Ireland's build heritage has been underlined this week with news that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley has launched his Department's Architectural Heritage Survey of County Wexford and the associated book, An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of County Wexford.

It took place at an event hosted by Teagasc in Johnstown Castle, County Wexford, with invited guests, including representatives of the Wexford local authorities.

The book is the 24th to be published in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH) series.

At the event, the Minister remarked "the people of Wexford can be extremely proud of the rich and varied architectural heritage of their county".

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Minister Gormley also paid tribute to the very great contribution of the acclaimed early nineteenth-century English ecclesiastical architect Augustus Pugin, noting that some of Pugin's most noted work in Ireland is concentrated in County Wexford and includes 'Pugin's Irish Gem' - Enniscorthy Cathedral - and churches in Barntown, Bree, Gorey, Ramsgrange, Tagoat and Saint Peter's College.

In recognition of Wexford's association with events in 1798, the book also highlights the numerous monuments commemorating the 1798 Rebellion in the county, the most famous of which is 'The Pikeman' in Wexford town.

Minister Gormley noted County Wexford's large number of well-maintained thatched houses - both in the countryside and the villages of Kilmore and Kilmore Quay.

The Minister mentioned, in particular, the fine example of an early eighteenth-century thatched farmhouse at Mayglass, which was restored in 2000 with the support of The Heritage Council.

The NIAH survey informs recommendations from the Minister to the five local authorities in County Wexford for inclusion of particular structures in their Record of Protected Structures.

(BMcC/GK)