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is the county town of County Wexford. Its population is around 9,000 and has seen a rise in house building in recent years. The town is link to Dublin via the N11 National Primary Route and the national rail network.
Industry
Wexford is known as one of the main shopping centres in the South east of Ireland. Many international brand names are represented here as well as Irish stores. Many local stores add variety to the retail sector in the town. In recent years, Wexford has been subject to some major infrastructure Recently, Tesco opened up a new store in the town, on the former site of the Pierce Foundry. The store is the supermarket chain's largest in Ireland outside Dublin.
Geography
Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney. It is situated near the south-eastern tip of Ireland.
History
The town was settled by the Vikings in about 800 AD. They named its original name to Waes Fjord, inlet of the mud flats. Wexford was the site of an invasion by Normans in 1169 at the behest of Dermot MacMurrough Kavanagh, King of Leinster, which led to the subsequent colonisation of the country by the English. Wexford in the Middle Ages was an Old English settlement. A now extinct dialect of English, known as Yola, was spoken uniquely in Wexford up until the 19th century. Yola was a branch of Middle English that evolved separately among the English (known as the Old English) who followed the Norman barons to eastern Ireland in 1169. By the mid 19th century, the dialect was only spoken in remote parts of Forth.
County Wexford produced strong support for Confederate Ireland during the 1640s. A fleet of Confederate privateers was based in Wexford town, raided English Parliamentarian shipping, giving some of the proceeds to the Confederate government. As a result, the town was sacked by the English Parliamentarians during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. County Wexford was the centre of the 1798 rebellion against English rule. Wexford town was held by the rebels throughout the fighting and was the scene of a notorious massacre of local loyalists by the United Irishmen, who executed them on the bridge in the centre of Wexford town. Wexford was not very successful as a port, because of the constantly changing sands of Wexford Harbour. In the early 20th Century, a new port was built, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) 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.
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