New Ross (Irish: Ros Mhic Thriúin,[6] formerly Ros Mhic Treoin) is a town in southwest County Wexford, Ireland. It is located on the River Barrow, near the border with County Kilkenny, and is around 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Waterford. In 2022 it had a population of 8,610 people, making it the fourth-largest town in the county.[1]
History
New Ross c. 1680
The port town of New Ross dates from the pre-Middle Ages. The earliest settlement in this area dates to the 6th century when St. Abban of Magheranoidhe founded a monastery in what is now Irishtown.[7] Its name, Ros, was shortened from Ros Mhic Treoin, or the Wood of the Son of Treoin.[8]
New Ross was in the territory of Dermot McMurrough and came to prominence when the Anglo-Normans conquered the region. The Norman knight William Marshall and his bride Isabella de Clare arrived during the early part of the 13th century. An earthen defensive structure called a motte was built at Old Ross in order to hold the newly conquered territory. A medieval borough sprung up around it - peopled by English and Welsh settlers. The arrival of Isabella and William is described in the Chronicles of Ross, which are in the British Museum. It records that in 1189, Isabella set about "building a lovely city on the banks of the Barrow".[9]
The town grew around the bridge built by William Marshal, son-in-law of Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (Strongbow), and a leader of the Norman invasion of Ireland. The town of New Ross (the town of the new bridge) was granted a Royal Charter in around 1279.[10] In the late 13th century the town was placed for a time under a papal interdict, following a riot in which several monks of the Order of Crutched Friars were killed.[11]
St Mary's Abbey (Church of Ireland) was built in 1210. There are two Roman Catholic churches, the parish church of SS. Michael and Mary completed in 1902, and the Augustinian church opened in 1835.[12]
The town's arts centre is St Michael's Theatre. The present building was built in 1806, eight years after the insurrection of 1798 and served as the parish church until 1902 when the new parish church, St Mary's & Michael's, was opened. St Michael's has a staff of 12, a 300-seat theatre, a 50-seat studio venue, an art gallery, a cinema, a coffee shop and a bar.[20]
New Ross is home to the Ros Tapestry Project, a community initiative undertaken throughout County Wexford by a team of 150 voluntary embroiderers. The Ros Tapestries depict events including the founding of New Ross by William Marshall.[21] The first tapestry was completed in 2002 and to date all but one of the 15 tapestries are complete. In 2009 the Ros Tapestry Exhibition was opened at The Quay, New Ross.[22]
The town is served by several bus routes and its main stop is on the town's quay. There are services to and from Waterford each day. Bus Éireann is the principal operator providing Expressway services to Dublin and Dublin Airport and to Rosslare Europort and Cork as well as local services. Wexford Bus operate a service between Wexford and Waterford while Kilbride Coaches operate a route linking the town to Kilkenny. Wexford Local Link operates services to Enniscorthy.[24]
Rail
New Ross railway station (Rosbercon) opened on 19 September 1887, closed for passenger traffic on 30 March 1964 and closed for goods traffic by 1995. It was an important link between the lines serving Dublin to Rosslare, Bagenalstown via Palace East and on to Waterford up until the 1960s when CIÉ rationalised the railway network, but the section from Waterford to New Ross remained in use for cement and fertilizer traffic until 1995.[25]
This railway line is currently being repurposed as a cycle greenway - The Southeast Greenway. The first section linking New Ross to Ballyverneen, near Glenmore Co Kilkenny, opened in June 2023.
The greenway will eventually link Palace East to Waterford City via New Ross. [26]
Sea
New Ross is Ireland's only inland port, located 32 km (20 mi) from the sea on the River Barrow.[27] A small marina is located downstream of the town.[28]
Economy
The Ros Tapestry Exhibition Centre located on the Quay in New Ross is a series of 15 embroidered Tapestry panels. The tapestries depict Celtic Ireland, Celtic rituals, woman warriors, Brehon Law, early Christian Ireland, the Vikings of Wexford, and the ousting of Diarmait MacMurchada from his Kingdom of Leinster and his sailing to France in search of King Henry II. Also depicted is William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke, who married Isabel de Clare, heiress of Strongbow and granddaughter of Diarmait MacMurchada.[29]
Dunbrody Ship—a full-scale replica of the original 19th century vessel.
New Ross is home to the Dunbrody replica famine ship which is moored on the Quay.[30]
The town also houses the Emigrant Flame, a constantly burning flame in memory of the emigrants of the famine.[31]
The Kennedy family Homestead, the ancestral home of US President John F Kennedy, is located 8 km (5.0 mi) south of New Ross, and the JFK Arboretum is also located to the south of the town.[37]
^"HISTPOP.ORG - Home". 28 May 2004. Archived from the original on 28 May 2004.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Post 1991 totals are for New Ross urban, New Ross environs, and New Ross Rosbercon urban. For a discussion on the accuracy of pre-famine census returns see JJ Lee "On the accuracy of the pre-famine Irish censuses" in Irish Population, Economy and Society edited by JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson (1981) p54, and also "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850" by Joel Mokyr and Cormac Ó Gráda in The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 37, No. 4 (November 1984), pp. 473-88.
^Berry, H. F. (31 December 1915). "Diary of a Dublin Lady in the Reign of George II". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 5 (4): 314–315. JSTOR25514440.
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