St Dubhán’s Church
St. Dubhán’s Church is an example of a Norman church with a nave and chancel. The site itself, however, is much earlier and was founded in the 5th century by St. Dubhán.
This ancient church site has a very long history of use. A small wooden church was built here in the 5th century by St. Dubhán, a Welsh monk. A stone church was built by the late 11th or early 12th century and the Normans extended the church following their arrival on the Hook Peninsula.
Lighting the Way
Local tradition credits the early monks of St. Dubhán’s with keeping a fire lit at the tip of the Hook Peninsula to warn passing ships of the dangers of its rocky coastline.
Later, in the early 13th century, the Norman knight William Marshal built Hook Lighthouse in the same spot to aid ships passing into the Suir Estuary on their way to his port towns upriver.
A Family of Church Founders
Dubhán, like the Normans 600 years later, came to Wexford from Wales. The name Dubhán translates as ‘fishing hook’ in old Irish and has given its name to the Hook Peninsula. Dubhán’s brother, Alloch, and his father, Brecaun, are also remembered as the founders of churches on the Hook Peninsula.
