Craft Fair at Ferns Castle

What to Expect

Ferns Castle opens its grounds for a one-day craft fair on Saturday 15 August, with free guided tours of the castle and traditional music running alongside the stalls. The listing puts it at 11am to 4pm and free to attend, which makes it one of the easier days out in north Wexford that weekend. Craft fairs held on Office of Public Works heritage sites tend to bring a local maker mix rather than commercial traders, so expect handmade goods from producers working in the surrounding area.

The castle itself is the draw as much as the stalls. Ferns Castle was built in the thirteenth century and is the most substantial survivor of a village that was once the seat of the kings of Leinster, and of Diarmait Mac Murchada, whose appeal for Norman help in 1167 set the Anglo-Norman arrival in Ireland in motion. Half of the original square keep survives, with a well-preserved circular corner tower housing a first-floor chapel. Admission to the castle is free year round, and during the summer season it opens daily from 9:30am to 5pm with last admission at 4:45pm. The date falls inside National Heritage Week 2026, which runs from 15 to 23 August, so several other Wexford sites are running their own free programmes across the same period.

Good to Know

• Saturday 15 August 2026, 11:00am to 4:00pm
• Ferns Castle, The Square, Ferns, Co. Wexford, Y21 D892
• Free admission to the fair and to the castle; guided tours free on the day
• Traditional music on site alongside the craft stalls
• Bring cash for stallholders, as small makers vary in what they accept
• Falls on the opening Saturday of National Heritage Week, 15 to 23 August 2026
• The castle’s own summer season runs daily 9:30am to 5pm, last admission 4:45pm

Getting There

Ferns sits on the N11 between Enniscorthy and Gorey, about 13km north of Enniscorthy and roughly 90 minutes from Dublin by road on the M11 and N11. The castle stands in the village square, so it is impossible to miss coming through. There is on-street parking in the village and a small car park nearby. Bus Eireann and Wexford Bus services on the Dublin to Wexford corridor stop in Ferns village, putting the castle a short walk from the stop.