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heritage · Wednesday 1 July 2026 · 10:00am 
Ros Tapestry Exhibition Centre - Open Viewing
At Ros Tapestry Exhibition Centre · The Waterfront, New Ross, Co. Wexford
At Ros Tapestry Exhibition Centre · The Waterfront, New Ross, Co. Wexford
The Ros Tapestry Exhibition Centre on New Ross’s waterfront is home to one of the most ambitious community art projects in Ireland - fifteen giant hand-embroidered panels telling the story of Norman Ireland, created by over 180 volunteer stitchers across more than two decades. It is the kind of thing that stops you in your tracks: not a dusty cabinet of artefacts, but huge, vivid textile scenes you can stand close to and trace the individual stitches. Anyone with an interest in medieval history, textile craft, or simply in what patient collective effort can produce will find something to linger over here.
Each of the fifteen panels runs to roughly two metres by one and a half metres, and together they form a continuous visual narrative spanning from Celtic Ireland around 700 BC right through to the early thirteenth century. The story moves through Celtic ritual and Brehon Law, early Christian Ireland, the Viking settlements of Wexford, and then into the main event - the Norman arrival in May 1169 and the founding of New Ross itself by William Marshal and Isabel de Clare.
Audio guides are available for a self-guided tour, which gives the panels the context they deserve. Plan for around an hour, longer if you want to read the detail. The embroidery is extraordinarily fine in places and each scene rewards a slow look. The centre itself is on the quayside, so there is natural light and a sense of the river that the Normans once sailed in on.
Groups and school parties are well catered for, and advance booking is recommended if you are coming with a larger party. The exhibition runs year-round, though opening times do vary seasonally.
New Ross sits on the River Barrow in the west of Co. Wexford, roughly 30km south of Wexford town and about 20km east of Waterford city. By car from Dublin, take the M9 south towards Waterford and pick up the N25 east, then the R700 into New Ross - around two hours. From Cork, the N25 west-to-east route runs through the town.
By bus, Bus Éireann route 370 connects Waterford to New Ross, taking around 25 minutes, with services several times daily. Wexford town has onward Bus Éireann connections from Dublin. New Ross is not on the rail network, so a bus or car is the practical option.
The Exhibition Centre is at The Waterfront on the Quay, right at the river’s edge. Parking is available along the quayside and in nearby town centre car parks a short walk away.
New Ross has a long riverine history worth more than a quick stop - the town itself grew out of the Norman settlement the tapestries depict, and the medieval street pattern is still legible. The Dunbrody Famine Ship, a full-scale replica of an 1840s emigrant vessel, is moored nearby and makes a natural companion visit. There is more to see in New Ross and across Co. Wexford.
Heading to Ros Tapestry Exhibition Centre in New Ross? Wexford has plenty more to see. Read the New Ross area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.