| Ferns Fearna
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|---|---|
| — Town — | |
| St. Mary’s Augustinian Abbey | |
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Ferns
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Wexford |
| Elevation | 60 m (197 ft) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| • Urban | 954 |
| Irish Grid Reference | T017498 |
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1831 | 571 | — |
| 1841 | 632 | +10.7% |
| 1851 | 637 | +0.8% |
| 1861 | 586 | −8.0% |
| 1871 | 568 | −3.1% |
| 1881 | 495 | −12.9% |
| 1891 | 517 | +4.4% |
| 1901 | 495 | −4.3% |
| 1911 | 505 | +2.0% |
| 1926 | 507 | +0.4% |
| 1936 | 342 | −32.5% |
| 1946 | 445 | +30.1% |
| 1951 | 441 | −0.9% |
| 1956 | 588 | +33.3% |
| 1961 | 557 | −5.3% |
| 1966 | 580 | +4.1% |
| 1971 | 712 | +22.8% |
| 1981 | 823 | +15.6% |
| 1986 | 811 | −1.5% |
| 1991 | 859 | +5.9% |
| 1996 | 915 | +6.5% |
| 2002 | 985 | +7.7% |
| 2006 | 954 | −3.1% |
| [2][3][4][5][6] | ||
Ferns (Irish: Fearna, meaning "alder trees" short for Fearna Mór Maedhóg) is a small historic town in north County Wexford, Ireland with a population of about 900. It is 16 km from Enniscorthy, where the Gorey to Enniscorthy N11 road joins the R745 regional road. The ruins of Ferns Castle are in the centre of the town.
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Ferns is believed to have been established in the 6th century, when a monastery was founded in 598 dedicated to St Mogue of Clonmore who was a Bishop of Ferns.[7] The town became the capital of the Kingdom of Leinster when the kings of that southern part of the province established their seat of power there. King Dermot MacMurrough founded St. Mary's Abbey as house of Augustinian canons c. 1158 and was buried there in 1171.[8]
Ferns Castle, an Anglo-Norman fortress, was built in the 13th century by William, Earl Marshall. Today about half of the castle still stands. The town also contains the 13th-century St Edan's Cathedral (Church of Ireland) and several high crosses and parts of crosses.
The 19th century population peaked in 1851, but never reached the levels of medieval times. Lewis's Topography of 1834 claimed the town "consists chiefly of one irregular street, and contains 106 houses indifferently built, retaining no trace of its ancient importance".[9]
The town gave the name to the Diocese of Ferns (both Roman Catholic and Church of Ireland). The town's religious traditions live on today through the recent establishment in Ferns of a hermitage.
The whole history of modern Ireland stems from Ferns – Diarmuid MacMurrough, King of Leinster invited the Normans in 1169 to help him fight his battles (they never left) – he sealed the deal with his daughter Aoife’s marriage to Strongbow.
Ferns has evidence of four distinct periods in Irish history. Archaeological digs have revealed habitations from the Bronze, Iron, early Christian and Norman eras.
Ferns boasts many ecclesiastical sites dating from early Christian era through Norman and the Middle Ages. Heritage sites include
For further information on Ferns Heritage http://www.fernsvillage.ie/ferns-heritage-page.html
Ferns is located on the N11 route linking Dublin to Rosslare.
Regular (almost hourly) bus services link Ferns to Dublin and Roslare are provided by a number of companies.
Ferns railway station opened on 16 November 1863, closed to passenger traffic on 30 March 1964 and to goods traffic on 3 November 1975, before finally closing altogether on 7 March 1977.[10]
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