Wexford’s rich history in spotlight
Medieval Wexford, a detailed and meticulously-researched book exploring the history and archaeology of County Wexford was launched at Wexford Arts Centre by Conor Newman of the Heritage Council of Ireland.
The book, essays in the memory of late Wexford historian Billy Colfer, details the landscapes of Wexford which are closely associated with the Anglo-Norman conquest of the twelfth–thirteenth centuries. This rich legacy is illuminated in this collection by papers on Dunbrody Abbey, the deserted medieval boroughs of Bannow and Old Ross as well as the history and archaeology of the towns of New Ross and Wexford and the villages of Ferns and Taghmon. The history and architecture of the 13th Century Tower of Hook lighthouse is detailed and a new analysis is presented of the ecclesiastical buildings at Ferns. The role of the medieval frontier and the interactions between Gaelic-Irish and colonisers is set out in studies on personal names and plantation settlements, and in the identification of a brehon law school settlement at Ballyorley. The book also includes essays on post-medieval millstone extraction and on the chequered career of the antiquarian and genealogist Colonel Hervey de Montmorency-Morres. The results of new research and discoveries from archaeological investigations are presented, many for the first time, so as to provide a compelling overview of why the Wexford landscape is crucial in the study of Irish medieval settlement and the interaction of native and colonial identities. The editors were Ian Doyle, an archaeologist and Head of Conservation at the Heritage Council and Bernard Browne, from the Environmental Protection Agency and author of several books. Contributors: Terry Barry, Bernard Browne, Rhiannon Carey Bates, Niall Colfer, Christiaan Corlett, Edward Culleton, Linda Doran, Ian Doyle, James Eogan, Elizabeth FitzPatrick, John Flynn, Nicholas Furlong, Tommy Grennan, Maurice F. Hurley, Connie Kelleher, Bernice Kelly, Seán Kirwan, James Lyttleton, Catherine McLoughlin, Tori McMorran, Ian Magahy, Conleth Manning, Sinéad Marshall, Celestine Murphy, Paul Murphy, Ben Murtagh, Cóilín Ó Drisceoil, Tadhg O’Keeffe, Diarmaid Ó Muirithe, Emmet Stafford, Geraldine Stout and Patrick F. Wallace.