Selskar – Wexford Camino

The site at Selskar priory is home to two historic churches.

The original priory was built by the Normans after their arrival in Wexford in 1169. Known as the church of St. Peter and St. Paul, this church was the home of the Augustinian order in Wexford until the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in the sixteenth century.

Although there are reports of the churches of Wexford being destroyed by Cromwell’s New Model Army in the seventeenth century, a painting of this site in the eighteenth century shows that much of the structure remained at this time, though the tower which now stands on the site was in ruin.

In 1826 a second church was built on the site by the Church of Ireland, to supplement St. Iberius’ Church on the main street. It was designed by John Semple. The medieval tower was restored at this time and part of the original church may have been used for repairs.

In the twentieth century Semple’s Church was de-sanctified and the roof removed due to the cost of insurance.

The graveyard at Selskar contains a medieval sarcophagus and also the grave of William Daniel, who was executed in 1798 on Wexford Bridge. It is home as well to the remains of Dorcas Catherine McGee, who was the mother of Thomas Darcy McGee, one of the founders of modern Canada.