Ballycanew (historically ''Ballyconway'', from )Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records) is a small rural village in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is situated in

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

, on the R741 regional road south of

Gorey Gorey () is a market town in north County Wexford, Ireland. It is bypassed by the main N11 road (Ireland), M11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the Gorey railway station, railway network along the same route. Local newspape ...

. This road is locally known as the "Coast Road". The village is in a

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of the same name.

History

The village was once known as Ballyconway. An old Irish name for Ballycanew is 'Baile Gan Uaigh' - Town without a grave. The earliest reference is 1247 when Theodore de Nevel held lands there. In 1821, the population was 1094, but following the great famine it was reduced to 361. In the past, the Furney family owned a mill, built in 1589 and demolished in 1962. The old creamery was once a thriving industry, with an average of of milk supplied per annum. In June 1965, a Bronze Age grave was discovered in the Ballycanew Parish. This grave yielded a slightly damaged food vessel and broken human bones. The exact date of the burial is uncertain but is probably more than 3,000 years old.

Amenities

The area is served by a primary school, Saint Enda's National School. There are two churches. St Moling's is part of the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

parish of Camolin, and St. Mogue's is part of

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

parish of Gorey. The village has two shops: a Daybreak and a Brooks The village also has two pubs. One for the road and Goslings. It also has three community halls, a fast food place called Sizzles and also has a hairdressers called Tina's. The Ounavarra River passes through the village.

Public transport

Wexford Bus bus route 884 serves Ballycanew from Monday through Sunday linking it to

and

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

. The nearest railway station is Gorey railway station on the

Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort () is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeasternmost point of the island of Ireland. The port is the primary Irish port serving the European Continent with 36 direct servi ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

line.

References

Towns and villages in County Wexford Townlands of County Wexford Civil parishes of County Wexford {{Wexford-geo-stub

History

Amenities

Public transport

See also

References