Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, VÃkingaló) is the
county town of
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered ...
in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. It is located 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 ...
on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has a population of 10,584. The town is to the east of the
M11 route between Dublin and
Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N1 ...
. It also has
railway links to Dublin, Wexford,
Arklow
Arklow (; ; , ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 r ...
, and
Rosslare Europort
Rosslare Europort ( ga, Europort Ros Láir) is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeasternmost point of the island of Ireland. The port is the premier Irish port serving the European Conti ...
. There is also a commercial port for timber and textile imports. The
River Vartry
The River Vartry (; ) is a river in County Wicklow, Ireland, and an important water source for the city of Dublin. is the main river flowing through the town.
Geography

Wicklow town forms a rough semicircle around Wicklow harbour. To the immediate north lies 'The Murrough', a grassy walking area beside the sea, and the eastern coastal strip. The Murrough is a place of growing commercial use, so much so that a road by-passing the town directly to the commercial part of the area commenced construction in 2008 and was completed in summer of 2010. The eastern coastal strip includes Wicklow bay, a crescent shaped stone beach approximately 10 km in length.
Ballyguile Hill is to the southwest of the town. Much of the housing developments of the 1970s and 1980s occurred in this area, despite the considerable gradient from the town centre. From Wicklow the land rises into rolling hills to the west, going on to meet 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. Wh ...
in the centre of the county. The dominant feature to the south is the rocky headlands of Bride's Head and
Wicklow Head
Wicklow Head () is a headland near the southeast edge of the town of Wicklow in County Wicklow, approximately from the centre of the town.
Geographically, it is the easternmost point on the mainland of the Republic of Ireland.
Lighthouses
The ...
, the easternmost mainland point of the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
. On a very clear day, it is possible to see the
Snowdonia
Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951.
Name and extent
It was a commonly held belief that the na ...
mountain range in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
.
Climate
Similar to much of the rest of northwestern Europe, Wicklow experiences a
maritime climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...
(''Cfb'') with cool summers, mild winters, and a lack of temperature extremes. The average maximum January temperature is 9.2 °C (48.6 °F), while the average maximum July temperature is 20.4 °C (68.7 °F). On average, the sunniest month is May. The wettest month is October with 118.9 mm (4.6 in) of rain, and the driest month is April with 60.7 mm (2.4 in). With the exceptions of October and November, rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year with rainfall falling within a relatively narrow band of between 60 mm (2.4 in) and 86 mm (3.4 in) for any one month. A considerable spike of moisture occurs in October and November, each of which records almost double the typical rainfall of April.
Wicklow is sheltered from moisture locally by Ballyguile hill and, more distantly by the Wicklow mountains. This causes the town to receive only about 60% of the rainfall the west coast receives. In addition, because Wicklow is protected by the mountains from southwesterly and westerly winds, it enjoys higher average temperatures than much of Ireland. While its location is favourable for protection against the prevailing westerly and southwesterly winds that are common to much of Ireland, Wicklow is particularly exposed to easterly winds. As these winds come from the northern European landmass Wicklow can, along with much of the east coast of Ireland, experience relatively sharp temperature drops in winter for short periods.
Economy
Since 1995, the town has undergone significant change and expansion reflecting the simultaneous growth in the
Irish economy. Residential developments have taken place to the west of the town along Marlton Road (R751). More recently, housing developments have been concentrated to the northwest of the town towards the neighbouring village of
Rathnew
Rathnew () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. Located south of the capital Dublin along the M11 between Dublin and Wexford, it is close to the county town of Wicklow, which is situated to the east.
Education
Rathnew is home to Gaelscoi ...
. The completion of the
Ashford/Rathnew bypass in 2004 meant that Wicklow is now linked to Dublin (42 km north) by dual carriageway and motorway. These factors have led to a steady growth in population of Wicklow and its surrounding townlands while its importance as a
commuter town
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many ...
to Dublin increases.
Toponymy
Earlier spellings of the town's name include ''Wykinglo'' in the late 12th century, and ''Wykinglowe'' in the 14th century.
