County Wicklow ( ; ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as

1606 Events January–March * January 9 – The Black Nazarene, a statue, arrives in Manila from Mexico. * January 24 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators, for plotting against Parliament and James I o ...

, it is part of the

Eastern and Midland Region The Eastern and Midland Region has been defined as a region in Ireland since 1 January 2015. It is a NUTS Level II statistical region of Ireland (coded IE06). NUTS 2 Regions may be classified as ''less developed regions'', ''transition ...

and the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

. It is bordered by the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

to the east and the counties of

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

to the south,

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

to the southwest,

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

to the west, and

South Dublin South Dublin () is a county in Ireland, within the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. South Dublin Cou ...

and

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown () is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished in 1994. It is named after the former ...

to the north. Wicklow is named after its

county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...

, which derives from the name (

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was 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 ...

for "Vikings' Meadow").

Wicklow County Council Wicklow County Council () is the local authority of County Wicklow, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and community, roads and transportation, urban planning an ...

is the

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

for the county, which had a population of 155,258 at the 2022 census. Colloquially known as the "Garden of Ireland" for its scenerywhich includes extensive woodlands, nature trails, beaches, and ancient ruins while allowing for a multitude of walking, hiking, and climbing optionsit is the 17th largest of Ireland's 32 counties by area and the 16th largest by population. It is also the fourth largest of Leinster's 12 counties by size and the fifth largest in terms of population.

History

Missions and monasteries

During the 5th century Saint Palladius, a bishop from Britain or Gaul was sent to 'the Irish believing in Christ.' He and his companions landed at Wicklow harbour in the year 431 AD. Palladius founded three ancient churches at Donard, Tigroney and Colbinstown. Along with him came two clerics named St. Sylvester and Solonius who died and were buried at Donard. The local tribe in the area were called Cualann and their chief, a man named Naithi was opposed to these Christian missionaries. Despite this hostility however Palladius seems to have gained support elsewhere as he was able to erect those three churches in the Wicklow area. After a rather unsuccessful stay in the county St. Palladius departed Ireland and journeyed to Scotland. A large number of early Irish saints male and female founded churches, monasteries and convents in Wicklow. Among them were St.

Kevin Kevin is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; ; ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicised from , an Irish diminutive form.''A Dictiona ...

, St. Dagan, St. Ernan, St. Credan, St. Baotan and the holy women St. Cainnear, St. Ceoltigherna, St. Fledh, St. Tartinna, St. Coine and St. Croine. The ancient

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Glendalough Glendalough (; ) is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland, renowned for an Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin. From 1825 to 1957, the head of the Glendalough Valley was the site of a galena lead min ...

is located in the county.

17th century onwards

County Wicklow was the last of the traditional counties of Ireland to be shired in

from land previously part of counties

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and

. Established as a distinct county, it was aimed at controlling local groups such as the

O'Byrnes The O'Byrne family () is an Irish clan that descend from Bran mac Máelmórda, King of Leinster died 1052AD, of the Uí Faelain of the Uí Dúnlainge of the northern Laigin. Before the Norman invasion of Ireland they began to colonise south Wic ...

. The ''

Military Road A military road is a type of road built by an armed force A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and ma ...

'', stretching from

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside (Dublin), southside suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in County Dublin. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and Dublin 16, 16. It is between the Lo ...

to Aghavannagh crosses the mountains, north to south, and was built by government forces to assist them in defeating the rebels still active in the

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

following the failed

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The m ...

.''See'' Philip Smith (writer), ''An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of County Wicklow.'' Dublin:

Wordwell Press Wordwell is a small village and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about five miles north of Bury St Edmunds. The village was hit by the Black Death in 1348 and never recovered in terms of pop ...

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...

, Department of the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government, National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, 2004. It provided them with access to an area that had been a hotbed of Irish rebellion for centuries. Several barracks to house the soldiers were built along the route; in 1974 the

Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation The Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation is the Republic of Ireland's only Peacebuilding centre. It has been resolving conflict through the power of dialogue since its founding in 1974. Established as a response to the conflict in No ...

was opened alongside the remains of Glencree barracks. Battalions of the

Irish Army The Irish Army () is the land component of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. ...

use firing ranges in County Wicklow for tactical exercises, especially the largest one in the

Glen of Imaal The Glen of Imaal ( or ; ) is a remote glen in the western Wicklow Mountains in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is ringed by the Lugnaquilla massif and its foothills, including Table Mountain, County Wicklow, Table Mountain and Keadeen Mountain ...

