First impressions of NEW ROSS, twenty-one miles west of Wexford on the N25, are not encouraging: a glamourless old port of grubby wharf buildings. However, the place isn’t without character, thanks mostly to the river that has long given access to the heart of the Wexford and Kilkenny countryside, and the clutter of narrow lanes that do much to preserve the human scale of the place. In addition, the quayside has been greatly enhanced from spring 2001 by the presence of the tall-ship Dunbrody, a magnificent reconstruction of the original SS Dunbrody, a three-masted famine ship which took thousands of emigrants to new lives in America and Canada. On board will be an interactive visitor centre and a comprehensive database of all Irish immigration into the US from 1820 to 1920 (call 051/425239 or the tourist office for details; the ship might not remain in port all year round). It’s worth climbing the steep back alleys to the top of town for views over the river and hills, and exploring the thirteenth-century ruins of St Mary’s Church, with its graceful, Gothic windows and medieval tombstones in the chancel.