Castletown, County Wexford
| Castletown Baile an Chaisleáin | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
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Sign outside the Golden Anchor pub | |
  Castletown Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 52°43′23″N 6°11′20″W / 52.723°N 6.189°WCoordinates: 52°43′23″N 6°11′20″W / 52.723°N 6.189°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | Wexford |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Area code(s) | 0402 |
Castletown, historically called Ballycaslane (Irish: Baile an Chaisleáin),[1] is a small village in northeast County Wexford, Ireland.
Castletown is in the parish of Kilgorman which is one of the earliest Christian settlements in Ireland. It was founded by St Gorman possibly the same Gorman for whom Loch Garman (Wexford) is named and after whom St German's Cathedral on St Patrick's Isle off the Isle of Man is also named.
Tourism
Castletown is a popular tourist area. There is plenty of accommodation in the area, such as Castlecina Cottages, Castletownhouses, a small caravan park, Byrnes B&B, Forgertys Caravan Park and Pat Purcell's caravan park. Castletown is close to sandy beaches and the pub called the "Golden Anchor". It is an hour's drive from Dublin and lies between two major towns in south east (Gorey and Arklow).
Republican involvement
Castletown is the Wexford Headquarters of the Irish Republican Army. Its origins date back to the early days of the Irish War of Independence, when IRA fighting columns who had been training near by went for drinks in the Golden Anchor pub. Each year a commemorative rally is held in village to honour those who drank in the Golden Anchor. The Flag bearers lead proceedings from Golden Anchor to Castletown Cemetery. Afterwards they head back to the Anchor for refreshments. The meeting was first held in 1970 and only failed to commence on two occasions in 1984 and 2010 when snow halted processions.
See also
References
- ↑ Placenames Database of Ireland (see archival records)
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