographic origin. Forested plots are organised so that visitors can walk through themed zones — conifers, broadleaves, Asiatic species, North American trees — creating what is effectively a living encyclopaedia of the world's temperate flora. The arboretum continues to expand and refine its collection, and researchers and botanists visit regularly to study its rare and unusual specimens. The physical experience of visiting the arboretum is one of scale and tranquility. Winding paths and forest roads wind through tall stands of exotic conifers, past open meadow areas punctuated by specimen trees, and along the edges of sheltered hollows where moisture-loving plants thrive. The scent of pine and eucalyptus mingles with damp Irish earth, and birdsong is near-constant — the arboretum is rich in bird life, particularly woodland species such as treecreepers, woodpeckers, and various warblers that find refuge in its dense plantings. In autumn, the arboretum transforms into a spectacular display of colour as deciduous trees from North America and East Asia enter their seasonal change, offering shades of amber, crimson, and gold across the hillside. In spring, rhododendrons and flowering cherries add vivid bursts of colour, and the rich green of fresh broadleaf canopy creates a lush, enclosed atmosphere. Slieve Coillte, upon whose slopes the arboretum is set, rises to about 271 metres and offers a commanding viewpoint at its summit that is accessible from within the arboretum grounds. On clear days, the panoramic view from the top takes in much of County Wexford, the broad tidal estuary of the River Barrow and River Nore as they converge near New Ross, the Blackstairs Mountains to the northwest, and on the finest days, stretches of water visible toward the distant Waterford coastline. This elevated perspective gives the arboretum an added dimension beyond its horticultural interest — it becomes a landscape experience that connects the visitor to the wider geography of southeast Ireland. Nearby, the town of New Ross is visible in the valley, and the Dunbrody Famine Ship, a full-scale replica of the type of vessel that carried emigrants like Patrick Kennedy to America, is moored there as a companion heritage site. The surrounding area is rich in history and natural character. County Wexford itself was a centre of the 1798 United Irishmen rebellion, and the landscape carries traces of that turbulent period. The countryside around Slieve Coillte is quiet, agricultural, and deeply rural — patchworks of fields, hedgerows, and small farms typical of the Irish southeast. Hook Head Peninsula and the dramatic Hook Lighthouse, among the oldest operational lighthouses in the world, are within about an hour's drive south. The Kennedy Homestead at Dunganstown, the actual farmhouse from which Patrick Kennedy emigrated and still owned and operated by Kennedy descendants, is just a few kilometres from the arboretum and is open to visitors, making for a natural pairing with a visit to the arboretum for those tracing the Kennedy heritage trail. Practically, the arboretum is well signposted from New Ross, which is itself accessible from the M9 motorway corridor linking Dublin to Waterford. The site has a car park, visitor centre, and toilet facilities, and the internal road network means that even visitors with limited mobility can experience much of the arboretum from a vehicle, though walking the paths on foot gives the fullest and most rewarding experience. The grounds are open year-round, though the visitor centre may have reduced hours outside peak season. A small entry fee is charged, which is consistent with other OPW heritage sites. The best times to visit are spring for flowering displays and autumn for spectacular foliage colour, though summer offers the fullest canopy and the longest evenings for leisurely exploration. Dogs are welcome on leads, and picnic areas are available. One of the more fascinating aspects of the arboretum is the way it quietly stitches together the personal and the political, the horticultural and the historical. Kennedy's June 1963 visit to Ireland — just five months before Dallas — included stops in Wexford, Dublin, Cork, and Galway. His return to ancestral Ireland was widely seen as among the most emotionally authentic moments of his presidency, and the subsequent decision to create this arboretum in his memory on land so close to his family's roots gave the site a poignancy that goes beyond conventional heritage tourism. There is something quietly moving about walking among redwoods, Japanese maples, and southern hemisphere conifers on an Irish hillside, knowing they were planted as an act of collective grief and gratitude — Ireland's tribute to a president who was, in some real sense, also theirs.