Book excerpt: Wexford has always had a close relationship with the sea. One of the county's most famous sons, John Barry, is known as the Father of the US Navy and, in Maritime Wexford, columnist Jack O'Leary and local historian Nicky Rossiter take the reader on a voyage that touches on this and many other stories of Wexford's maritime development. Taking in the early days of the town, together with its best-known ships and seafarers, through to the construction of the harbour and the economic benefit and sometimes personal cost that the sea has brought, this beautifully illustrated volume is an important addition to the history of Wexford and to Irish maritime history.