Enniscorthy Inis Córthaidh
Location
WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 52°′″N 6°′″W / 52.502064, -6.565876
Irish Grid Reference S969399
Statistics
Province:	Leinster
County:	County Wexford
Elevation:	60 m (196 ft)
Population (2006)	9,538

Enniscorthy (Irish: Inis Córthaidh, meaning the island of Córthaidh) is the second-largest town in County Wexford in the Republic of Ireland (town and environs population: 9,538 ^[1]). With a history going back to 465 AD, Enniscorthy can rightfully call itself one of the longest continuously-occupied sites in Ireland. It is situated on the River Slaney in the centre of the county, 24 km north of the county town, Wexford. The town lies on the N11 road (part of European route E1) from Dublin to Wexford and has a station on the Dublin–Wexford–Rosslare Europort railway line, giving easy access to seaports and airports. People from Enniscorthy are colloquially known as 'scalders'.

The name Inis Corthaidh derives from the Irish Gaelic word for island (Inis) and what is thought to be an ancient personal name (Córthaidh). The town is situated at the tidal extreme of the River Slaney which is no doubt the reason its being settled originally. The river has gouged steep sides in surrounding rock over the millennia to create the distinctive hilly feel of the town that makes it eminently photogenic.

History

1916 Rising

Again, in 1916, Enniscorthy patriots took their place in history. James Connolly requested that the Enniscorthy Volunteers take and hold the railway line to prevent reinforcements from reaching Dublin. 600 Volunteers took the town, led by Robert Brennan, Seamus Doyle and J R Etchingham, they surrounded the police station, but did not attempt to take it. The RIC barracks was held by a police inspector and five constables while an RIC sergeant and one constable prevented the rebels from taking over a bank in the town. They established headquarters at the Athenaeum, and held control until asked to surrender by Padraig Pearse.

The Volunteers also established a strong position on Vinegar Hill, overlooking the town. The railway line was cut and men dispatched to Gorey and Ferns. The government responded by sending a force of more than 1,000 men to retake Enniscorthy and the rebels retired to their positions on Vinegar Hill. Before hostilities could develop the news of the Dublin surrender arrived, but the Volunteers refused to believe it. The army commander, Col FA French, was a Wexford man and in order to avoid bloodshed he offered a safe conduct for the Wexford leaders so that they could go to Dublin and hear of the surrender directly from Pearse. There were no fatalities.

Places of interest

Saint Aidan's Cathedral

St Aidan’s Cathedral, ^[2] was designed by the same person who designed London’s Houses of Parliament. Augustus Welby Pugin created Enniscorthy’s cathedral in the same Neogothic style. Features include a fine façade, a beautiful reredos carved from Caen stone and a great north window with intricate stone tracery. The cathedral was much mutilated over the centuries but restored to its original design in 1994 when authentic colours, materials and techniques were used. The restoration took almost a year. St Aidan’s cathedral was built in 1843.

Enniscorthy Castle

The Wexford County Museum contains extensive 1798 rebellion-related material, as well as items of local and agricultural interest. The Museum is housed in Enniscorthy Castle, an impressive Norman stronghold, which dates from 1205 and was a private dwelling until 1951. The poet Edmund Spencer lived in the castle for a period and it is said that Queen Elizabeth I gave him the castle for all the good things he said about her in the great work "The Faerie Queene". The Castle was also once owned by Sir Henry Wallop, whose maltreatment of his labourers gave rise to the English word "wallop". The castle was the site of many fierce battles during the Cromwellian years and also the 1798 Rising. It is currently closed for refurbishment until 2008.

Vinegar Hill

Vinegar Hill (Cnoc Fíodh na gCaor in Irish which translates as hill of the wood of the berries), a pudding-shaped hill overlooking the town, was the largest camp and headquarters of the rebels of 1798 who controlled county Wexford for thirty days against vastly superior forces, before their defeat on June 21. However, many managed to flee south through a gap left in the British lines by General Needham(now known as Needham's Gap). During this time, Beauchamp Bagnell Harvey was declared as President of the Wexford Republic. The former Congregation of Christian Brothers monastery now houses a 1798 Visitor Centre^[3] which tracks the path to modern democracy and the rebellion's place in it.

