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New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. It is located on the
River Barrow The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...
, near the border with County Kilkenny, and is around northeast of
Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
. In 2016 it had a population of 8,040 people, making it the fourth-largest town in the county.


History

The port town of New Ross dates from the pre-Middle Ages. The earliest settlement in this area dates to the 6th century when St.  Abban of Magheranoidhe founded a monastery in what is now Irishtown. The original earthen banked circular enclosure of his monastery was visible around the graveyard until it was removed by the council. It was replaced by a concrete wall and steel fence. Its name, ''Ros'', was shortened from ''Ros Mhic Treoin'', or ''the Wood of the Son of Treoin''. New Ross was in the territory of Dermot McMurrough and came to prominence when the Anglo-Normans conquered the region. The Norman knight William Marshall and his bride Isabella de Clare arrived during the early part of the 13th century. An earthen defensive structure called a motte was built at Old Ross in order to hold the newly conquered territory. A medieval borough sprung up around it - peopled by English and Welsh settlers. The arrival of Isabella and William is described in the ''Chronicles of Ross'', which are in the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. It records that in 1189, Isabella set about "building a lovely city on the banks of the Barrow". The town's fortunes further increased when King John made William the Earl of Pembroke at his coronation in 1199. A year later, the Earl Marshal transferred the Norman capital of
Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...
to Kilkenny and New Ross became the main port. The town grew around the bridge built by
William Marshal William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 or 1147 – 14 May 1219), also called William the Marshal (Norman French: ', French: '), was an Anglo-Norman soldier and statesman. He served five English kings— Henry II, his sons the "Young King" ...
, son-in-law of
Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (of the first creation), Lord of Leinster, Justiciar of Ireland (113020 April 1176), also known as Richard FitzGilbert, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman notable for his leading role in the Anglo-Norman invasio ...
(Strongbow), and a leader of the Norman invasion of Ireland. The town of New Ross (the town of the new bridge) was granted a Royal Charter in 1207. The port gained concessions from King John in 1215 and again in 1227 but these were later revoked by Henry III and Edward I to protect the port of
Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
. New Ross was still Ireland's busiest port in the 13th century. These restrictions were lifted in the 14th century by Edward II and Edward III. In the late 13th century the town was placed for a time under a papal
interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits persons, certain active Church individuals or groups from participating in certain rites, or that the rites and services of the church are banished from ...
, following a riot in which several monks of the Order of
Crutched Friars The Crutched Friars (also Crossed or Crouched Friars, cross-bearing brethren) were a Roman Catholic religious order in England and Ireland. Their name is derived from a staff they carried with them surmounted by a crucifix. There were several orde ...
were killed. St Mary's Abbey (Church of Ireland) was built in 1811. There are two Roman Catholic churches, the parish church of SS. Michael and Mary completed in 1902, and the Augustinian church opened in 1835. The town was fought over in the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s. In 1643, the town resisted the
siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...
by James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, who fought a battle near the town with an Irish army under Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara but later re-conquered by
Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...
in 1649 who discharged three cannon shots at the Aldgate. The town is at an important crossing point, sited on the
River Barrow The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...
between the river estuary to the south and the point where the
River Nore The River Nore ( ga, An Fheoir ) is one of the principal rivers (along with the River Suir and River Barrow) in the South-East Region of Ireland. The river drains approximately of Leinster and Munster, that encompasses parts of three counti ...
joins the Barrow to the north. It was the location of one of the bloodiest
battles A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
of the
1798 rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a Irish republicanism, ...
.


Education

There are four primary schools in New Ross, two for boys, one for girls and one co-education school. The two boys' schools are Michael Street National School which caters for children from Junior Infants up until 1st Class. They then move up to the Senior school, New Ross CBS, which children attend from 2nd class onwards. The girls' primary school, St Joseph's, caters for students from Junior Infants to 6th Class. There is a mixed school in New Ross, St Canice's, which is situated across the bridge in Rosbercon. There are five secondary schools in New Ross, one is all-boys, two are all-girls, and two are mixed. St Augustine's and Good Counsel College, New Ross, is an all-boys school that caters for over 750 students making it by far the largest school in New Ross. St Mary's and Our Lady of Lourdes are the two all-girl secondary schools. The two mixed schools are the Kennedy College and CBS Secondary.


