Bannow
town in Leinster, Republic of Ireland
Bannow (Irish: Banú) is a village and civil parish lying east of Bannow Bay on the southwest coast of County Wexford, Ireland. The main settlement in the parish is the village of Carrig-on-Bannow (or Carrig).
While, in modern times, the main settlement is at Carrig-on-Bannow, in Norman times there was a borough called Bannow on Bannow Island at the mouth of the bay. This town has since disappeared, possibly due to the silting up of the natural harbour channels in the 14th century, and the former island is now attached to the rest of the parish.
History
It is believed that the Vikings had a strong early presence in the area, due to the survival of numerous Norse place-names in the locality. The Norman conquest of Ireland began in Bannow Bay in 1169, when three ships commanded by Robert Fitz-Stephen arrived at the behest of Diarmait MacMurrough to support his claim to the Kingdom of Leinster.
Another group of Normans under Raymond le Gros landed the following year on the far side of Bannow Bay, on the Hook Peninsula at Baginbun, which was then called Irish: Dún Domhnaill. There was a small promontory fort there, used by the Normans for defence and thereby ensure a safe landing.
At Bannow Island, the ruins can still be seen of the 13th-century Norman Romanesque parish church of St Mary, originally impropriated to the monks of Canterbury. It consists of a nave and chancel.
“Bannow” enters the record as town in Leinster, Republic of Ireland. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Bannow, town and Leinster can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Bannow” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Bannow, town and Leinster provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4077442. Authority coordinates are 52.217, -6.767. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1169.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Bannow”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Bannow primary sources, Bannow archive and Bannow research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Bannow”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Bannow” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.