Enniskerry (historically ''Annaskerry'', from ) is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. The population was 1,889 at the 2016 census.

Location

The village is situated on the

Glencullen River The Glencullen River (), often the ''Cookstown River'' (An Chlóideach) below Enniskerry, is a watercourse of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown (in southern County Dublin) and northern County Wicklow. About long; it passes the nature reserve of Knock ...

in the foothills of the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. ...

in the east of the island, just 5 minutes south of the Dublin border and some south of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

city centre. The

R117 road The R117 road is a regional road in Ireland. The route (north-south) starts ''Harcourt Road'' at the end of the ''South Circular Road'' on the southside of Dublin city centre. It crosses the Grand Canal and goes through the suburbs of Ranela ...

, colloquially known as "The Twenty-One Bends" connects the town to the main N11 road to Dublin. The 185

Go-Ahead Ireland Go-Ahead Transport Services (Dublin) Limited, known as Go-Ahead Ireland is a bus operator in Dublin that commenced trading in September 2018. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History With the aim of improving efficiency, in 2015 the ...

route connects the village hourly to Bray, the nearest large town. The 44

Dublin Bus Dublin Bus ( ga, Bus Átha Cliath) is a State-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 138 million passengers in 2019. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. ...

route connects the village with Dublin city centre.

History

Enniskerry is a planned

estate village An estate village is a village wholly within and part of a private estate. Usually several hundred years old, they are often well preserved by the family that owns the estate. They often have small commercial operations such as pubs, craft shops, an ...

dating from the 1840s, with the original buildings designed in a neo-Tudor style. The Protestant population of the village attended church in the grounds of the Powerscourt Demesne until 1859. Mervyn Wingfield, 7th

Viscount Powerscourt Viscount Powerscourt ( ) is a title that has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland, each time for members of the Wingfield family. It was created first in 1618 for the Chief Governor of Ireland, Richard Wingfield. However, this creat ...

built a new church, Saint Patrick's, in the village which was completed two years later, in 1861. This coincided with an extensive renovation programme that also established the

Italian garden The Italian garden (or giardino all'italiana () is best known for a number of large Italian Renaissance gardens which have survived in something like their original form. In the history of gardening, during the Renaissance, Italy had the most ...

s at Powerscourt. The Viscount Powerscourt claimed the old church following the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland by the

Irish Church Act 1869 The Irish Church Act 1869 (32 & 33 Vict. c. 42) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which separated the Church of Ireland from the Church of England and disestablished the former, a body that commanded the adherence of a small min ...

. The consequences were that only those with a right to be buried next to the old church within the Demesne could claim these rights thereafter.

Powerscourt Estate Powerscourt Estate ( ga, Eastát Chúirt an Phaoraigh), located in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, Ireland, is a large country estate which is noted for its house and landscaped gardens, today occupying . The house, originally a 13th-century cast ...

, comprising a large house and gardens today occupying , is located near the town and is a popular visitor attraction. The extensive formal gardens form the grounds of an 18th-century

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

house, designed by

Richard Cassels Richard Cassels (1690 – 1751), also known as Richard Castle, was an architect who ranks with Edward Lovett Pearce as one of the greatest architects working in Ireland in the 18th century. Cassels was born in 1690 in Kassel, Germany. Althou ...

, which was destroyed by fire in 1974, and lay as a shell until extensive restorations were carried out in 1996.

Powerscourt Waterfall Powerscourt Waterfall ( ga, Eas Chonaill) is the second highest waterfall in Ireland at high, it is located at the base of the Glensoulan Valley on the River Dargle near Enniskerry, County Wicklow. Powerscourt is overlooked by the peaks of D ...

in the grounds of the estate, at 121 metres, is the highest waterfall in Ireland.

Culture

Film

In 1944, Enniskerry was the setting for some scenes of Laurence Olivier's film adaptation of ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...

''. ''

Johnny Nobody ''Johnny Nobody'' is a 1961 British drama film made by Viceroy Films Limited, with John R. Sloan as producer, and Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli as executive producers. It was directed by the British film and stage actor Nigel Patrick, w ...