Sport

Sporting organisations in the town of New Ross include New Ross Triathlon Club, Geraldine O'Hanrahans GAA Club, St Michaels Boxing Club, New Ross RFC, New Ross Celtic Soccer Club, New Ross Town Soccer Club, New Ross Boat Club, New Ross Badminton Club, New Ross Swimming Club, Dunbrody Archers, United Striders AC and New Ross Golf Club.


Arts and culture

The town's arts centre is St Michael's Theatre. The present building was built in 1806, eight years after the insurrection of 1798 and served as the parish church until 1902 when the new parish church, St Mary's & Michael's, was opened. St Michael's has a staff of 12, a 300-seat theatre, a 50-seat studio venue, an art gallery, a cinema, a coffee shop and a bar. New Ross is home to the Ros Tapestry Project, a community initiative undertaken throughout County Wexford by a team of 150 voluntary embroiderers. The Ros Tapestries depict events including the founding of New Ross by William Marshall. The first tapestry was completed in 2002 and to date all but one of the 15 tapestries are complete. In 2009 the Ros Tapestry Exhibition was opened at The Quay, New Ross.


Transport


Road

The road crossing the Barrow is the N25 road linking Cork,
Waterford City "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
away and
Rosslare Harbour The village of Rosslare Harbour (), also known as Ballygeary, grew up to serve the needs of the harbour of the same name (now called Rosslare Europort), first developed in 1906 by the Great Western Railway and the Great Southern and Western Rai ...
away. The N30 links
Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountain ...
and New Ross.


Bus links

The town is served by several bus routes and its main stop is on the town's quay. There are services to and from
Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
each day. Bus Éireann is the principal operator providing Expressway services to
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
and
Dublin Airport Dublin Airport (Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of ...
and to
Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort ( ga, Europort Ros Láir) is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeasternmost point of the island of Ireland. The port is the premier Irish port serving the European Contin ...
and Cork as well as local services. Wexford Bus operate a service between
Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...
and
Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...
while Kilbride Coaches operate a route linking the town to Kilkenny. Wexford Local Link operates services to
Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountain ...
.


Rail

New Ross (Rosbercon) railway station opened on 19 September 1887, closed for passenger traffic on 30 March 1964 and closed for goods traffic by 1995. It was an important link between the lines serving Dublin to Rosslare, Bagenalstown via Palace East and on to Waterford. In 2020 the last tracks were lifted in preparation for a new greenway. Some of the track was salvaged by the Waterford and Suir Valley Railway for preservation and reuse.


Sea

New Ross is Ireland's only inland port, located from the sea on the River Barrow. A small marina is located downstream of the town. The tall ship Asgard II which provided sail-training, sometimes docked in New Ross on its travels.


Economy

Until the creation of ships too large to reach the port, in the 19th century, New Ross was a port town. However, the river is too shallow to allow passage of large ships and the
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...
gradually went into decline. The town continued to be a market town for the rich agricultural hinterland but suffered from recession throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early part of the 1990s. As of the 21st century, there is some industry in the area, with businesses centring on services and retail. Retail outlets including
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...
,
Lidl Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG (; ) is a German international discount retailer chain that operates over 11,000 stores across Europe and the United States. Headquartered in Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg, the company belongs to the Schwarz Group, whi ...
and
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...
are located away from the centre of town.


