Bannow () is a village 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 ...

lying east of Bannow Bay on the southwest coast of

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 ...

, Ireland. In modern times the main settlement is the village of Carrig-on-Bannow (or ''Carrig''). In Norman times there was a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

called Bannow on Bannow Island at the mouth of the Bay. This town has since disappeared, probably due to the silting up of the natural harbour channels in the 14th century, and the former island is now attached to the rest of the parish.

History

It is believed that the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

had a strong early presence in the area, due to the survival of numerous Norse place-names in the locality. The

Norman conquest of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land in Ireland over which the monarchs of England then claimed sovereignty. The Anglo-Normans ...

began in Bannow Bay in 1169, when three ships commanded by

Robert Fitz-Stephen Robert FitzStephen (died 1183) was a Cambro-Norman soldier, one of the leaders of the Norman invasion of Ireland, for which he was granted extensive lands in Ireland. He was a son of the famous Nest, daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, the last king of ...

arrived at the behest of Diarmait MacMurrough to support his claim to the

Kingdom of Leinster The Kingdom of Leinster () was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland which existed in the east of the island from the Irish Iron Age until the 17th century Early Modern Ireland. According to traditional Irish history found in the ''Annals of the Four Mast ...

. Another group of Normans under

Raymond le Gros Raymond (or Redmond) Fitz William Fitz Gerald (died 1185–1198), nicknamed ''Le wikt:gros#Norman, Gros'' ("the Large"), was a Cambro-Norman commander during the Norman invasion of Ireland. Raymond was among the first of a small band of Nor ...

landed the following year on the far side of Bannow Bay, on the Hook Peninsula at Baginbun, which was then called . There was a small promontory fort there, easy for the Normans to defend and thereby ensure a safe landing. At Bannow Island, the ruins can still be seen of the 13th-century Norman Romanesque parish church of St Mary, originally impropriated to the monks of Canterbury. It consists of a

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

. Another famous Norman soldier and officer who landed in the first invasion was

Meiler Fitzhenry Meiler FitzHenry (sometimes spelled Meilyr; died 1220) was a Cambro-Norman nobleman and Lord Chief Justice of Ireland during the Lordship of Ireland. Background and early life Meilyr FitzHenry was the son of Henry FitzHenry, an illegitimate s ...

, whose son adopted his father's name, and thus began the Meyler family of County Wexford, who later were prominent in the

Wexford Rebellion The Wexford Rebellion refers to the events of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 in County Wexford. From 27 May until 21 June 1798, Society of United Irishmen rebels revolted against British rule in the county, engaging in multiple confrontations wit ...

of 1798. Bannow Borough was a

borough constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constituen ...

returning two members to the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

until the

Act of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of G ...

disenfranchised it. It was a

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act of 1832, which had a very small electo ...

with the same proprietor and electors as Clonmines Borough, another

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or Electoral district, constituency in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, or the United Kin ...

for the deserted town of

Clonmines Clonmines is a civil parish and townland in the Bannow Bay area of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the site of "the finest example in Ireland of a deserted village, deserted ancient borough, medieval borough". It is situated in th ...

at the northern limit of Bannow Bay. The most prominent local landlords in Bannow from the late 17th century were the Boyse family, who lived at Bannow House. The last member of the Boyse family left the area in 1948. During the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The m ...

, the fleeing loyalist garrison of the town of

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 ...

crossed the nearby Scar at Barrystown on their way to

Duncannon Duncannon () is a village in southwest County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Bordered to the west by Waterford Harbour, Waterford harbour and sitting on a rocky headland jutting into the channel is the strategically prominent Duncanno ...

Fort. In the late 19th century, the area was heavily involved in the

Land War The Land War () was a period of agrarian agitation in rural History of Ireland (1801–1923), Ireland (then wholly part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the firs ...

Geography

Bannow is a

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 in the Diocese of Ferns. The parish church in Carrig-on-Bannow was first built in 1856 and has been altered several times since. It has an adjoining cemetery. Carrig also has a national school, Garda Station, handball alley,

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

, a café, four estates, a doctor's office, a farm, a corner shop, two bars, and

public houses A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

. A kilometre away is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church at Balloughton, and at nearby Grantstown is an Augustinian

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

. There are beaches on Bannow Island, at Cockle Strand, Blackhall, and Cullenstown.

Transport

Wexford Local Link route 388 serves Carrig-on-Bannow several times daily linking it to

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

route 381 serves Carrig-on-Bannow and Blackhall on Tuesdays providing a link to and from

. Several buses a day serve Wellingtonbridge around 5 kilometres distant. Until September 2010 Wellingtonbridge was also served by rail.

Sport

The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

club is Bannow-Ballymitty GAA Club, which has pitches located at Grantstown. The club has two pitches, a stand and an indoor complex with an upstairs viewing area. The adult men's GAA teams currently play junior hurling and intermediate football. Camogie and Ladies football clubs also reside and use the facilities there. Bannow-Ballymitty Camogie Club was founded in 1950 and was originally called St. Mary's. It ceased in the mid-1960s and reformed in 1992 as Bannow-Ballymitty. Nearby is Corach Ramblers soccer club. Handball is also played at Ballymitty Handball Club.

Music

Formed locally, the Danescastle Music Group (Bannow Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann) had over 150 pupils as of 2010. It is a County Wexford branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Comhaltas). Other members of Comhaltas in the parish include the Gleeson family, the Murphy Bros, Sean Stafford, Nick Bennett and many more traditional musicians and singers. Colfers pub is a venue for traditional sessions, and the "Phil Murphy Weekend" is held every year in Carrig on Bannow.

Notable people

* Ben Brosnan – Gaelic footballer *

Peter Ffrench Peter Ffrench (c. 1844 – 1 November 1929) was an Irish politician. Born in Bannow in County Wexford, Ffrench followed his father into farming. He served as a magistrate and a coroner, and was selected as the anti- Parnellite Irish Natio ...

– Irish politician *

Anna Maria Hall Anna Maria Hall (6 January 1800 – 30 January 1881) was an Irish novelist who often published as "Mrs. S. C. Hall". She married Samuel Carter Hall, a writer on art, who described her in ''Retrospect of a Long Life, from 1815 to 1883''. She was ...

(Mrs. S.C. Hall) – author

References

{{County Wexford Towns and villages in County Wexford Civil parishes of County Wexford Geography of Ireland Viking Age in Ireland Former islands of Ireland Former boroughs in the Republic of Ireland