Rosslare Strand, or simply Rosslare ( or 'middle wood'), is a village and

seaside resort A seaside resort is a city, resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of an official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requi ...

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The name Rosslare Strand is used to distinguish it from the nearby community of

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 ...

, site of the

Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort () 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 primary Irish port serving the European Continent with 36 direct servi ...

Tourism

Rosslare has been a tourist resort for at least 100 years. It is noted as the "sunniest spot in Ireland", and records bear this out: Rosslare has consistently more sunshine hours that any other part of Ireland. The long sandy strand is a

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...

. The beach itself consists of sand and stone running the length of the southern peninsula which protrudes into Wexford Harbour. It is segmented by a series of timber breakwaters which are designed to retain sandy deposits along the beach. Groyne on Rosslare beach - geograph

There are a number of

golf courses A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

in the vicinity. Rosslare also has several hotels, cafes and restaurants. At the time of the 1996 census, the village had a population of 929 people, increasing to 1,795 by the time of the 2022 census. According to the April 2016 census, of the 551 occupied private households in the village, 228 were built between 2001 and 2010. During the early 21st century, the village saw an amount of building, including of a number of holiday homes. There are a number of housing estates of holiday homes near the strand, and the population reportedly grows from "about 1,500 to 17,000" during the summer months. A long sandspit stretching north from Rosslare separates Wexford Harbour from the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

. Until the early 1920s, this spit stretched for many miles north, almost touching the Raven Point and giving a very narrow mouth to Wexford Harbour. At the end of the spit was a small fort called Rosslare Fort. In the winter of 1924-25 a storm breached the spit and it was gradually washed away. The fort was abandoned and now all that is left is an island at low tide.

Climate

Rosslare is commonly known in Ireland as being in the "Sunny South-East", and in 1959 Rosslare recorded 1,996.4 hours of sunshine, the highest recorded in Ireland. However, it is not the warmest or driest place in Ireland. Met Éireann operated a weather station at Rosslare until its closure in 2007. Sunshine duration for the county is now recorded at the

Johnstown Castle Johnstown Castle is a Gothic Revival castle located in County Wexford, Ireland. Location Johnstown Castle is located on the Johnstown Castle Estate, a estate, located off the road between Murntown and Rathaspeck, southwest of Wexford town ...

weather station, which has been operational since 2009. However, due to its inland location, Johnstown Castle receives considerably less sunshine than Rosslare.

Transport

Rail transport

Rosslare is served by Rosslare Strand railway station, which opened on 24 June 1882. The Dublin to Rosslare Europort railway serves the village.

Bus transport

Two main local bus services operate; 'Wexford Bus' and 'Local Link'. The village is also served by

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

routes 370 and 385. The 370 links it to Wellingtonbridge,

New Ross New Ross (, formerly ) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the River Barrow on the border with County Kilkenny, northeast of Waterford. In 2022, it had a population of 8,610, making it the fourth-largest t ...

and

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

(this bus route replaces the train service to

which ceased in September 2010).

Gallery

Image:Strand Races, Rosslare (23121423661).jpg, Strand Races, Rosslare Image:Adults and kids having fun on Rosslare Beach, Co Wexford, Ireland.jpg, People playing on the beach circa 1952 Image:Sail Away (51292495631).jpg, An

Irish Ferries Irish Ferries is an Irish ferry and transport company that operates passenger and freight services on routes between Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe, including Dublin Port–Holyhead; Rosslare Europort to Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Pembr ...

ship en route from

Pembroke Dock Pembroke Dock () is a town and a community in Pembrokeshire, South West Wales, northwest of Pembroke on the banks of the River Cleddau. Originally Paterchurch, a small fishing village, Pembroke Dock town expanded rapidly following the constr ...

, Wales in 2021

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Towns and villages in County Wexford Beaches of County Wexford