Oilgate or Oylegate (), also known previously as Mullinagore (), is a small 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 ...

, located about halfway between

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 ...

and

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mountains and Ireland's longest beach, Curracloe. The Plac ...

towns, 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 ...

. It had a population of 358 as of the 2016 census.

Name

The name is usually officially spelt as ''Oilgate'' and this spelling can be found on road signs entering the village and is the common spelling used on maps and by the Central Statistics Office. However, the spelling ''Oylegate'' is found on a plaque on the wall of the village national school dated

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

, and most locals spell it as such. The Irish name for Oylegate is ''Bearna na hAille'', ''bearna'' meaning gap or gate and ''aill'' meaning cliff, getting its name from the place that the river Slaney breaks through the gap in the cliffs or rocks on its way to Wexford harbour. It would appear that the name Oylegate became anglicised over time and got its name by saying ''aill'' quickly (oila) and gate from the English translation of ''bearna'', gap or gate. Oylegate is also referred to as ''Maolán na nGabhar'' which is the Irish name for Mullinagore, getting its name from the area of land where goats used to graze. This reference is likely because there is no actual townland recorded as Oylegate, and the townland of Mullinagore would have been the more central part of the village consisting of the local church, the old school and a small settlement of houses. The Electoral District (E.D) of Edermine covers all of Oylegate, parts of Glenbrien with Ballyhuskard covering all the remaining townlands (except for Ballycourcy more which is in the E.D of Enniscorthy Rural).

Community and amenities

The village's patron saint is

Saint David David (; ; ) was a Welsh Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Mynyw during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail about his life. ...

, after whom the local

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 ...

church is named. It has an adjoining cemetery. There is a blessed well and shrine named Saint David's in nearby Ballinaslaney. A village approximately 5 kilometres northeast called Glenbrien is the half parish of Oylegate. The village has a National school, two public houses (Mernagh's and The Slaney Inn), a combined post office/shop, a petrol station, a police (Garda) station and a small retail park, including a flooring and tile store.

Sport

Gaelic games Gaelic games () are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the s ...

(hurling, camogie, Gaelic football) are played in 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 ...

complex, home to the Oylegate-Glenbrien teams. Hurler and club member Pat Nolan played for Wexford as goalkeeper for many years throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s and is regarded as one of the best and most fearless to ever play in that position. He won two All-Ireland medals on the field of play in 1960 (alongside his brother, John) and 1968 and as a substitute in 1956. Nolan also helped the Oylegate-Glenbrien club win their sole Wexford Club Hurling Championship title in 1963.

Transport

The village is served by Wexford Bus routes 376, 740 and 740x, which provide connections with

Dublin Airport Dublin Airport () is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of the town of Swords. In 2024, over 34 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Bunclody Bunclody (), formerly Newtownbarry (until 1950), is a small town on the River Slaney in Wexford, Ireland. It is located near the foot of Mount Leinster. Most of the town is in County Wexford; a small area at the north end of town is in Count ...

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

and

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 ...

operates route 2, which provides connections with

Arklow Arklow ( ; ; ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the Battle of Arklow, bloodiest battles ...

and

. The N11

national road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...

, which runs between

and

, passes through the town, and is also part of

European route The international E-road network is a numbering system for roads in Europe developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The network is numbered from E1 up and its roads cross national borders. It also reaches Central ...

E1. The southern end of the M11

motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

can be found to the north of the village at Scurlocksbush. The village is set to be bypassed in the near future as part of the ''N11/N25 Oilgate to Rosslare Harbour Scheme''.

References

External links