For several hundred years (from the 9th to the early 12th century), Wexford was a Viking town, a city-state, largely independent and owing only token dues to the Irish kings of Leinster.

However, in May 1169 Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster and his Norman ally Robert Fitz-Stephen besieged Wexford.

The Norse inhabitants resisted fiercely until the Bishop of Ferns persuaded them to accept a settlement with Dermot.

An Anglo-Frisian language, known as Yola, was commonly spoken in south Wexford from the time of the Norman invasion in 1169 until it began declining in the mid-19th century.

[6] Compared to other parts of Ireland, the Irish language was not as widely spoken in the baronies of Forth and Bargy, which include Wexford town, from the 9th century onwards due to heavy settlement of Norse, Norman and continental Europeans.

A fleet of Confederate privateers was based in Wexford town, consisting of sailors from Flanders and Spain as well as local men.

Nearby Scullabogue was the scene of a notorious massacre of local loyalists by the United Irishmen, and there were also executions and reprisals at Wexford Bridge.

His nephew William Archer Redmond (1825–1880) sat as an MP in Isaac Butt's Home Rule Party from 1872 until 1880.

The younger John Redmond, was a devoted follower of Charles Stewart Parnell and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party until his death in April 1918.

[13] The National Lottery Skyfest was held in Wexford in March 2011 and included a pyrotechnic waterfall on the town's main bridge spanning 300m.

The larger twin, on Rowe Street, contains a peal of ten change-ringing bells, cast by Gillett & Johnston in 1930.

[16] In the early 21st century, Wexford saw the redevelopment of its quay front,[citation needed] and residential development at Clonard village.

[17] Also, the relocated offices of the Department of Environment were constructed near Wexford General Hospital on Newtown Road and opened in 2010.

[19] By 1968 it had become unprofitable to keep dredging a channel from the harbour mouth to the quays in order to accommodate the larger ships of the era, so the port closed.

Johnstown Castle, approximately 6 km from Wexford town, is headquarters to Teagasc, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Curracloe Beach, approximately 10 km north of Wexford town, was the location in 1997 for the opening scenes of Saving Private Ryan.

Foot passengers can use the SailRail tickets from Wexford O'Hanrahan station via Rosslare Europort and Fishguard Harbour to reach Swansea, Cardiff Central and onwards including London Paddington.

The club was the brainchild of former property developer and politician Mick Wallace, who funded the construction of a complex for the new team's home at Newcastle, Ferrycarrig.

Though the town was traditionally associated with Gaelic football, with six teams providing ample outlets for its youngsters, it was not until 1960 that hurling took its foothold, with much due to local man Oliver "Hopper" McGrath's contribution to the county's All-Ireland Hurling Final triumph over the then-champions Tipperary.

Having scored an early second-half goal to effectively kill off the opposition, McGrath went on to be the first man from the town of Wexford to receive an All-Ireland Hurling winner's medal.

Other notable Gaelic football clubs in the town are Sarsfields, St. Mary's of Maudlintown, Clonard and St. Joseph's.

[36] Under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, the area became an urban district,[37] while retaining the style of a borough corporation.