Castles and Historic Sites in Co. Wexford
5 places
1.Hook Lighthouse
the world's oldest intact working lighthouse
Purpose-built in the 13th century by William Marshal, Hook Lighthouse is the world's oldest intact operational lighthouse, still flashing over the seas off the tip of the Hook Peninsula.
- Highlights
- 800-year-old medieval tower built by William Marshal
- Climb 115 steps to a 360-degree balcony
- Life-size holograms of St Dubhán and William Marshal
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access
2.Johnstown Castle
Gothic castle tours and an 86m servants' tunnel
A fairytale gothic-revival castle on a 120-acre Wexford estate near Murntown, where guided tours of the castle meet formal gardens, lakes and the Irish Agricultural Museum.
- Highlights
- Gothic revival castle with a rare 86-metre servants' tunnel
- 120-acre estate and gardens designed by Daniel Robertson
- Irish Agricultural Museum with 19 exhibitions
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access
3.Johnstown Castle Estate, Museum & Gardens
an 86m servants' tunnel under a gothic castle
A turreted Gothic Revival castle on a 120-acre Wexford estate, with romantic gardens by the designer of Powerscourt, three lakes, and a treasure-trove museum of Irish rural life.
- Highlights
- Guided tour of the neo-Gothic castle and its 86-metre servants' tunnel
- Irish Agricultural Museum: 19 exhibition spaces over three floors
- 4-acre restored Victorian walled garden and plant sales
- Facilities
- Wheelchair access
4.The Shell Cottage
A thatched cottage clad in 50,000 seashells
A 19th-century thatched cottage above Cullenstown Strand, its walls, sheds and garden wall encrusted with more than 50,000 seashells arranged into murals by one man over 30 years.
- Highlights
- Over 50,000 shells worked into birds, a pirate ship and a Tuskar Rock lighthouse mural
- Kevin L. Ffrench's 30-year life's work, begun on the family farmhouse
- Sits on a 6 m embankment directly across from Cullenstown Strand
5.Enniscorthy Castle
1,000 years of history above the River Slaney
A Norman keep on Castle Hill looking over the River Slaney, Enniscorthy Castle packs nearly 1,000 years of Wexford history into four floors, a dungeon and a rooftop you can walk. Its exhibitions cover the castle, the town and the designers and rebel families who shaped them.
- Highlights
- Nearly 1,000 years of history in one keep
- Rare medieval 'Swordsman' graffito in the dungeon
- Rooftop battlements with views over the town
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Wheelchair access