Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Wexford

WEXFORD, the capital of the county of the same name, in Ireland, 93 miles S. of Dublin; at the mouth of the Slaney river, which here expands to form a harbor 6 miles long. It contains three Roman Catholic churches, two Episcopal, one of which, St. Selsker, dates from about 1,200, and meeting houses belonging to minor sects, St. Peter's College, a preparatory school for Maynooth, a diocesan Protestant school, and various others. The trade is chiefly retail, but corn, poultry, and oysters are shipped to Liverpool, with which there is regular steamboat communication. The harbor is finely situated, but a bar at its mouth prevents the entrance of any but small vessels. Parts of the old fortifications and of St. Selsker's priory remain. The town is extremely ancient, and was occupied by the Danes as one of their strongest settlements; and from the time of the invasion it became an English stronghold against the native population. During the civil wars of 1641 it was occupied by the confederate Catholics, but was taken by Cromwell in 1644. The insurgents of 1798 also had possession of it for a short time. Pop. about 15,000.