The name is usually explained as coming from the
Old Norse
Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...
words ''VÃkingr'' ("
Viking
Vikings ; non, vÃkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and s ...
") and ''ló'' ("meadow"), that is to say "the Vikings' meadow". Swedish toponymist Magne Oftedal criticizes this, saying that ''-ló'' was never used outside Scandinavia nor in such a combination. He argues that the first element is ''Uikar-'' or ''Uik-'' ("bay"), and that the intermediate ''-n-'' of the old forms is a mistake by clerks. However, all early recorded forms show this ''-n-''. For this reason,
Liam Price
Liam Price (February 1891 – 1967) was a County Wicklow judge, historian and former president of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (RSAI) who published work on historical topography and the history of placenames, especially for the co ...
and A. Sommerfelt derive it from ''VÃkinga-ló'' ("the Vikings' meadow").
Nevertheless, the Irish
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, al ...
s Ó hUiginn and Mac Uiginn (anglicised O'Higgins and Maguigan) could bring a key for the meaning "Meadow of a man called Viking".
The origin of the
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
name ''Cill Mhantáin'' bears no relation to the name ''Wicklow''. It has an interesting folklore of its own.
Saint Patrick and some followers are said to have tried to land on Travailahawk beach, which is to the south of the harbour. Hostile locals attacked them, causing one of Patrick's party to lose his front teeth. Manntach ("toothless one"), as he became known, was undeterred; he returned to the town and eventually founded a church, hence ''Cill Mhantáin'' ("church of the toothless one"). Although its
anglicised
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
spelling ''Kilmantan'' was used for a time and featured in some placenames in the town like Kilmantan Hill, it has gradually fell out of use. The
Anglo-Normans
The Anglo-Normans ( nrf, Anglo-Normaunds, ang, Engel-Norðmandisca) were the medieval ruling class in England, composed mainly of a combination of ethnic Normans, French, Anglo-Saxons, Flemings and Bretons, following the Norman conquest. A ...
who conquered this part of Ireland preferred the non-Irish placename.
History
During excavations to build the Wicklow road bypass in 2010, a Bronze Age cooking pit (known in Irish as a ''fulach fiadh'') and hut site was uncovered in the Ballynerrn Lower area of the town. A radio carbon-dating exercise on the site puts the timeline of the discovery at 900 BC.
It has been argued that an identifiable Celtic culture had emerged in Ireland by 600 BC or even earlier. According to the Greek cartographer and historian,
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of import ...
, the area around Wicklow was settled by a Celtic tribe called the
Cauci
The Cauci (Καῦκοι) were a people of early Ireland, uniquely documented in Ptolemy's 2nd-century ''Geography'', which locates them roughly in the region of modern County Dublin and County Wicklow.
Theories
From the early 19th century, comp ...
/Canci. This tribe is believed to have originated in the region containing today's Belgium/German border. The area around Wicklow was referred to as Menapia in Ptolemy's map which itself dates back to 130 AD.
Vikings
Vikings ; non, vÃkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
landed in Ireland around 795 AD and began plundering monasteries and settlements for riches and to capture slaves. In the mid-9th century, Vikings established a base which took advantage of the natural harbour at Wicklow. It is from this chapter of Wicklow's history that the name 'Wicklow' originates.

The Norman influence can still be seen today in some of the town's place and family names. After the
Norman invasion
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conq ...
, Wicklow was granted to
Maurice FitzGerald who set about building the 'Black Castle', a land-facing fortification that lies ruined on the coast immediately south of the harbour. The castle was briefly held by the local O'Byrne, the O'Toole and Kavanagh clans in the
uprising of 1641 but was quickly abandoned when English troops approached the town.
Sir Charles Coote, who led the troops is then recorded as engaging in "savage and indiscriminate" slaughter of the townspeople in an act of revenge. Local oral history contends that one of these acts of "wanton cruelty" was the entrapment and deliberate burning to death of an unknown number of people in a building in the town. Though no written account of this particular detail of Coote's attack on Wicklow is available, a small laneway, locally referred to as "Melancholy Lane", is said to have been where this event took place.

