New outdoor market for Wexford town as thoughts turn to creating an annual Christmas event

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Discussions to open a weekly outdoor market in Wexford town are ongoing with the rear of the Dun Mhuire being mooted as a possible location. At the September meeting of the Wexford Borough District (WBD), district manager Anthony Bailey said he had been liaising with local food producers on the possibilities of starting a market.

“We’ve had preliminary discussions with the Wexford Food Producers Network about how a market might develop for the town,” he said. “I’ve done research and the really popular ones tend to operate for about three hours; some of the longer ones take place indoors. I’d recommend we start small with a very good product.

"In terms of a site, we’re looking at the sheltered area towards the back of the Dun Mhuire. It links onto South Main Street so would generate economy for businesses there too.”

The prospect of a new market in the town had Councillor Leonard Kelly dreaming big.

“Could we eventually look into having a Christmas market similar to what Waterford and Kilkenny have?” he asked.

“Those kind of markets benefit from significant funding from Failté Ireland," replied Mr Bailey. “We want to start small with local producers, and perhaps we could adapt for the Christmas period once it’s established.”