Minister for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring has launched a brand new Heritage Trail featuring a variety of 32 different historical sites and attractions across the county of Wexford.
 
For the first time ever, Wexford’s history, culture and landscape sites and attractions are now presented on a driving route trail of the county.
 
Launching the new tourism product Minister Ring said: ‘We all know that tourists are attracted to an area by activities and attractions. I am very impressed with the range of attractions on offer here in Wexford and the way they are being presented to visitors in this new initiative. This heritage trail should be a great success in persuading overseas and domestic visitors to come and visit this county which is rich in history and beauty. The key thing now is to market this on the internet and internationally, and to persuade tour operators to include it on their itineraries.’
 
The trail was collaborated under a programme designed by Wexford Local Development following an intensive three-month training programme, which brought the heritage attractions together to plan and design the formation of the Trail offering.
 
Commenting at the trail launch, Chairperson of the Wexford Heritage Trail Jacqui Hynes said, “This initiative has been a great success and we are delighted to be launching Ireland’s largest Heritage Trail here in Wexford. This trail spans the entire county and really has something to offer to those hugely interested in history and also to families and children looking for a fun day out. We are very much looking forward to welcoming additional new visitors to our county to explore the heritage of Wexford.”
 
It is believed the Wexford Heritage Trail is the largest trail of its type in Ireland. The trail is a diverse offering with surprises waiting around every turn from the mountains to the sea, mainland to islands, the trail will lead locals and visitors alike to castles and battlefields, churches and abbeys, historic towns and villages, great houses and gardens, windmills and forts to Ireland’s National Heritage Park and the National 1798 Rebellion Centre.
 
Trail followers can explore the world’s oldest lighthouse, Ireland’s biggest open-air museum and its most famous Famine Ship, the ancestral homestead of President Kennedy or discover a landscape rich in biodiversity, from unique coastal habitats to the famous Wexford Slobs, a haven for wildlife and one of the most important wild bird reserves in the world.
 
The thirty-two sites on the new trail are OPW sites of Ferns Castle, Colclough Walled Garden, Tintern Abbey, Ballyhack Castle and Selskar Abbey; National Parks & Wildlife Service managed Wexford Wildfowl Reserve;
 
Wexford County Council initiatives of Enniscorthy Castle, National 1798 Rebellion Centre, Vinegar Hill Battlefield, Irish National Heritage Park, Duncannon Fort, Browne Clayton Monument and Hook Lighthouse (in association with Commissioners of Irish Lights);
 
Enniscorthy town, Fr. Murphy Centre, Gorey Town, Johnstown Castle (Teagasc) and the Irish Agricultural Museum, Wexford town, Our Ladies Island, Loftus Hall, Ros Tappestry, Dunbrody Famine Ship, New Ross Town, Dunbrody Abbey, Oulart Hill, Kilmore Quay and Saltee Islands, Ballymore Historical Features, Wells House, Tacumshane Windmill, Craanford Mill and The Kennedy Homestead.
 
Full details of the Wexford Heritage trail are available on visitwexford.ie.