Ballinaclash (A. D. Mills, 2003, ''A Dictionary of British Place-Names'', Oxford University Press) is a village in east

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

, Ireland. Around 4 km south-west of Rathdrum, it is centred on a bridge that carries the R753 road across the

River Avonbeg The Avonbeg River () rises on the northern flank of Camenabologue in the Wicklow Mountains and flows southeast into the valley of Glenmalure. It continues southeast through the villages of Greenan and Ballinaclash before joining the Avonmore ...

. The village is mentioned in J.M. Synge's play ''

The Tinker's Wedding ''The Tinker's Wedding'' is a two-act play by the Irish playwright J. M. Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909), popularly known as J. M. Synge, was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, essayist, and collector ...

'': "''And a big fool I was too, maybe; but we'll be seeing Jaunting Jim to-morrow in Ballinaclash, and he after getting a great price for his white foal in the horse-fair of Wicklow''". In 1837, the village had a population of 3,855 according to Samuel Lewis' ''

A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland Samuel Lewis (c. 1782 – 1865) was the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The aim of the texts was to give in 'a condensed form', a faithful and impartial description ...

''. This population was much reduced by the famine and subsequent emigration and today is only a fraction of that number. The village was originally the site of an ancient monastery founded by the brother of St. Kevin, according to Mervyn Archdall. The site is now occupied by Whaley Abbey; the home of the notorious Buck Whaley.

References

Towns and villages in County Wicklow {{Wicklow-geo-stub

See also

References