Wexford

 ( Boroughs In The Republic Of Ireland ) 

For several hundred years (from the 9th to the early 12th century), Wexford was a Viking town, a city-state, largely independent and owing only token dues to the Irish kings of Leinster. However, in May 1169 Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster and his Normans ally Robert Fitz-Stephen besieged Wexford. The Norse inhabitants resisted fiercely until the Bishop of Ferns persuaded them to accept a settlement with Dermot.

Wexford became an Old English settlement throughout the early to late Medieval period. An Anglo-Frisian language, known as Yola language, was commonly spoken in south Wexford from the time of the Norman invasion in 1169 until it began declining in the mid-19th century. While Yola was extinct by the 1870s, its last speaker, a fisherman from Kilmore Quay named Jack Devereux, died in 1998.

Compared to other parts of Ireland, the Irish language was not as widely spoken in the baronies of Forth and Bargy, which include Wexford town, from the 9th century onwards due to heavy settlement of Norse, Norman and continental Europeans. However, Leinster Irish was the main language spoken in the more northern baronies of County Wexford, and it was spoken widely during the early to late Medieval period, until its decline in the 17th century.

Following the Crusades, the Knights Templar had a presence in Wexford town. Up to the present, their name is perpetuated in the old Knights' Templars' chapel yard of St. John's Cemetery, on Wexford's Upper St. John's Street. Wexford received its first charter in 1318.

County Wexford produced strong support for Confederate Ireland during the 1640s. A fleet of Confederate was based in Wexford town, consisting of sailors from Flanders and Spain as well as local men. Their vessels raided England Parliamentarian shipping, giving some of the proceeds to the Confederate government in Kilkenny. As a result, the town was sacked by the Roundhead during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. Many of its inhabitants were killed and much of the town was burned. In 1659 Solomon Richards was appointed Governor, but he was dismissed and imprisoned following the Restoration the next year.

Wexford's early- and mid- 18th-century history is less frequently remembered than later periods, however, the impact of this period is evident from the architectural fabric of the town such as the gabled Dutch Billy houses such as on Main Street.

County Wexford was the centre of the 1798 rebellion against British rule, and Wexford town was held by the United Irishmen throughout the Wexford Rebellion. Nearby Scullabogue was the scene of a notorious massacre of local loyalists by the United Irishmen, and there were also executions and reprisals at Wexford Bridge.

Redmond Square, near Wexford railway station, commemorates the elder John Edward Redmond (1806–1865) who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as a Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for the city of Wexford. The inscription reads: "My heart is with the city of Wexford. Nothing can extinguish that love but the cold soil of the grave." His nephew William Archer Redmond (1825–1880) sat as an MP in Isaac Butt's Home Rule Party from 1872 until 1880. Willie Redmond sat as an MP for Wexford from 1883 until 1885. The younger John Redmond, was a devoted follower of Charles Stewart Parnell and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party until his death in April 1918. He is interred in the Redmond family vault, at the old Knights' Templars' chapel yard of St. John's Cemetery, Upper St. John's Street.

Redmond Park was formally opened in May 1931 as a memorial to Willie Redmond, who died in 1917 while serving with the 16th (Irish) Division during the Messines offensive and was buried on the Western Front.

Wexford has a number of music and drama venues including:

• The National Opera House (formerly the Wexford Opera House), developed on the site of the historic Theatre Royal opera house;
• the Dun Mhuire Theatre, which holds community theatre events including music events and hosting shows by Oyster Lane Theatre Group and Wexford Pantomime Society;
• Wexford Arts Centre, which hosts exhibitions, theatre, music and dance events;
• St Iberius' Church (Church of Ireland), various concerts are held here.

Wexford is the home of several youth and senior theatre groups, including the Buí Bolg Street Theatre Company, Oyster Lane Theatre Group, Wexford Pantomime Society, Wexford Light Opera Society and Wexford Drama Group. In 2024, Wexford hosted the Fleadh Cheoil festival.

The National Lottery Skyfest was held in Wexford in March 2011 and included a pyrotechnic waterfall on the town's main bridge spanning 300m. Buí Bolg also performed on the night.

Until the mid-nineteenth century, the Yola language could be heard in Wexford, and some words, phrases and place names are still used in the locality, particularly in the baronies of southern Wexford.

In the early 21st century, Wexford saw the redevelopment of its quay front, and residential development at Clonard village. Also, the relocated offices of the Department of Environment were constructed near Wexford General Hospital on Newtown Road and opened in 2010.

In the early 20th century, a new port was built about to the south at Rosslare Harbour, now known as Rosslare Europort. This is a deepwater harbour, unaffected by tides and currents. All major shipping now uses this port and Wexford Port is used only by fishing boats and leisure vessels.

Johnstown Castle, approximately 6 km from Wexford town, is headquarters to Teagasc, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Major private-sector employers in and around the town include Wexford Creamery, Celtic Linen, Wexford Viking Glass, Parker Hannifin, Waters Technology, Kent Stainless, Equifax and BNY Mellon. Coca-Cola operates a research plant employing up to 160. Eishtec, which was acquired by Infosys in 2019, operates a call center in Wexford. Pamela Scott, A-wear and other retailers operate in the town. Public sector employers include Wexford County Council and Wexford General Hospital.

The Irish National Heritage Park at Ferrycarrig includes various exhibits spanning 9000 years of Irish history, allowing the visitor to wander around re-creations of historic Irish dwellings including crannogs, Viking houses and Norman forts. The grounds also feature the archaeological site of Newtown, considered the first Norman fortification in Ireland.

The North Slob is a Ramsar site based on mudflats, (known locally as slobland), just outside Wexford. It is a migratory stop-off point for thousands of ducks, geese, swans and waders. Up to 12,000 (50% of the world's population) of Greenland white-fronted geese spend the winter on the Wexford slobs. There is a visitor centre with exhibitions and an audio-visual show.