County Wexford

Contae Loch Garman

"The cornerstone of 1798 republican freedom and ancestral home of JFK."

Estimated Emigrants 170,000+

Peak Migration Eras 1848–1890

Primary US Destinations Boston MA, Savannah GA, New York

County Wexford Historical Heritage & Diaspora

County Wexford, nestled in Ireland’s sunny southeast, is famous for Hook Lighthouse (one of the oldest operating lighthouses in the world) and the historic 1798 Rebellion at Vinegar Hill.

Wexford holds an iconic status in Irish-American history as the ancestral home of President John F. Kennedy. In 1848, Patrick Kennedy departed his small tenant farm in Dunganstown, County Wexford, sailing to Boston. Just over a century later, in 1963, his great-grandson returned to Dunganstown as the 35th President of the United States.

Wexford immigrants formed vital enclaves in Boston and Savannah. Renowned Wexford surnames include Kavanagh, Roche, Sinnott, Furlong, Murphy, and Doyle.

Historical Migration Journey

County Wexford Emigration Timeline (1845 – 1920)

1845 – 1852 · The Great Hunger (An Gorta Mór)

Catastrophic Potato Blight & Transatlantic Coffin Ships

Successive failures of the potato crop decimated tenant farming communities. Facing ruthless landlord clearances and starvation, over one million people fled across the Atlantic. Families boarded cramped wooden sailing barques from ports like Cobh, Derry, and Galway, arriving at Boston Harbor and Castle Garden, New York.

1880 – 1900 · The Industrial & Mining Surge

Chain Migration, Coal Valleys, and Urban Labor Solidarity

Younger siblings and children emigrated through prepaid tickets and diaspora remittances sent home from America. Immigrants fueled the industrial expansion of the United States—mining anthracite in Pennsylvania, digging copper in Butte, Montana, and operating textile mills across New England while establishing the first labor unions.

1920s · Independence, Irish Free State & Civic Leadership

War of Independence Remittances and Second-Generation Rise

American diaspora communities raised millions of dollars (via Éamon de Valera's 1919 US tour) to support Irish independence. Second and third-generation Irish-Americans ascended into the heights of US jurisprudence, municipal leadership, journalism, and cultural institutions.