which was previously used by the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

prior to independence. There was a brief

Wicklow gold rush The Wicklow gold rush, or the Avoca gold rush, was a gold rush that began on 15 September 1795, following the discovery of gold on the northern slopes of Croghan Kinsella mountain, County Wicklow, Ireland. The unregulated period of gold collect ...

in the year 1795 near the village of

Woodenbridge Woodenbridge () is a small village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies between Arklow and Avoca, at the meeting of the '' Avoca'', '' Aughrim'' and ''Goldmine'' rivers. The village is located at the junction of the R747 and R752 roads. The ...

that lasted for a month, during which as many as 80 kilograms of gold was recovered by unlicensed prospectors before the government took over. During the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...

, local authorities immediately surrendered without a fight. During the Irish Rebellion of 1798, some of the

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association, formed in the wake of the French Revolution, to secure Representative democracy, representative government in Ireland. Despairing of constitutional reform, and in defiance both of British ...

insurgents took refuge in the Wicklow Mountains, resulting in clashes between British forces and rebels commanded by

Joseph Holt Joseph Holt (January 6, 1807 – August 1, 1894) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician. As a leading member of the James Buchanan#Administration and Cabinet, Buchanan administration, he succeeded in convincing Buchanan to oppose the ...

near Aughrim and later at Arklow. The boundaries of the county were extended in 1957 by the Local Government Act which "detached lands from the

County of Dublin County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...

and from the jurisdiction and powers of the Council of the County of Dublin" near Bray and added them to the County of Wicklow.

Irish language

Wicklow was the first county in Ireland to lose the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

, with only around 2% of people speaking it in the 1770s. It was spoken on the Western slopes of the

in the 1790s. Andrew and Hannah Byrne of Glenealy, who both died in 1830, were among the last native speakers in the county.

Geography

Location

Wicklow is part of the

of Ireland, within the province of

. It is bounded by four counties,

to the north;

and

to the west;

to the south; and the

to the east. Wicklow is the 17th largest of Ireland's 32 traditional counties by land area, and the 16th most populous. It is the fourth largest of Leinster's 12 counties by size and the fifth most populous. The county is named after the town of

, located approximately south of

, the capital city of Ireland. Croaghanmoira Mountain

The

are Ireland's largest continuous upland area and occupy a significant portion of the county, spanning the entire centre of Wicklow and stretching into Dublin and Wexford at their southern and northern fringes.

Lugnaquilla LugnaquillaLugnaquilla
.

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

, and Ireland's 13th-highest mountain overall. The Wicklow Mountains National Park, located in the middle of the county, is a dedicated protected area covering , making it the largest

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

in Ireland. The

Wicklow Way The Wicklow Way () is a long-distance trail that crosses the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It runs from Marlay Park in the southern suburbs of Dublin through County Wicklow and ends in the village of Clonegal in County Carlow. It is designate ...

was the first

long-distance trail A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exc ...

in the State, and crosses the range for .

Geology

The Wicklow Mountains are centred on the Leinster

batholith A batholith () is a large mass of intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock (also called plutonic rock), larger than in area, that forms from cooled magma deep in the Earth's crust. Batholiths are almost always made mostly of felsic or intermediate ...

and are primarily composed of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

surrounded by an envelope of

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as ''perfect basal cleavage''. Mica is co ...

schist Schist ( ) is a medium-grained metamorphic rock generally derived from fine-grained sedimentary rock, like shale. It shows pronounced ''schistosity'' (named for the rock). This means that the rock is composed of mineral grains easily seen with a l ...

and much older rocks such as

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...

. Covering , the Leinster batholith is the most expansive mass of intrusive

igneous rock Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

in Ireland or

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. The oldest rocks in the county are the quartzites of the Bray Group that include

Bray Head Bray Head () 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 is a concrete cro ...

and the

Little Sugar Loaf Little Sugar Loaf () is a hill in the far northeastern sector of the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. It does not have the elevation to rank on Arderin, Hewitt, or Vandeleur-Lynam scales,Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's M ...

and

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: ...

mountains. These

metamorphosed Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...

from

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

deposited in the deep waters of the primeval

Iapetus Ocean The Iapetus Ocean (; ) existed in the late Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic eras of the geologic timescale (between 600 and 400 million years ago). It was in the southern hemisphere, between the paleocontinents of Laurentia, Baltica and Avalon ...

during the

Cambrian The Cambrian ( ) is the first geological period of the Paleozoic Era, and the Phanerozoic Eon. The Cambrian lasted 51.95 million years from the end of the preceding Ediacaran period 538.8 Ma (million years ago) to the beginning of the Ordov ...

