placenamesFethard
Fiodh Ard
Council records and a later ceremony show how this Wexford community found ways to remember its lifeboat service.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Fiodh Ard · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Fethard · English · main form
Place & story
Permission for a memorial
Wexford County Council’s minutes of 2 December 1914 record a request from G. L. Bassett, secretary of the local lifeboat branch, for a monument to the nine drowned lifeboatmen. The proposed position was at the village’s northern entrance. Councillors agreed, subject to the county surveyor approving the site. The decision documents permission for the project, rather than its completion. [2]
The future of the boathouse
The same meeting considered the former lifeboat house. The council declined to take it over, reporting that it had no statutory power and did not require the building for harbour work. A committee suggested placing it with the parish priest, rector and local county councillor, with local maintenance arrangements. The RNLI’s reply said the suggestion would receive consideration; the minutes do not establish a completed transfer. [2]
A wreath at sea in 2021
On 10 July 2021, Fethard’s serving crew laid a wreath at sea for people connected with the station who had died during the previous twenty-five years. Dan Walsh’s report records this completed ceremony separately from a larger anniversary exercise postponed during Covid restrictions. The occasion remembered the people of the revived service as well as the community’s older losses. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Fethard. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Wexford County Council minutes, 2 December 1914, volume 6, pages 107–110 · Wexford County Council; original minutes held by Wexford County Archive
- Wreath laid at sea by Fethard Lifeboat, 12 July 2021 · Dan Walsh, WexfordLocal
- The former lifeboathouse at Fethard-on-Sea, County Wexford, as photographed in July 2006 illustration: based on a Old lifeboathouse at Fethard by Albert Bridge. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.