Informal video.

An early morning start saw 20 members of the Fethard Historical Society take the road to Wexford last Saturday, September 28.

First stop, New Ross where we spent almost an hour with our lovely guide Lisa who took us through the 12 completed Ros Tapestry panels depicting the history of the Normans in Wexford, from their first landing at Bannow Beach in 1169.

The panels also feature the establishment of the town of New Ross and the building of such wonderful churches of St. Mary’s and Tintern Abbey.

We heard of Dermot McMorrough, Stongbow and Aoife, William Marshall and Isabel de Clare and their descendants.  The panels also incorporate references to the lifestyle and customs of the native Irish, showing clearly the differences between the two cultures.

Each panel is an entity in itself, worked in fine wool on linen, each with its own distinctive style. It takes hours of painstaking work to complete even one square inch of tapestry and one can only wonder at the dedication and expertise of the army of volunteers who have contributed to the making of the panels.

They are a source of inspiration to historian and craftsperson alike affording a glimpse into the many facets of medieval life. There are three panels still to complete, two of which are being worked on in Wexford, the third featuring the Battle of Ossory is, appropriately, being done in Kilkenny.

Following a quick browse at the local Country Market, we were back on the bus and heading for the Kennedy Homestead in Dunganstown. The new Visitor’s Centre gives a detailed overview of the Kennedy/ Fitzgerald families, their Irish roots and their life in America. The exhibition includes many personal mementoes of the late JFK including the Rosary beads he carried with him on the fateful day of his assassination in Dallas.

There are video presentations of his inauguration as President, his visit to Ireland and the White House tour with Jacqueline Kennedy. 

The highlight for many people was the visit to Hook Head Lighthouse, the oldest operational lighthouse in the world, where another excellent guided tour brought to life the amazing story of the lighthouse from its foundation by William Marshall in the early 13th century right down to the present day. Our guide told us that on really clear days it is possible to see Slievenamon on the western horizon.

Our guide Eileen Cloney-Kehoe showing us the recently discovered tomb of one of the Knights at the Knight’s Templar Church at Templetown

At this point we were joined by local guide Eileen Cloney-Kehoe who took us on a whistle-stop tour of the Hook peninsula. We visited the Knight’s Templar Church at Templetown and saw the recently discovered tomb of one of the Knights; an amazing find after so many centuries.

We walked along Beginbun Head where the second wave of Normans, under Raymond le Gros, arrived in 1170. One can still clearly see the ditches they threw up as defences against the Gaelic and Norse warriors who failed in their attempts to oust the invader.

We skirted Bannow Bay and made a brief stop at the lovely Tintern Abbey, its’ golden sandstone mellow in the evening light. Some of us even had enough stamina to visit the 15th century castle in Fethard-on-Sea before settling in Neville’s gastropub where fine dining is the order of the day.


Fethard Castle in Fethard-on-Sea, Co. Wexford

Our trip more than fulfilled our expectations and we are already planning a return trip to visit, among others, such places as Tintern Abbey, the Colclough Walled Garden and Loftus Hall.