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

(542-488 million years ago). As with much of Ireland, Wicklow's terrain was sculpted by successive periods of glaciation during the

quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

. Weathering and erosion by ice carved out long valleys known as

glens A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. The word is Goidelic in origin: ''gleann'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic, ''glion'' in Manx. ...

(from the Irish ''gleann'') such as Glenmacnass, Glen of the Downs, Glenmalure,

, Glencree and

. The Irish Sea Ice-Sheet began to retreat shortly after the Last Glacial Maximum ca. 20,000–23,000 years ago but significant ice masses persisted in the Wicklow Mountains for another 4,000–7,000 years.

Hydrology

Major rivers include the River Liffey, Ireland's 8th-longest river, which rises near Tonduff mountain and flows through the centre of Dublin, Dublin City, reaching the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay. Its biggest tributary by volume, the River Dodder, rises along the northern slope of Kippure in the far north of the county, while the Kings River joins at Blessington Lakes. Multiple other Liffey tributaries flow within the county. The River Slaney, which starts at Lugnaquilla, flows west and then south before reaching St George's Channel at Wexford town. The Avonmore River, Avonmore and River Avonbeg, Avonbeg rivers join to form the River Avoca, Avoca River at the ''Meeting of the Waters'' in the Vale of Avoca. The River Derreen in the south of the county defines a section of the border with Carlow. Poulaphouca Reservoir - panoramio

Most of the county's lakes (or loughs) are glacially derived Ribbon lake, ribbon and Tarn (lake), corrie lakes found in scenic trough valleys surrounded by mountains, making them popular with tourists. Notable lakes in the county include Glendalough Upper Lake, Lough Tay ('The Guinness Estate, Guinness Lake'), Tonelagee#Gallery, Lough Ouler ('The Heart-shaped Lake'), Lough Bray, Lough Dan and Lough Nahanagan. Poulaphouca Reservoir is the largest of Wicklow's lakes, covering in the west of the county. It is the largest artificial lake in Ireland and was created following the damming of the River Liffey at Poulaphouca in 1940. The village of Ballinahown was completed submerged by the reservoir and its 70 families were relocated. Ruins of the old village including buildings, fences and farm machinery can be seen during droughts when water levels in the reservoir diminish. The lower Vartry Reservoir, constructed between 1862 and 1868, is the county's second largest lake.

Coast

Wicklow has a relatively List of Irish counties by coastline, short coastline, at in length. Wicklow's coastline is mostly straight, with few sizable bays or inlets and no offshore islands, giving it a shorter coastline than smaller counties like County Louth, Louth and Dublin. Wicklow Head is the county's most prominent coastal headland, and is also the most easterly mainland point of the Republic of Ireland. Wicklow's east coast is a popular domestic summer holiday destination, and the county has numerous beaches including Brittas Bay, Clogga Beach, The Cove, Silver Strand Beach, Sallymount Bay Beach, Ennereilly Beach, Newcastle Beach, Arklow's Porter's Rock Beach and South Beach, Greystones North and South Beaches, Bray Strand, and Magheramore Beach.

Forest

The county has roughly of wooded area, the 8th highest total forest cover in Ireland. In terms of forest cover as a proportion of land area, Wicklow ranks second in the country, at 18.5%. Known as the "Garden of Ireland", Wicklow was historically the county with the highest percentage of woodlands. The 2017 National Forestry Inventory revealed that County Leitrim had overtaken it for the first time. Wicklow is in a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome, although the majority of Wicklow's forests are commercial conifers. The economic tree line in the region is around , above which hill farming and blanket bog dominates.

Urban development

In terms of urban development,

imposes the most stringent planning restrictions in Ireland. In order to build a house outside of the main towns, a person must be "born and bred in the area, or have lived there for a period of 10 years" and must also demonstrate that the house is for their own housing needs, rather than for resale. Further, potential buyers in rural areas must be approved by the council before the homeowner is allowed to sell to them. The primary justification for these restrictions is to avoid one-off housing or other poorly planned developments which could put a strain on the county's infrastructure and degrade its natural environment.

