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Early History: Pre-Brian Baru to post Norman Invasion
Vikings:
The modern town of Wexford was founded and named (Waesfjord) by the Norse Vikings as a trading settlement in the ninth or tenth century and became a large town and a major port. (Following the Norman invasion the Norse were driven from Wexford town to the area around Rosslare where they gradually assimilated into the local population. However, because the Norse did not use surnames, there is little evidence of their heritage in the family names of the county).
Norman Invasion
First Normans led by Robert Fitzstephen, landed in 1169. (These Norman invaders gradually assimilated into the native population except in the baronies of Bargy and Forth where, cut off from the rest of the county, they developed a distinct culture and a dialect, called Yola, which is a mixture of old English and Irish. This survived until the nineteenth century).