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The South Wexford Coast is a natural heritage coastline. Located in ‘the Model County’ in the sunny south-east corner of the island of Ireland, the south coast of County Wexford is one of Ireland’s special places. It is special because this lovely area supports a wealth of natural heritage resources and a unique cluster of nature sites.

An outstanding coastal strip, the South Wexford Coast extends from the early 13th century lighthouse at the craggy, limestone tip of Hook Head in the west, to the gently rounded, granite headland of Carnsore Point in the east; a foreland called Sacred Cape by the Greek cartographer Claudius Ptolemaeus, Ptolemy of Alexandria, in the atlas he compiled in the second century AD.

This richly endowed coastal strip, though only 40km (25 miles) long, supports thirteen sites each rated of international importance. These thirteen sites comprise eight places connected either to each other or together by the inshore waters of the Celtic Sea. To have so many sites of such importance clustered together on so short a length of shoreline makes the South Wexford Coast one of Ireland’s outstanding natural heritage resources.

Further reading

• Brochure

Explore the following eight places on the South Wexford Coast

Hook Head

Of international importance for its outstanding fossils and geological formations. Designated a Special Area of Conservation. Read more

Bannow Bay

An enclosed estuarine system with extensive sand flats and mudflats with exceptional species diversity. Read more

Keeragh Islands

Holding a large, nationally-important colony of breeding Great Cormorants. Both islands are part of an Special Protection Area. Read more

Ballyteige Burrow

One of the most impressive shingle-based dune systems in Ireland. Supporting rare species of lichen, flowering plants and scarce insects. Read more

Saltee Islands

The islands are numbered among the best-known seabird sanctuaries in north-west Europe. A Special Protection Area for seabirds. Read more

Tacumshin Lake

A coastal lagoon annexed as a priority habitat in the EU Habitats Directive. One of the finest barrier coastlines in Read more

Lady's Island Lake

A fine example in of a sedimentary lagoon supporting an exceptional diversity of plant and animal life. Read more

Carnsore Point

The south-eastern cornerstone of Ireland and a hotspot for birdwatchers with rich offshore marine life and protected reefs. Read more