WEXFORD, a maritime county in the province of Leinster, Ireland, is bounded N. by the county of Wicklow, E. by St. George's Channel, S. by the Atlantic Ocean, and W. by the counties of Waterford, Kilkenny, and Carlow. It lice between 52° 6' and 52° 43' N. lat., 6 8' and 7' 2' W. long. its greatest length from north to south is 55 miles; from east to west 34 miles. The area is 900 square miles, or 576,5SS acres. The population in 1841 was 202,033; in 1851 it was 1S0,159.
COGit-iille.—Owing to the position of Wexford at the south-east corner of Ireland, more than half of its boundary is formed by the sea. Kilmichael Point is the easternmost point in the county, and the northern extremity of its coast-line. The whole line of coast from Arklow, which lies a little north of the northern boundary of Wex ford, to Wexford Harbour, presents no opening which can afford shelter from foul weather, except to small craft ; and the danger to shipping is increased by a range of sand-banks which lie parallel to the shore at the distance of a few miles, towards the northern extremity of which the Arklow light-ship is stationed. Wexford Harbour is large, and of very irregular form ; but the navigation is dangerous, and the entrance is obstructed by a bar. The entrance is between the extremities of two long narrow sandy peninsulas—the Raven Point on the north and Rosslare Point on the south; and though it is less than a mile wide, the harbour almost immediately expands to a width of more than eight miles. The town of Wexford lies opposite to and about four miles from the entrance of the harbour, which contracts so suddenly opposite the town as to he crossed by a bridge 1571 feet long, a portion of the roadway of which is made moveable, to allow the passage of masted vessels into the inner portion of the harbour, which again extends, though only for a short distance, to the width of abont two miles. A bank of shifting sand outside the entrance to the harbour leaves so little depth of water as to reader the entrance to the harbour inconvenient for any vessel above the burden of 200 tons, and the navigation of the interior is both intricate and shallow. The harbour contains a few small but inhabited islands. In two of these, called Beg Erin (or Little Ireland), and Great Island, there are remains of monastic buildings. From itosslare Point to Greenore Point, nearly
7 miles in a south-easterly direction, the coast forms another bay, called Greenore Bay, and opposite tho point, about 3 furlongs from the shore, is a detached rock called Carrick Beacon. From this point, for rather more than 5 miles, the coast again trends a little westward in an irregular hue to Carnsore Point, which forma the south-eastern angle of the county and of the whole of Ireland. Opposite to this portion of the shore, about 7 miles S.E. from Greenore Point, is the Tuscar rock, the position of which is marked by a revolving light, and by a bell in foggy weather. On the southern coast, from ()armor° Point to Crossfamogue Point, a distance of between 9 and 10 miles in a straight line, is a shallow bay, into which two considerable lakes, called Lady's island Lake and Tacumahin Lake, open, the former by an artificial communication which is cut every three or four years through the sandbank which separates it from the sea ; this lake is remarkable for the circumstance that while it receives several small rivulets it has no natural outlet. South of Crossfarnogue Point are the Great and Little Saltee islands, the nearest of which is rather more than two miles from the shore. From Little Saltee Island, which lies nearest to the mainland, a ridge of rocks called St. Patrick's Bridge, having only from 7 to 10 feet of water at low tide, extends to the adjoining shore, presenting an exceedingly dangerous obstacle to the navigation. Several small rocky islets occur about this part of the coast, and a floating light is stationed a few miles south of Great Saltee Island. Along the remainder of the coastline occur a suc cession of bays, headlands, islands, and small harbours and At Hook Head is a lofty lighthouse with a stationary light, and as the shore is rugged and dangerous, lights have been placed at various points of the coast. From Templetown Bay, about four miles from hook Head (within Waterford Harbour), the shore trends towards the west for about five miles, to the :estuary of the Suir. The Wexford coast of Waterford Harbour is indented by numerous small bays.