Climate

The climate of Wicklow is temperate oceanic climate, oceanic (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb'' in most areas, and ''Cfc'' Oceanic climate#Subpolar variety (Cfc, Cwc), oceanic subpolar in some highland areas), with cool, humid summers, and mild, wet winters. The climate of the eastern portion of the county is moderated by the

and averages milder winters and cooler summers, while the western inland portion along the

border experiences warmer summers and colder winters. The county's upland interior experiences significantly lower temperatures and higher rainfall year-round. Snow typically falls from December to March, but most low-lying and coastal areas see only a few days of lying snow per year, or may see no snow at all during some winters. The Wicklow Mountains region is the snowiest part of Ireland and can experience 50 or more days of snowfall each year. Military Road Laragh-Glenmalure

The county experiences a narrow annual temperature range. Typical daytime highs range from throughout the county in July and August, with overnight lows in the range, although temperatures in the mountains can be lower. Mean January temperatures range from on the coast to at high elevations. Precipitation is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, although the wettest months (October and November) receive roughly twice as much rain as the driest months (February, March and April). The driest area of Wicklow is the northeast corner of the county, which is protected from the prevailing south-westerly winds by the Wicklow Mountains and receives around of rainfall per year. The coastal region of County Dublin immediately to the north is the driest location in all of Ireland as a result of the rain shadow created by the mountains. Easterly winds can occur between February and May, and are often associated with extreme snowfall events such as the 2018 "2018 British Isles cold wave, Beast from the East" and the "Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom, Big Snow of 1947". Much of Wicklow is very vulnerable to heavy snowfall and the county is typically the hardest hit by such events, with some areas recording over of snow. During the winter of 1947, residents of Rathdrum, County Wicklow, Rathdrum called upon the Irish Red Cross Society, Irish Red Cross to drop them food parcels by plane as the village had been inaccessible by road for over a month due to heavy snow. Wicklow is occasionally affected by tropical cyclone, hurricanes, although they are usually extratropical storms by the time they reach Ireland. On 24 August 1986, during Hurricane Charley (1986), Hurricane Charley, of rain fell over a 24-hour period at Kippure on the Wicklow-Dublin border, the greatest daily rainfall total ever recorded in Ireland. The hurricane caused severe flooding and up to 1,000 homes had to be evacuated in Bray alone. Other major floods in Wicklow which resulted in loss of life occurred in 1886–87, 1931, 1965 and 2011. Wicklow Way

Subdivisions

Baronies

There are eight historic Barony (Ireland), baronies in the county. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they are no longer used for administrative purposes. Their official status is illustrated by Placenames Orders made since 2003, where official Irish names of baronies are listed under "Administrative units". The largest barony in Wicklow is Lower Talbotstown, at , and the smallest barony is Rathdown, at . * Arklow (barony), Arklow (''An tInbhear Mór'') * Ballinacor North (''Baile na Corra Thuaidh'') * Ballinacor South (''Baile na Corra Theas'') * Newcastle (County Wicklow barony), Newcastle (''An Caisleán Nua'') * Rathdown (County Wicklow barony), Rathdown (''Ráth an Dúin'') * Shillelagh (barony), Shillelagh (''Síol Éalaigh'') * Lower Talbotstown (''Baile an Talbóidigh Íochtarach'') * Upper Talbotstown (''Baile an Talbóidigh Uachtarach'')

Townlands

Towns and villages

* Aghavannagh * Annacurra * Annamoe * Arklow * Ashford, County Wicklow, Ashford * Aughrim, County Wicklow, Aughrim * Avoca, County Wicklow, Avoca * Ballinaclash * Ballinakil * Baltinglass * Blessington * Bray, County Wicklow, Bray * Brittas Bay * Carnew * Coolafancy * Coolboy * Coolkenno * Delgany * Donard * Dunlavin * Enniskerry * Glencree *

* Glenealy * Grangecon * Greenan, County Wicklow, Greenan * Greystones * Hollywood, County Wicklow, Hollywood * Kilbride, County Wicklow, Kilbride * Kilcoole * Killincarrig * Kilmacanogue * Kilpedder * Kiltegan * Knockananna * Lacken, County Wicklow, Lacken * Laragh, County Wicklow, Laragh * Manor Kilbride * River Avoca, Meeting of the Waters * Newcastle, County Wicklow, Newcastle * Newtownmountkennedy * Poulaphouca * Rathnew * Rathdrum, County Wicklow, Rathdrum * Redcross * Roundwood * Shillelagh, County Wicklow, Shillelagh * Stratford-on-Slaney * Tinahely * Valleymount *

