Rosslare Strand

Tourism

Rosslare has been a tourist resort for at least 100 years. It is noted as the "sunniest spot in Ireland", and records bear this out: Rosslare has consistently more sunshine hours that any other part of Ireland. The long sandy strand is a Blue Flag beach. The beach itself consists of sand and stone running the length of the southern peninsula which protrudes into Wexford Harbour. It is segmented by a series of timber breakwaters which are designed to retain sandy deposits along the beach.

There are a number of golf courses in the vicinity. Rosslare also has several hotels, cafes and restaurants.

At the time of the 1996 census, the village had a population of 929 people, increasing to 1,795 by the time of the 2022 census. According to the April 2016 census, of the 551 occupied private households in the village, 228 were built between 2001 and 2010. During the early 21st century, the village saw an amount of building, including of a number of holiday homes. There are a number of housing estates of holiday homes near the strand, and the population reportedly grows from "about 1,500 to 17,000" during the summer months.

A long sandspit stretching north from Rosslare separates Wexford Harbour from the Irish Sea. Until the early 1920s, this spit stretched for many miles north, almost touching the Raven Point and giving a very narrow mouth to Wexford Harbour. At the end of the spit was a small fort called Rosslare Fort. In the winter of 1924-25 a storm breached the spit and it was gradually washed away. The fort was abandoned and now all that is left is an island at low tide.

Climate

Rosslare is commonly known in Ireland as being in the "Sunny South-East", and in 1959 Rosslare recorded 1,996.4 hours of sunshine, the highest recorded in Ireland. However, it is not the warmest or driest place in Ireland.

Met Éireann operated a weather station at Rosslare until its closure in 2007. Sunshine duration for the county is now recorded at the Johnstown Castle weather station, which has been operational since 2009. However, due to its inland location, Johnstown Castle receives considerably less sunshine than Rosslare. |Jan record high C = 14.1 |Feb record high C = 14.1 |Mar record high C = 15.8 |Apr record high C = 20.1 |May record high C = 22.3 |Jun record high C = 25.5 |Jul record high C = 26.2 |Aug record high C = 25.9 |Sep record high C = 22.0 |Oct record high C = 21.5 |Nov record high C = 17.2 |Dec record high C = 15.6 |year record high C = 26.2 |Jan record low C = -5.1 |Feb record low C = -4.1 |Mar record low C = -2.7 |Apr record low C = -1.0 |May record low C = -0.3 |Jun record low C = 4.7 |Jul record low C = 5.2 |Aug record low C = 6.1 |Sep record low C = 2.6 |Oct record low C = 0.7 |Nov record low C = -2.5 |Dec record low C = -3.1 |year record low C = -5.1 | access-date = 13 October 2016}}{{cite web | access-date = 13 October 2016 | archive-date = 4 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304124135/http://www.met.ie/climate-ireland/extreme_maxtemps.pdf | url-status = dead | access-date = 13 October 2016 | archive-date = 29 January 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170129063649/http://www.met.ie/climate-ireland/extreme-mintemps.pdf | url-status = dead

Transport

Rail transport

Rosslare is served by Rosslare Strand railway station, which opened on 24 June 1882. The Dublin to Rosslare Europort railway serves the village.

Bus transport

Two main local bus services operate; 'Wexford Bus' and 'Local Link'.

The village is also served by Bus Éireann route 370. The 370 links it to Wellingtonbridge, New Ross and Waterford (this bus route replaces the train service to Waterford which ceased in September 2010).

Gallery

Image:Strand Races, Rosslare (23121423661).jpg|Strand Races, Rosslare Image:Adults and kids having fun on Rosslare Beach, Co Wexford, Ireland.jpg|People playing on the beach circa 1952 Image:Sail Away (51292495631).jpg|An Irish Ferries ship en route from Rosslare Europort to Pembroke Dock, Wales in 2021

References

References

1. (August 2023). "Census 2022 - F1015 Population". [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland).
2. "Ros Láir/Rosslare (see archive records)". [[Placenames Database of Ireland]].
3. Gallagher, Alanna. "Renting, buying and holidaying in 'the real Rosslare'". The Irish Times.
4. "rosslarestrand | Rosslare In History".
5. (18 April 2022). "Rosslare is consistently the sunniest spot in the country".
6. "Sunshine - Met Éireann - the Irish Meteorological Service".
7. "Rosslare Strand Blue Flag Beach 2019 | Attractions | Beaches | All Ireland | Republic of Ireland | Wexford | Rosslare | Discover Ireland".
8. "Rosslare Golf Club | Activities | Golf | Golf Courses | Links | All Ireland | Republic of Ireland | Wexford | Rosslare | Discover Ireland".
9. "Multiple Award Winning Restaurant Wexford".
10. "Rosslare (Ireland) Census Town".
11. (April 2016). "Sapmap Area - Settlements - Rosslare". Central Statistics Office.
12. "Council's planning decisions causing some concern on Rosslare Strand". Irish Times.
13. "Wexford Development Plan".
14. "Rosslare Fort rises again".
15. "Forest Management In The Irish Climate Contd". Piffs.com.
16. "Rosslare Strand". Railscot - Irish Railways.
17. "Dublin Rosslare Fares".
18. "Wexford Bus - Timetable".
19. "387 timetable - Local Link Wexford".
20. "Bus Éireann - View Ireland Bus and Coach Timetables & Buy Tickets".