Explore South Wexford’s coast

Bee Orchid
Ballyteige Burrow
One of the most impressive shingle-based dune systems in Ireland. Supporting rare species of lichen, flowering plants and scarce insects.
More
Woodland with Bluebells
Bannow Bay
An enclosed estuarine system with extensive sand flats and mudflats with exceptional species diversity.
More
Carnsore Point
Carnsore Point
The south-eastern cornerstone of Ireland and a hotspot for birdwatchers with rich offshore marine life and protected reefs.
More
Intertidal rock pools
Hook Head
Of international importance for its outstanding fossils and geological formations. Designated a Special Area of Conservation.
More
Great Cormorant colony
Keeragh Islands
Holding a large, nationally-important colony of breeding Great Cormorants. Both islands are part of an Special Protection Area.
More
700 Lady's Island Lake
Lady’s Island Lake
A fine example in of a sedimentary lagoon supporting an exceptional diversity of plant and animal life.
More
Grey seal pup
Saltee Islands
The islands are numbered among the best-known seabird sanctuaries in north-west Europe. A Special Protection Area for seabirds.
More
Tacumshin Lake
Tacumshin Lake
A coastal lagoon annexed as a priority habitat in the EU Habitats Directive. One of the finest barrier coastlines in Europe.
More

 

 

Rich in diverse marine and coastal habitats

 

Welcome

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 12th 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 ‘Hieron Akron’ (Sacred Promontory) by the Greek cartographer Claudius Ptolemaeus, Ptolemy of Alexandria, in the atlas he compiled in the first century AD.

This richly endowed coastal strip, though only 40km (25 miles) long, supports eight sites each rated of international importance. These eight sites are 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