Take a walk on the Hidden Gems Music Trail

WEXFORD Festival Opera has produced a special map accompanied by a YouTube playlist to help visitors discover hidden historical gems around the town whilst listening to suitable music.

The first stop on the Hidden Gems Music Trail is St. Iberius Church which has a stained glass window which was installed as a tribute to Reverend John elgee (1780), great-grandfather of Oscar Wilde.

Oscar’s mother Lady Jane Wilde (nee Elgee) was born and raised in Wexford.

The suggested music is Donizetti’s ‘Una furtiva lagrima’ from L’elisir d’amore sung by Juan Diego Florez who performed a Festival lunchtime recital in St. Iberius in 1996.

Greenacres Art Gallery is on the trail. The famous composer Michael W. Balfe and Dr. Tom Walsh, founder of the Opera Festival lived nearby. The first opera ever performed in Wexford was ‘The Rose of Castille’ by Balfe. Suggested music: ‘I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls’ from The Bohemian Girl.

At Selskar Abbey where Dorcas Catherine McGee, the mother of Wexfordian Thomas D’Arcy McGee, father of the Canadian Federation (1867) is entombed, the suggested music is Bellini’s ‘Casta Diva’ from Norma.

Also on the trail is an example of stone art at the entrance to Rowe Street Church, representing a local seafaring custom in which smooth stones from local stones were used for decoration. Suggested music Mozart’s ‘Voi che sapete’ from The Marriage of Figaro.

Highlighted at Bride Street Church is a stained glass window by Harry Clarke which was commissioned by the family of Lieutenant William O’Keeffe from the Faythe who was killed in the Battle of Arras, France in 1917 at the age of 21.

Suggested music: Barber’s ‘Adagio for Strings’.

The suggested music at the Statue of Commodore John Barry on Wexford quayfront is Massenet’s ‘Meditation’ from Thais.

The stunning view over the town and harbour from the third floor window of the National Opera House is also included with the suggested music being Puccini’s ‘Nessun Dorma’ from Turandot.