Overview
You could walk past the National Opera House without noticing it. That’s deliberate: the architects slotted a 771-seat theatre behind a reinstated High Street frontage, keeping the street profile modest and saving the drama for the back, where the glazed foyer opens onto Wexford’s harbour. It opened in September 2008 as a purpose-built home for the Wexford Festival Opera, replacing the ageing Theatre Royal, and was renamed Ireland’s National Opera House in 2014 by minister Heather Humphreys at that year’s festival.
It works year-round as more than an opera venue. Two theatres, a public café and flexible meeting rooms host symphonies, family shows, comedy, dance and conferences alongside the opera season. The address, for the record, is High Street, Wexford, Y35 FEP3.
History and architecture
For over fifty years the Wexford Festival Opera made do with the Theatre Royal, which by the early 2000s could no longer meet modern technical and access standards. The Wexford Festival Trust commissioned a replacement as a spur to town-centre regeneration, and construction began in 2006 on a tight, sloping plot on High Street. Taoiseach Brian Cowen inaugurated the building in 2008, marked by a live broadcast of RTÉ’s The Late Late Show.
The design steps down the hillside, which is how it stays modest on the street and dramatic toward the water. It earned an AIA Excellence in Design Award (Townscape) and Civic Trust recognition. The auditorium is lined with American Black Walnut, engineered to work like the body of a stringed instrument, and acousticians rate its warmth and clarity alongside dedicated concert halls across Europe.
The performance spaces
The O’Reilly Theatre
The flagship auditorium seats 771 in upholstered leather seats. The layout is built for sightlines: side seats angle toward the stage, and the wider side boxes let you watch without craning. The lighting and rigging handle large-scale opera, touring theatre and symphonic concerts.
The Jerome Hynes Theatre
The 176-seat Jerome Hynes Theatre, named after a former festival director, is the flexible room. It reconfigures for seated performances, standing receptions or workshops, and comes into its own during the festival for experimental work, emerging artists and smaller concerts where performer and audience sit close.
The backstage tour
Once a week a guided tour goes where ticket-holders don’t: onto the stage, down to the orchestra pit lifts, up through the horseshoe balconies, and finally to the top of the fly tower, which gives a 360-degree view over Wexford harbour. If you’re in town during the day rather than for a show, this is the thing to book.
Dining and harbour views
You don’t need a ticket for the public areas. The top-floor café is the pick, with coffee, light meals and pastries and one of the best harbour panoramas in County Wexford. The main bar opens one hour before performances in the O’Reilly Theatre, serving Irish craft beers, wines and soft drinks. Food and drink aren’t permitted inside the auditoriums once a performance begins.
Visiting the National Opera House
The box office and phone lines run Monday to Saturday, 09:30–17:00, closed on Sundays and bank holidays. On performance days the box office opens again two hours before the show, the bar an hour before, and the auditorium 30 minutes before curtain.
Book early, especially for the annual Wexford Festival Opera in autumn, when both theatres’ modest capacities mean popular shows go weeks ahead. One thing to know before you commit: tickets are generally non-refundable unless the venue cancels, and resold tickets carry a 15% administration charge.
Getting there
- By train: Wexford railway station is about a 10-minute walk. Regular services run from Dublin, taking roughly 1.5 hours.
- By bus: Wexford Bus and Bus Éireann services stop at Redmond Square, a short walk from the venue.
- By car: on-street pay-and-display parking, plus the Rowe Street Church car park (2 minutes’ walk) and the Clayton Whites Hotel underground car park (5 minutes).
Practical information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Opening hours | Monday–Saturday 09:30–17:00; closed Sundays and bank holidays |
| Ticket policy | All children require a ticket. Non-refundable unless cancelled; 15% admin fee on resales. |
| Bar & café | Bar opens 1 hour before shows. Food and drink not allowed in auditoriums. |
| Prohibited items | No smoking, vaping, food, cameras or recording equipment. Phones off during performances. |
| Accessibility | Wheelchair-friendly circulation, accessible toilets, staff assistance on request. |
| Venue hire | Contact Aisling at +353 53 916 3526 or aisling@nationaloperahouse.ie |
| Eircode | Y35 FEP3 |
Nearby attractions
The Opera House sits at the edge of Wexford’s compact town centre, so it’s easy to fold a performance into a wider day. A short walk along the waterfront leads to the historic quays and the Dunbrody Famine Ship, a museum dedicated to Irish emigration. St Iberius Church and the town’s independent shops are also within easy walking distance.
Arrive early and take a window seat at the top-floor café; the late-afternoon light off the harbour makes it one of the better free vantage points in the region.