Though the surrounding county of Wicklow is rich in
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
monuments, the oldest surviving settlement in Wicklow proper is the ruined
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
friary. This is located at the west end of Main Street, within the gardens of the local Catholic parish grounds. Other notable buildings include the Town Hall and
Wicklow Gaol, which was built in 1702 and later renovated as a heritage centre and tourist attraction. The East Breakwater, arguably the most important building in the town, was built in the early 1880s by Wicklow Harbour Commissioners. The architect was William George Strype and the builder was John Jackson. The north
Groyne
A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid hydraulic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, con ...
was completed by about 1909; John Pansing was the designer and Louis Nott of Bristol the builder. Wicklow Gaol was a place of execution up to the end of the 19th century and it was here that Billy Byrne, a leader of the
1798 rebellion
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirà Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influenced b ...
, met his end in 1799. He is commemorated by a statue in the town square. At Fitzwilliam Square in the centre of Wicklow town is an obelisk commemorating the career of
Captain Robert Halpin, commander of the telegraph cable ship
Great Eastern, who was born in Wicklow in 1836.
According to the 2016 census, Wicklow has a population of 10,584.
Transport
Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subs ...
, I.P Passenger Services Ltd (trading as Wexford Bus) and Irish Rail all operate to and through the town. Bus Éireann provides an hourly which is half-hourly at peak-time service to Dublin City Centre and Airport. Also a service is operated twice daily to Arklow via Rathdrum. Wexford Bus operates 9 services to Dublin and 10 from Dublin each day. Wexford Bus' services are one hour each way, some 30 mins shorter than the Bus Eireann service. However they do not go through the town, dropping passengers at the Grand Hotel before continuing on to
Arklow
Arklow (; ; , ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 r ...
.
*Route 133 Wicklow (Monument) to Dublin Airport via Rathnew, Ashford, and a number of other points through Donnybrook, Dublin city centre and onwards to Dublin Airport.
* Route 740A (Wexford Bus) Wicklow Town to Dublin Airport via Kilmacanogue, UCD, Leeson Street, and other stops through to Swords Road and Dublin Airport
*Route 133 Wicklow (Monument) to Arklow via Rathnew, Rathdrum, Avoca, Woodenbridge and other points en route to Arklow.
A train service operates northbound to Dublin Connolly via Kilcoole, Greystones, Bray, Dun Laoghaire, Pearse Street and Tara Street en route to Connolly 6 times on Monday to Fridays.
Other trains operate southbound to Rosslare Europort via Rathdrum, Arklow, Gorey, Enniscorthy, Wexford and Rosslare Strand.
Sports and recreation
Wicklow Golf Club, founded in 1904, is located between the town and Wicklow head, while
Blainroe Golf Club is situated about 3.5 km south of Wicklow. Oak Hill Cricket Club is located 7.5 km south of Wicklow. The club plays its home matches at
Oak Hill Cricket Club Ground
Oak Hill Cricket Club Ground is a cricket ground in Kilbride, County Wicklow, Ireland.
History
The ground was constructed in 2008 by businessman Peter Savill on his stud farm at Kilbride. The ground was officially opened on 22 June 2008, with a ...
, which was constructed in 2008. The ground has hosted
first-class cricket
First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...
matches for
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and
Leinster Lightning
Leinster Lightning is one of three provincial cricket teams in Ireland. Along with the North West Warriors and Northern Knights it makes up the Inter-Provincial Championship, Interprovincial One-Day Trophy and Interprovincial Twenty20 Cup.
The ...
.
News media
The ''Wicklow News'' was set up on 15 August 2016. Their current partial address is in Wicklow.
Wicklow News Online Ltd - Irish Company Info - SoloCheck
/ref>
Twinning
Wicklow is twinned
Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to:
* In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so;
* Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning
* Twinning inst ...
with the following places:
* Eichenzell
Eichenzell is a municipality in the district of Fulda, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the river Fulda, 7 km south of the town Fulda.
The letter processing center for Deutsche Post
The Deutsche Post AG, operating under the trade ...
, Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Da ...
, Germany
* Montigny-le-Bretonneux
Montigny-le-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the ÃŽle-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelin ...
, ÃŽle-de-France
The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...