Tourism

The Ros Tapestry Exhibition Centre located on the Quay in New Ross is a series of 15 embroidered Tapestry panels. Depicting Celtic Ireland looking at Celtic rituals, woman warriors and Brehon Law, to early Christian Ireland, the Vikings of Wexford and the ousting of Diarmait MacMurchada from his Kingdom of Leinster and sailing to France in search of King Henry II. Also depicted is William Marshal who married Isabel de Clare heiress of Strongbow, Earl of Pembroke and granddaughter of Diarmait MacMurchada. New Ross is home to the ''Dunbrody'' replica famine ship which is moored on the Quay. The town also houses the Emigrant Flame; a constantly burning flame in a memorandum of the emigrants of the famine. A statue of
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
is located on the quayside. The statue was unveiled in July 2008 by his sister Jean Kennedy Smith. The JFK Dunbrody Festival is held each year in July in the town and centres primarily on live music on the festival stage. In the village of Duncannon, to the south of New Ross, Duncannon Fort is located alongside a Blue Flag beach. The name of
Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Founded in 1892, the club joined the Football League the following year and has p ...
's stadium at
Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 189 ...
road came from the old town land of Annefield in New Ross. The
Browne-Clayton Monument The Browne-Clayton Monument is a column of the Corinthian order on a square pedestal base built in the 19th-century in Leinster, Ireland. It stands on Carrigadaggan Hill, at Carrigbyrne in County Wexford at , just off the N25 national route be ...
is located on the New Ross - Wexford Road ( N25) approximately east of New Ross. The
Hook Lighthouse The Hook Lighthouse (; also known as Hook Head Lighthouse) is a building situated on Hook Head at the tip of the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford, in Ireland. It is one of the oldest lighthouses in the world and the second oldest operating lighth ...
is located south of New Ross. The Kennedy family Homestead, the ancestral home of US President John F Kennedy is located south of New Ross, and the JFK Arboretum is also located to the south of the town. It is not related to the
O'Kennedy Park O'Kennedy Park (sometimes designated Kennedy Park) is a GAA stadium in New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland. It is the main ground of Geraldine O'Hanrahan's Gaelic football and hurling teams and has also hosted inter-county fixtures. It was ...
Wexford GAA The Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Loch Garman) or Wexford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County We ...
stadium.


People

* Sean Connick,
Fianna Fáil Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christia ...
TD from 2007-2011. * James Cullen, priest and founder of the
Pioneer Total Abstinence Association The Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart (PTAA) is an international organisation for Roman Catholic teetotalers that is based in Ireland. Its members are commonly called Pioneers. While the PTAA does not advocate prohibition, ...
, was born in New Ross *
Kevin Doyle Kevin Edward Doyle (born 18 September 1983) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a forward. He played for Wexford F.C. (formerly Wexford Youths), St Patrick's Athletic, and Cork City in his homeland before he moved to Eng ...
, Irish international soccer player * Martin Doyle,
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
recipient * Patrick Kennedy, great-grandfather of U.S. President
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
* Seán O'Kennedy, captain of the record breaking Wexford Gaelic Football All-Ireland champions 1915-1918 * Gráinne Murphy, swimmer who won silver at the 2010 European Long Course Championships and bronze at the 2010 European Short Course Championships * Thomas Joseph Power, Bishop of St. John’s, Newfoundland *
John Redmond John Edward Redmond (1 September 1856 – 6 March 1918) was an Irish nationalist politician, barrister, and MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. He was best known as leader of the moderate Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) from ...
, MP for New Ross *
Maverick Sabre Michael Stafford (born 12 July 1990), better known as Maverick Sabre, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and rapper. Early life Sabre was born in Hackney, London. At age four, he moved with his family to New Ross, County Wexford, where he grew u ...
, Singer


Twinnings

New Ross has
town twinning A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inter ...
agreements with the communities of: *
Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
,
Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
, US * Moncoutant,
Poitou-Charentes Poitou-Charentes (; oc, Peitau-Charantas; Poitevin-Saintongese: ) is a former administrative region on the southwest coast of France. It is part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprises four departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, D ...
, France *
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
, County Down


See also

* List of towns and villages in Ireland * Market Houses in Ireland


References

{{Authority control Port cities and towns in the Republic of Ireland Towns and villages in County Wexford Articles on towns and villages in Ireland possibly missing Irish place names Populated places established in the 12th century