It was actually the thin spit of land in the distance. Other claims to fame…a place that Oliver Cromwell stormed the town in 1649, October, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland at around that time. From all I have read, Cromwell was not a friend to Ireland.

The town dates back much further than that though. There was a siege of Wexford in 1169 and was the first clash of the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. The seaport of Wexford was somewhat independant at that time and were Norse-Gaelic. Wexford surrendered and the surrounding area became the first Norman colony in Ireland.

The town dates back much further than that though….. Ireland was inhabited some time shortly after the ending of the last ice age. (10,000-8000BC). Rough estimates place the first humans in county Wexford between 5000-3000 BC. It is felt by many that Wexford was the first area in Ireland to be inhabited by humans.

There are many findings from the Neolithic time. There are also many examples of standing stones in the county and one stone circle, kind of a big deal amungst archaeologists.

The harp, I guess we had thought was a Guinness logo, but turns out it is the other way….. the harp has long been a symbol of Ireland, but is no longer the flag. A green flag with a harp is the flag of the united Irishmen.

Ken and I are just hanging out here in Wexford waiting to go to Bunclody where we will start the Wicklow way, a 6 day hike up into the Wicklow mountains. It is an 81 mile hike that we are just realizing that most people start in Dublin and walk south towards where we are now, however we are all set up to start the walk tomorrow. (We are currently 140 KM south of Dublin)

Apparently 24,000 people walk the most popular sections, and it is the most popular of Irelands waymarked walks. It apparently gains 3300 metres in elevation … yikes….. that is like…. 3 KM up???

Needless to say we are a wee bit nervous about this….

The area we will be travelling will be remote, so we are planning ahead meals we can carry with us. There are apparently spots that there are no restaurants…..or stores.

We have the bus to catch soon

Bye for now….. Janet and Ken