'' (released in 1961) was partly filmed in Enniskerry. Scenes from a number of other films, including P.S I Love You (2007) '' Into the West'' (1992) and ''

Leap Year A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year or ...

'' (2010) were also shot locally. Scenes for the 2022 Disney film Disenchanted were shot in Enniskerry.

Television

From 1996 to 2001, along with

Avoca, County Wicklow Avoca () is a small town near Arklow, in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated on the River Avoca. The Avoca area has been associated with its copper mines for many years and the valley has been celebrated by Thomas Moore in the song " The M ...

, it played host to the television series ''

Ballykissangel ''Ballykissangel'' is a BBC television drama created by Kieran Prendiville and set in Ireland, produced in-house by BBC Northern Ireland. The original story revolved around a young English Roman Catholic priest as he became part of a rural com ...

''. On 16 March 2009,

Meredith Vieira Meredith Louise Vieira (born December 30, 1953) is an American broadcast journalist and television personality. She is best known as the original moderator of the daytime talk show '' The View'' (1997–2006), the original host of the syndicated ...

and

Al Roker Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather presenter, journalist, television personality, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's '' Today'', and occasionally co-hosts '' 3rd Hour Today''. He has an in ...

broadcast live in Enniskerry for NBC's ''Today Show''.

Transport

The Bray and Enniskerry Railway was proposed in the 19th century, to link the town to Bray. Some initial work was carried out, including building a bridge to carry the railway over

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...

's Vartry watermain.

Wicklow County Council Wicklow County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae Chill Mhantáin) is the authority responsible for local government in County Wicklow, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for ...

recently removed much of the railway embankment in road widening, but left the bridge, which is directly opposite the ornate bridge carrying the watermain over the Cookstown River, a tributary of the

River Dargle The River Dargle () is a river that flows from the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland to the Irish Sea. It forms Powerscourt Waterfall, receives the Glencree and Glencullen Rivers, and later the Glenmunder Stream / County Brook, and the Swan River ...

. The plan ran into financial difficulties, and the rails were lifted and sold off. The 44 Bus to DCU now has a terminus in Enniskerry, whilst the 185 Bus to Bray goes through the village.

Sports

There are two soccer clubs located in the village; Enniskerry Football Club and Enniskerry Youth Club. Enniskerry Football Club was founded in the early 1970s as Enniskerry Schoolboys Football Club. The club, which now fields teams of boys and girls, is based in the Bog Meadow. Enniskerry FC participates in the Metropolitan Girls League with all-girls teams, the Wicklow Schoolboys/Girls Soccer League for their all-boys teams and the Athletic Union League for the men's team. Enniskerry Youth Club have several teams playing at adult and youth level. There is also a Gaelic football club in the village.

Religion

Strong ecumenical links have been forged over the years between the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

parish of St Mary and the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

parish of St Patrick, Powerscourt, both in the village of Enniskerry.

People

* Chris de Burgh, singer and songwriter *

Ina Boyle Ina Boyle (8 March 1889 – 10 March 1967) was an Irish composer. Her compositions encompass a broad spectrum of genres and include choral, chamber and orchestral works as well as opera, ballet and vocal music. While a number of her works, incl ...

, 20th century composer, was born locally *

Rosanna Davison Rosanna Diane Davison (born 17 April 1984) is an Irish actress, singer, writer, model and beauty queen who was crowned Miss World 2003. She is the daughter of musician Chris de Burgh, and the song "For Rosanna" was written by her father for hi ...

, former Miss World. *

Rick Savage Richard Savage (born 2 December 1960) is an English musician best known for being the bass guitarist and one of the founding members of the English rock band Def Leppard. Savage and lead singer Joe Elliott are the only two remaining original ...

, bassist with

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

, lived in the town.

References

External links

*
Enniskerry at Wicklow County Tourism
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Wicklow Planned communities in the Republic of Ireland