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
Ros Mhic Thriúin· Irish · main form · validated name
New Ross· English · main form
Place & story
A medieval port’s later Atlantic trade
The Dunbrody heritage centre traces New Ross’s foundation to William Marshal in 1207. Its waterfront later became a point of departure for people crossing the Atlantic during the Great Famine. The Graves family commissioned a fleet of cargo vessels, including the original Dunbrody, built in Quebec by Thomas Hamilton Oliver and launched in 1845. Merchants adapted cargo ships with bunks when the demand for emigrant passage exceeded the space in passenger vessels.[2]
The ship at the quay
The Dunbrody now displayed at New Ross is a reproduction of an 1840s emigrant vessel. The original carried thousands of people to North America, principally Quebec but also New York. The attraction’s history identifies Captain John Williams with its comparatively good survival record. The replica gives the town’s maritime past a conspicuous physical form while interpreting the conditions and decisions involved in leaving Ireland.[2]
People & connections
Kennedy’s visit on 27 June 1963
John F. Kennedy addressed the people of New Ross on 27 June 1963 during his presidential visit to Ireland. He recalled the departure of his great-grandfather and the inheritance carried into the family’s American life. The presidential library preserves photographs of Kennedy meeting local children and records his visit to the family homestead at nearby Dunganstown. The town’s quay became a place of return as well as departure.[3]
A gift for the Oval Office
Among the objects presented during the visit was a silver goblet made in Dublin in 1805. Kennedy later displayed it in the Oval Office, where Jacqueline Kennedy instructed that a fresh flower be placed in it each day. The presidential library included it in an exhibition about the Irish journey. The gift carried a local act of welcome into the daily setting of the presidency.[4]
Both counts use the 2016 settlement boundary, allowing like-for-like comparison. CSO supplies the 2022 count on this older boundary for comparison only. The official 2022 Built Up Area has different boundaries.
View population figures
New Ross — Census 2016 settlement footprint — census population
New Ross Legal Town, Wexford — Legal town, CSO 2006 report
2002–2006: legal town
4,677people · 2006
These are the historical areas published in the 2006 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
New Ross Legal Town, Wexford — Legal town, CSO 2006 report — census population
New Ross Environs, Kilkenny and Wexford — Town environs only, CSO 2006 report
2002–2006: town environs only
3,032people · 2006
These are the historical areas published in the 2006 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
New Ross Environs, Kilkenny and Wexford — Town environs only, CSO 2006 report — census population
New Ross Legal Town, Wexford — Legal town, CSO 1996 report
1991–1996: legal town
5,012people · 1996
These are the historical areas published in the 1996 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
New Ross Legal Town, Wexford — Legal town, CSO 1996 report — census population
New Ross Environs, Kilkenny and Wexford — Town environs only, CSO 1996 report
1991–1996: town environs only
1,135people · 1996
These are the historical areas published in the 1996 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
New Ross Environs, Kilkenny and Wexford — Town environs only, CSO 1996 report — census population
Figures cover the historical town area printed in the 1986 report. Boundaries may have changed between censuses. Legal town, environs and suburb totals remain separate and differ from modern settlement boundaries.
View population figures
New Ross, Wexford — Legal town, CSO 1986 report — census population
These figures use different area definitions. Read the boundary note before comparing them.
New Ross, Wexford — 2011 legal town and environs; 2016 census settlement
Published census settlement populations
8,040people · 2016
Settlement boundaries changed during this period. Differences may reflect boundary changes as well as population change. Where a 2011 legal-town-and-environs count is shown, it has not been recalculated onto the 2016 settlement boundary.
View population figures
New Ross, Wexford — 2011 legal town and environs; 2016 census settlement — census population
placenames