Overview
Kilmore Quay is a working fishing village first and a holiday spot second: trawlers still land here, and the harbour is the departure point for the 20-minute ferry to the Saltee Islands, Ireland’s largest bird sanctuary. It sits on the eastern edge of Ballyteige Bay in County Wexford – the Irish, Cé na Cille Móire, means ‘quay of the big church’ – with a year-round population of just over 370 that swells through the summer. It’s about 25 minutes by car from both Wexford Town and the Rosslare Europort ferry terminal, which makes it a handy base for the south-east coast. If you do one thing here, take the boat to the Saltees between April and July, when the puffins are in.
History and village character
The natural shelter of the harbour has sustained deep-sea and lobster fishing since the early 1800s. Maritime safety has been just as central: the RNLI placed its first lifeboat here in 1847 and built a permanent station in 1884, and a modern Tamar-class lifeboat works from the marina today. In summer the lifeboat station opens to visitors daily, 11am–1pm and 2pm–5pm.
The village centre is a row of early-19th-century thatched cottages – mud walls, whitewashed with lime, roofed with wheaten or oaten straw – most still lived in. Just inland stands St Peter’s Church (1875), designed by George Ashlin to save parishioners the three-mile walk to the old church at Kilmore. Nearby, the crumbling walls of Ballyteige Castle mark a 15th-century tower house once held by the Whitty family. For the fuller story of local farming, fishing and community, the Stella Maris Heritage Centre has interactive displays and a small café.
Walking, beaches and nature reserves
The coastline is best taken on foot. The Kilmore Quay Walking Trail starts at the harbour car park and loops 4.5 km (about an hour) past the Memorial Garden and along the edge of Ballyteige Burrow; you can stretch it to a full 16 km circuit on the dune tracks westward. The Norman Way heritage trail also runs through the village, linking a chain of medieval sites across south Wexford.
Key features:
- Ballyteigue Strand – a broad, golden-sand beach for long walks and shore angling. Watch for nesting little terns and stonechats in spring and summer.
- Ballyteigue Burrow – a 9 km shingle-and-sand spit stretching north-west along the bay. Once an island, it was joined to the mainland during mid-19th-century famine-relief works that reclaimed 660 hectares behind the dunes. The reserve now holds mudflats, saltmarsh and wading birds – Brent geese, shelduck and black-tailed godwits. See the Ballyteige Burrow nature reserve page for seasonal counts and access notes.
- Forlorn Point – an exposed outcrop of Precambrian gneiss over 620 million years old. At low tide the rock pools around it reveal anemones, crabs, winkles and limpets.
- Memorial Garden – shaped like a mooring bollard, this sea-facing garden remembers vessels lost off the coast. A stone ship carries a compass fountain built around a propeller blade from the SS Lennox, lost near the Saltees in 1916; a path leads down to the ‘Vigil’ sculpture, and a remembrance service is held each June.
The Saltee Islands ferry
A ferry runs daily from the harbour to Great Saltee, roughly April to September – though the end of the season shifts from year to year (some years it stops at the end of August), so check before you travel. The crossing takes 20 minutes. As of late 2024 the fare was €45 for adults and €25 for children up to 12; it’s worth confirming the current price when you book, and booking is essential in July and August. It isn’t cheap for a short hop, but the islands earn it.
The Saltees are Ireland’s largest bird sanctuary, with more than 220 recorded species. Puffins breed from April to July, while gannets, razorbills, guillemots and kittiwakes nest on the sea cliffs; a small grey-seal colony gathers each year and produces around 20 pups. The ground is uneven and often wet, so bring waterproof footwear, a spare pair of shoes and weatherproof layers. There are no shops, toilets or shelters on the islands.
People go looking for the ceremonial throne, flag-staff and obelisk on Great Saltee. These were put up by Michael Neale, who bought the islands in 1943, declared himself Prince of the Saltees and planted over 34,000 trees between 1945 and 1950. The throne carries an inscription to his mother, and the Neale family still owns the islands privately.
Food and drink
For its size, Kilmore Quay eats well:
- Cocoa’s Coffee Shop – a harbour-side café with a terrace for coffee, breakfast and light lunches. Open daily from 8am (to 4pm weekdays, 5pm weekends).
- The Saltee Chipper – opposite the quay, an award-winning takeaway and casual restaurant known for beer-battered haddock, plus pizzas, burgers and vegetarian sides.
- Kehoe’s Pub & Parlour – a central pub with live music and a mix of traditional and contemporary dishes.
- Mary Barry’s Bar – a seaside pub with a dining room and beer garden, big on fresh local seafood.
- Coast Kilmore Quay Boutique Hotel – a bistro and bar leaning on regional produce and freshly landed fish for more formal meals.
Events
The Seafood Festival in the second week of July is the big one – seafood tastings, live music, family events and harbour races. RNLI Lifeboat Day falls on the August bank-holiday Sunday, and the Write by the Sea literary festival takes over the village at the end of September. For anything else, check the What’s On in Wexford calendar.
Practical information
- Getting there: from Wexford Town, follow the N25 toward Rosslare; about two miles past the Drinagh roundabout, turn right onto the R739 for Kilmore Quay (roughly 25 minutes). From Rosslare, take the N25 toward Wexford, pass Kilrane, Tagoat and Killinick, then turn left onto the R739.
- Public transport: Wexford Bus route 390 runs daily between Wexford and Kilmore Quay via Johnstown Castle and Bridgetown, with limited Sunday services; check current times at wexfordbus.ie.
- Parking: free roadside parking near the harbour, plus a free car park behind the pier beside the playground (with two disabled bays) and a separate free lot for boat trailers.
- Tides and safety: beach access and rock-pooling at Forlorn Point depend on the tide, so check times before setting out. The lifeboat station is active year-round; swimmers should heed harbour warnings and keep clear of working fishing boats.
- Nearby: Ballycross Apple Farm is a 10-minute drive; Leisure Max (bowling, archery and a kids’ play barn) is about 22 minutes – both good wet-weather fallbacks.
- Connectivity: 4G and 5G reach the village but drop on the approach roads and are absent on the Saltees.
Plan around the ferry sailings and the low-tide windows, and you’ll get both the island and the best of the coastal walks in a day.