Clonroche’s history includes a subscription reading room and cattle fairs, while Tim Flood’s recorded recollections connect local sport with Wexford’s All-Ireland successes.
Illustration, Clonroche village-centre inn facades
⊕Recorded locationClonroche52.44883° N · 6.71926° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
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
Cluain an Róistigh· Irish · main form · validated name
Clonroche· English · main form
Place & story
News and fairs on the New Ross road
Samuel Lewis described Clonroche as a thriving village in 1837, noting that it had formerly been called Stonepound. A small reading and news room was maintained by subscribers, giving the settlement a shared place for access to print. Nine annual fairs, chiefly for cattle, punctuated the year, and petty sessions met at irregular intervals. The police station and these trading and administrative activities made Clonroche a service centre on the road between Enniscorthy and New Ross.[2]
Clonroche House
Clonroche House was already standing by 1840. The farmhouse’s tall roof, dormer attic and windows that become smaller on the upper floor distinguish its compact form. Tripartite ground-floor windows mark the principal reception rooms, while adjacent outbuildings retain the setting of a working farm. The architectural inventory connects the property with the Robinson family, including farmers James and Eusebius Robinson. Later alterations changed its roofing and entrance, but substantial historic fabric remained when the survey recorded the house.[3]
People & connections
Tim Flood’s school and club
Tim Flood attended primary school in Clonroche and played for Cloughbawn from 1945 to 1968. The GAA’s oral-history report records his county titles with the club and three senior All-Ireland wins with Wexford, in 1955, 1956 and 1960. Regina Fitzpatrick interviewed him near Clonroche in November 2010, with Eddie Nangle also present. His recollections connected childhood games, journeys to matches and inter-county hurling with the sporting life of his home parish.[4]
Parish sports and a song
Flood’s interview also recalled local sports days, including cycling and sheaf-throwing, and cooperation between Catholic and Protestant neighbours. The report records discussion of his banjo playing as well as his hurling, and notes that he finished by singing My Black Dudeen. These details preserve a wider picture of rural recreation than a list of championship results alone: music, seasonal gatherings and competitive games belonged to the same remembered social world.[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
Clonroche — Census 2016 settlement footprint — census population
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
Clonroche, Wexford — Census town, CSO 2006 report — census population
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
Clonroche, Wexford — Census town, 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
Clonroche, Wexford — Census town, CSO 1986 report — census population
These figures use different area definitions. Read the boundary note before comparing them.
Clonroche, Wexford
Published census settlement populations
326people · 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.
placenames