, France[
* ]Porthmadog
Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ff ...
, Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the North West Wales, north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County B ...
, Wales[
]
Notable people
* Leo Cullen, Irish rugby union coach
* Josh van der Flier, Irish rugby union player
* Nicholas Ford
Nicholas Ford (June 21, 1833 – June 18, 1897) was a U.S. Representative from Missouri.
Born in Wicklow, Ireland, Ford attended the village school and Maynooth College, Dublin, Ireland.
Ford emigrated to the United States in 1848 with his par ...
, Irish-born American politician
* William Goodison, surgeon
* Robert Halpin
Robert Charles Halpin , Master Mariner, born 16 February 1836 at the Bridge Tavern Wicklow, Ireland, died 20 January 1894 at ''Tinakilly'', Wicklow. He captained the Brunel-designed steamship SS ''Great Eastern'' which laid transoceanic teleg ...
, captain of the ''SS Great Eastern
SS ''Great Eastern'' was an iron sail-powered, paddle wheel and screw-propelled steamship designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, and built by John Scott Russell & Co. at Millwall Iron Works on the River Thames, London. She was the largest ship ...
''
* F. E. Higgins, children's author
* Hybrasil, electronica group
* Jimmy Martin
James Henry Martin (August 10, 1927 – May 14, 2005) was an American bluegrass musician, known as the "King of Bluegrass".
Early years
Martin was born in Sneedville, Tennessee, United States, and was raised in the hard farming life of rura ...
, golfer
* Fionnuala McCormack
Fionnuala McCormack (née Britton; born 24 September 1984 in Wicklow) is an Irish runner who has competed at a range of distance running events. She was the gold medallist at the 2011 and 2012 European Cross Country Championships. She has rep ...
, Olympic distance runner
Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength.
Within endurance running comes two d ...
* Paul McShane Paul McShane may refer to:
* Paul McShane (footballer) (born 1986), Irish football player
* Paul McShane (rugby league) (born 1989), rugby league footballer
See also
*Paul Shane
Paul Shane (born George Frederick Speight; 19 June 1940 – 16 ...
, footballer
* Ursula Stephens
Ursula Mary Stephens (; born 7 July 1954) is a former Australian politician. She served as a Senator for New South Wales from 2002 to 2014, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She was a parliamentary secretary in the Rudd and Gilla ...
, Irish-born Australian politician
* John Ussher, priest
* George Drought Warburton, soldier and politician
Gallery
File:Wicklow_town_looking_north_from_southern_end_%28Aug_2014%29.jpg, Wicklow Bay with Great Sugar Loaf
Great Sugar Loaf () at , is the 404th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, however, being below 600 m it does not rank on the Vandeleur-Lynam or Hewitt scales.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: T ...
(centre) and Bray Head
Bray Head ( ga, Ceann Bhré) is a hill and headland located in northern County Wicklow, Ireland, between the towns of Bray and Greystones. It forms part of the Wicklow Mountains and is a popular spot with hillwalkers. At the top of the head i ...
(right)
File:Wicklow Town - geograph.org.uk - 692370 (cropped).jpg, Farmland and view of Wicklow from above
File:IMGWicklowHarbour 4256w.jpg, Wicklow Harbour
File:Main Street Wicklow.jpg, Main Street
File:Bridge on the Leitrim River in Wicklow Town - geograph.org.uk - 1437981.jpg, Stone Bridge over the River Vartry
File:Wicklow mountain - panoramio.jpg, 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. Wh ...
File:Golf course on Wicklow Head - geograph.org.uk - 228956.jpg, Golf course in Wicklow
See also
* List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
Bibliography
* Cleary, J and O'Brien, A (2001) ''Wicklow Harbour: A History'', Wicklow Harbour Commissioners
External links
Wicklow Tourism page on Wicklow Town
Wicklow Chamber of Commerce
History of Wicklow Town in MP3 format
Wicklow Mountains National Park
Dublin & Wicklow Walks
{{Authority control
County towns in the Republic of Ireland
Port cities and towns in the Republic of Ireland
Towns and villages in County Wicklow
Viking Age populated places