National 1798 Visitor Centre

One of the best Interactive museums in Ireland, the 1798 Visitor Centre is devoted to the 1798 Rising. Its history, European context and aftermath are all revisited using the latest audio-visual technology. Highlights include a mock debate between the English Thomas Paine and the Anglo-Irish Edmund Burke and a reconstruction of the Rebellion as a game of chess with six-foot-chess pieces. For children, there’s a 1798 themed play area and games presenting history as a game of chance.

Festivals in Enniscorthy

County Wexford Strawberry Festival

The annual County Wexford Strawberry Festival at Enniscorthy includes music, theatre, street entertainment, a farm and craft market, strawberry princesses and kids' activities. The event also coincides with the Rhythm 'n' Roots Festival with plenty of entertainment on offer.

Blackstairs Blues

The Blackstairs Blues festival is an annual event, now in its twelfth year. The festival has a host of international and local performers, in a variety of late night concerts and other workshops that are welcoming to all who are interested. The festival includes a free pub trail and late night festival club.

Amenities

Enniscorthy is pleasantly situated by the River Slaney, and has short walks beside it to the north and to the south, on the west bank. It is the cathedral town of the Diosese of Ferns and has two Catholic churches spread over two parishes - the parish of St. Aidans and the older parish of St Senans, under the shadow of Vinegar Hill. The town also comprises a Church of Ireland, a joint Methodist/Presbyterian church, a Society of Friends meeting hall, and a Masonic Lodge. There is a multiplex cinema, a swimming pool/recreation centre, several sports grounds and several recently built hotels. Surrounding the town, there is an 18-hole golf course, several pitch and putts, excellent fishing, and an international-quality five-star spa at Monart House just beside "The Still Pond". It is the only five-star spa in Ireland. The town also boasts several historical sites and museums.

People

• Guglielmo Marconi's mother was Annie Jameson, the grand-daughter of the founder of Jameson's Distillery. The location of the distillery, about two miles outside Enniscorthy is today known locally as "The Still".
• Eileen Gray was born in Brownswood and later became famous as a furniture designer and architect.
• Colm Tóibín, born in the town, has written several novels set in the area.
• Anthony Cronin, poet and biographer of Flann O'Brien and Samuel Beckett, is a native of Enniscorthy.

Literature

It is mentioned in the Ithaca chapter of James Joyce's Ulysses (p. 812) as a flyleaf note in a book belonging to Leopold Bloom, where it is described as "Ennifcorthy, County Wicklow, the finest place in the world" (sic).

Transport

Enniscorthy railway station opened on 16 November 1863.^[4]

Commerce

George Killian's Red

Enniscorthy was the location of a regional microbrewery opened in 1864 and owned by the ancestors of George Killian Lett. They took the time brewing Killian's Red with pure spring water and the finest malt, roasted longer to give the Red its glowing color and legendary taste. During their operation Killian's ale was sold almost entirely in Wexford county.Lett's Brewery still operates today, but no longer brews its own products. They now focus on wholesale to shops, bars and hotels^[5].

For five generations, George's family proudly brewed the Red, until thirty-odd years ago. The brewing giants of Ireland came knocking at the door wanting to modernize the brewery and mass-produce George's brew. But before he'd compromise the quality and taste of the Red, he shut the old stone brewery down.

Every year, in the hopes that the Red would be brewed again, George renewed his brewery license. In so doing, he remains the last independent brewer in County Wexford. Although it has since ceased local production it was the basis of the Coors product "Killian's Red" which has a different formula than the original.

Pottery

Enniscorthy is also renown for its potteries including Carley's Bridge Pottery, one of Ireland's oldest potteies, having made earthen pots for over three hundred years.

Paddy Murphy was one of Enniscorthy's greatest potters. In 1980, he founded Hill View pottery adjacent to his home, which is also close to Carley's Bridge Pottery. The cul-de-dac "Potters' Way" is named after Paddy, as he would walk that route to his home. After Paddy's passing, his pottery was taken over by his relation Derek O'Rourke.

References

1. ^ CSO
2. ^ St. Aidan's Cathedral
3. ^ Visitor Centre
4. ^ Enniscorthy station. Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.
5. ^ http://gofree.indigo.ie/~ghlettco/killian.html Lett's Website

See also

• List of towns in the Republic of Ireland
• Market Houses in the Republic of Ireland
• Battle of Vinegar Hill 1798

External links

• EnniscorthyLinks.com / Business Directory

Coordinates: 52°30′01″N, 06°34′08″W

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