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:''This article is about the town in Ireland. For the artist, see Edward Gorey, for the town in Jersey, please see Gorey, Jersey''
'Gorey' (Irish: ''Guaire'') (Population (2002) 3,090), is a market town, in north County Wexford, Ireland, situated on the main N11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the railway network along the same route. Local newspapers include the Gorey Guardian and Gorey Echo.

Gorey is an hour's drive from the outskirts of Dublin. As accomodation prices continue to rise in the capital, many workers have made the decision to move further outside of the city; Gorey's position on the N11 - a direct link to the capital - has made it an attractive choice for commuters, many of whom spend less time travelling to work than their counterparts living in particular areas of Dublin. As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in the building of new houses in Gorey. Between 1996 and 2002, the population has risen by 44% in the town, and by 23% in the surrounding district^[1].

Contents

Amenities

Entertainment

Development

Transport

See also

External links

References

Amenities

Many new shops have been added in the last few years; Esmonde Street has been developed from a residential street to a mainly commercial street and, by all appearances, a similar transformation is occuring on The Avenue. Many of the shops are centred on ladies' fashion, but there is more than enough choice for men and children's fashion also. Four supermarkets compete for customers in the town.
For visitors, there are 2 modern hotels, both with leisure centre, swimming pool and conference facilities. The town has several restaurants, catering for Italian, Indian, Chinese, Thai and, of course, Irish cuisine.

Entertainment

Gorey has a vibrant cultural life, with an extremely active theatre group which produces several plays through the year and organises performances by visiting groups. They also host an annual, week-long Drama Festival. In the summer months, the group produces a twice-weekly play which is popular with both locals and visitors. Every second year, a Pantomime is produced, which is always well received.
Gorey Musical Society has one production a year; in 2006, they staged the all-Irish musical, "The Ha'penny Bridge", and were the first amateur group to have been given the honour to do so. In 2007, the Society successfully staged 'Oklahoma!', for which the society received several nominations from the Association of Irish Musical Societies' annual "Oscar. At the awards ceremony in Killarney, Gorey MS received the award for the Best Overall Show in Ireland, as well as the awards for Best Male Singer and Best Supporting Actress^[2].
Several music groups are active in the Gorey area, which play both traditional Irish music as well as rock.
Gorey Choral Group, a mixed Voice Choir of around 38 members, has participated in contests all over Ireland and Wales, and brought many trophies back home.
In the 1970's and early 80's, an eclectic arts festival was held in the town during the summer. Many big and soon-to-be big name performers appeared including U2, Horslips, The Virgin Prunes, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the Glasnevin Musical Society, the Wexford Festival Choir, Niall Toibin and Eamonn Morrissey.

Development

Until recently, traffic through the town, which lies on the N11 (Dublin to Rosslare) route, was a major problem, especially on Friday afternoon/early evening. A by-pass was opened at the end of June 2007. It is a high-standard dual-carriageway. The "necessary" part of it is now open to motorists, but the entire project is not due for completion until October 2007.
A major issue that has been with the town for several years is the lack of recreational facilities for younger people. There is a moderately-sized town park on the Fort Road which caters for the youth of the town; however, in recent years, the slide, the merry-go-round and monkey bars have all disappeared in favour of a smaller, safer environment that caters predominantly for babies and toddlers. For a such a rapidly growing town, it still lacks a suitable library, a cinema, a swimming pool and several other facilities. There is however a local boxing club, two football clubs and a rugby club, while the GAA is also very popular in the area.
Rapid growth has led to an overcrowding problem in the local schools, with the secondary school, Gorey Community School having the largest student population of any school in Ireland. Four local primary schools feed the Community School, as do a number of schools in various local areas.
Courtown Harbour or Courtown, a small holiday resort popular with weekend visitors from Dublin, is situated east of Gorey.

Transport

Gorey railway station opened on 16 November 1863.^[3]

See also

★ List of Irish Towns with a Market House

★ List of towns in the Republic of Ireland

External links

★ www.goreylinks.comA full list of the businesses in Gorey Town.

★ www.goreyrfc.com

★ www.goreyskateclub.com

References

1. Ireland.com
2. Associaton of Irish Musical Societies
3. Gorey station