Wexford

By Billy Colfer

The town of Wexford is situated beside a broad shallow harbour at the mouth of the river Slaney. In celtic times the harbour was called Loch Garman. The first recorded visit by the Vikings took place in 819 a.d. when they raided a monastery on Begerin. Further raids took place during the ninth century but by the end of the century the Vikings had established a base on the western shore of the harbour where the inlet formed by a small stream provided a suitable anchorage for their longships.The Location of the inlet can near the present South Main Street and Barrack Street.

In 1988 an archaelogical dig uncovered the remains of two Viking houses dating to about 1000 ad in this area.They settled by a rampart.They called it Waesfiorde which is believed to mean the bay of the mudflats. Just outside the rampart a marketplace was established (probably on the site of where the Vikings traded with the native Irish.

The Norse Vikings became merchants and Traders and established trading links between continental ports  and their new town of  Waesfiord.