Construction date of Norman Visitor Centre in New Ross pushed back amid fears it won’t be ready for Europe-wide celebrations

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

The Norman Visitor Centre in New Ross may not be constructed in time for the European Year of the Normans celebrations in the summer of 2027.

Although originally confident that the centre would begin construction this summer and be completed to coincide with the one thousandth anniversary of William the Conqueror’s birth, Wexford County Council (WCC) has now said work on the building won’t start until “late this year, or early next year”.

Explaining that the council had to resubmit its application for funding due to the project exceeding its original budget, director of services Eamonn Hore said “the start date (for construction) will be pushed back, it will now be later this year or early next year. We still hope to have it open or at least partly open during 2027.”

Throughout next year a number of Norman-themed festivals and events will take place in France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, Norway, Denmark, and Ireland where the primary focus will be on New Ross.

At the monthly meeting of the New Ross Municipal District (NRMD) Alan Fitzhenry, district manager, said this would see existing festivals adapted to reflect the celebrations.

“We already have Norman-themed events in Baginbun and other places, but existing festivals like the guitar and piano festivals will be officially labeled as Norman-themed next year,” he said. “Obviously the Visitor Centre will be key to all of this..”

With Councillor Pat Barden fearful that other districts may try and muscle in on New Ross’s territory during the celebrations, Mr Hore offered some reassurances.

“We’ll be the centre of the celebrations in the county, other districts are slightly jealous of our role in this and have even asked if the Norman Way, which stretches from Rosslare Harbour to New Ross, can be extended to Enniscorthy,” he said. “There will be a drive to attract people from other Norman countries to New Ross for these celebrations.”

While the final design of the interior of the Norman Visitor Centre has not yet been revealed, it is expected to be a “world-class experience which will eventually attract up to 100,000 visitors” to New Ross annually.