Rosslare just breathes the atmosphere of the sea.
Next month Rosslare Europort will hit a new record – a total of 36 shipping services a week operating from the port, which, its General Manager tells me, will make it the premier Irish port serving the European Continent.
Every time I drive into the County Wexford port, its coastal location gives me a lift of maritime enthusiasm. There is something special about moving along the road that is like a ribbon leading to the use of a ship and crossing the sea.
You pass the maritime museum; this is the Rosslare Harbour Maritime Heritage Centre, closed like so many other museums at present due to the pandemic. It has unique collections telling the maritime history of Rosslare Harbour.
There is a lovely beach, and there is the lifeboat station.
Lifeboat crew examine the remains of the sandpit village exposed in 2015 at Rosslare. Photo: Rosslare Maritime Heritage Centre Facebook
There was once a tiny village at Rosslare Point on the extremity of what was known as the Sandpit.
A November storm in 1924 breached that area, and the town, connected by a long strip of beach to Rosslare, was abandoned. An original lifeboat station was also located there and had to be moved. In January of 2015, the remains of that village were uncovered in another storm. The above photo from Wexford Lifeboat on the Maritime Heritage Centre Facebook Page shows lifeboat crew examining the remains. Rosslare also ran what it described as "the most prestigious sea angling boat competition in Europe," which earned €300,000 for the local Wexford economy in the off-peak tourist season. I also remember the active Rosslare Harbour Small Boats & Inshore Fishermen's Association.
The ferry port has seen seeing notable changes over the past few months. Come next month it will have 36 shipping services a week.
Rosslare Europort is scheduled to have 36 shipping services a week from April 2021
The last time I talked to Glenn Carr, General Manager of Rosslare Europort, was about the five-year plan costing some €35m to develop the port. He predicted then the changes which Brexit would bring and was confident of Rosslare's response. How right he was. He is entitled to be well pleased with its progress and is looking forward positively to the future and passengers' return.
