Townland

Adamstown

Maigh Arnaí

Twentieth-century education and a purpose-built dance hall added new gathering places to this Wexford community.

Recorded locationAdamstown52.40226° N · 6.72179° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
Recorded place location · Logainm.ie

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

  • Maigh Arnaí · Irish · main form · non-validated name
  • Adamstown · English · main form

Place & story

Technical education reaches Adamstown

Adamstown Technical School admitted students in 1936 and held its official opening on 26 May 1937. Its own history names Sean Wilmot as securing the site from publican Michael Fortune, and Sean Little as the first teacher in charge. Farm work competed with attendance during sowing and harvest, while winter evening classes offered woodwork, needlework, cookery, drama and Irish-language activities. [2]

A move remembered seventy-five years later

Adamstown National School’s replacement building was constructed in late 1948 and opened in 1949, with an extension following in 1987. At its seventy-fifth anniversary celebration in 2024, pupils re-enacted the procession from the former school near the church to the new premises. Old roll books and photographs reaching back to the 1910s helped former pupils and staff recall earlier school life. [3]

The Show Society builds a ballroom

Adamstown Show Society, founded in 1947, set about providing a hall through a twelve-person fundraising and building committee. St Abban’s Hall opened on 1 May 1955 for that year’s Show Dance. Dan Walsh’s historical account identifies the late 1960s through the 1980s as its busiest period, when showbands drew dancers from the surrounding countryside and St Stephen’s Night was a particularly important occasion. [4]

Geographic information

Place type
Townland
County
Wexford
Barony
Bantry
Civil parish
Adamstown
Coordinates
52.40226, -6.72179
Mapped area
4.34 km²
Logainm ID
53324 ↗

People & family history

Census figures refer to the matched historical census area for each year. Boundaries and spellings can change over time.

1926 census

132People recorded
30Households recorded

Most frequent surnames in this year’s matched records

  • Franey 12
  • Whelan 12
  • Tierney 8
  • Bradley 7
  • Kiely 6
Explore the 1926 records ↗

Sources & further reading

  1. Logainm.ie — Adamstown. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  2. History of our School · Coláiste Abbáin
  3. Wexford school’s place at heart of community celebrated at75thanniversary,2July2024 · David Looby / New Ross Standard
  4. Late nights in the Ballroom of Romance,28December2020 · Dan Walsh
  5. Boundary geometry retains its source attribution and licence in the downloadable geographic record. Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2026-07-30. How this page was prepared.