Demographics

Population

As of the 2016 Republic of Ireland census, 2016 census, the resident population of Wicklow was 142,425, a 4.2% increase since the Census of Ireland 2011. The county's population is one of the fastest growing in the country, increasing 38.7 percent in the 20 years between 1996 and 2016. However, its share of the Mid-East Region, Ireland, Mid East's population has steadily fallen as Meath and Kildare have experienced even more rapid population growth. While Bray remains by far the largest town in the county, improved transport links to Dublin such as upgrades to the N11 road (Ireland), M11 and the completion of the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 in 2005 encouraged the growth of towns further south. Between 2002 and 2016 Bray grew by 5.3 percent. By contrast, over the same period Arklow grew by 32.2 percent, Greystones grew by 53.3 percent and Rathnew grew by 133.9%. The most densely populated areas of the county are concentrated in the northeast, with over 50 percent of Wicklow's residents living within of the

border. Many of the county's largest urban areas are clustered in this region along an axis stretching from Bray, County Wicklow, Bray to Newtownmountkennedy, which incorporates Greystones, Delgany, Enniskerry, Kilmacanogue, Kilpedder and Kilcoole. Outside of this region,

, Rathnew and Arklow are the only sizable towns in the eastern portion of the county, while Blessington is the only large settlement in west Wicklow. The county's interior is very sparsely populated, with only a few small settlements located in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains such as Rathdrum, County Wicklow, Rathdrum, Laragh, County Wicklow, Laragh, Roundwood and Tinahely. Most Small Area Population Statistics, small areas in central Wicklow have a population density of less than 20 people per km2, compared with an average of 77 people per km2 in the county as a whole. The gender makeup of the county in 2016 was 50.74% female and 49.26% male. 29.0% of the population were under the age of 19; 58% were between the ages of 19 and 64; and 13.0% were 65 years of age or older. Whites of any ethnic background constituted 95.2% of the population in 2016: 86.0% were White Irish, 0.6% Irish Traveller, and 8.6% White of any other background. Asians were the second largest ethnic group, comprising 1.6% of the county's population, followed by mixed race or other backgrounds at 1.2%. Just over 2,300 people (1.6%) did not state their ethnicity. Accounting for just 0.4% of the population, Wicklow has by far the lowest percentage of black residents in the Greater Dublin Area. The 2016 census recorded 524 black residents in Wicklow, of which 408 (78%) were of African descent and 116 (22%) were of other black backgrounds.

Urban areas

The 2016 census recorded that 65 percent of County Wicklow's residents lived in urban areas (settlements with a population greater than 1,500) and 35 percent lived in rural areas. Of County Wicklow's rural population, roughly 26 percent (36,800 people) live in the open countryside outside of any designated settlements, while 9 percent (13,032 people) live in settlements with less than 1,500 people. According to the Central Statistics Office (Ireland), CSO report ''Urban and Rural Life in Ireland 2019'', County Wicklow (alongside County Kildare) has the highest proportion of residents living in satellite towns. The 10 largest settlements in the county are listed below. The county town is marked in bold.

Migration

As of 2016, around 85% of Wicklow's population was born within the Republic of Ireland, and a further 0.9% was born in Northern Ireland. Just over 38% of Wicklow's usually resident population was born within the county, making it the second least indigenous county in Ireland, after Meath. While around 35% of the county's population was born in neighbouring Dublin, it is likely that a significant portion of these are Wicklow natives who were born in one of Dublin's many hospitals. People born in the United Kingdom are by far the largest immigrant group, comprising 5.9% of Wicklow's population (8,388 people). Of this group, only around half (4,045 people) stated that they were either UK or dual Irish-UK citizens. The Polish people, Poles are the second largest immigrant group, constituting 2.0% of the county's population. The census recorded 2,905 Polish citizens in Wicklow, of which 2,759 were born in Poland. The fastest growing major immigrant groups between 2011 and 2016 were Romanians, Indian people, Indians and Filipinos. There was also a large increase in the number of Brazilians (+107%), Italians (+59%) and Spaniards (+53%) living in Wicklow over this period. ''*Includes Hong Kong SAR''

Religion

The 2016 census showed that religious affiliation in Wicklow was as follows: Catholic 73%, Irreligion 13.3%, Other Christian 8.8%, Other stated religions 3.1%, and not stated 1.8%. The single largest religious denomination in 2016 was the Roman Catholic Church, with 103,947 adherents. This is a 4.4% decrease from the 2011 census. Catholicism in Wicklow reached its peak percentage in the 1961 census, when 87.5% of the population identified as Catholic. As of 2016, Wicklow is the second least Catholic county in the State, and among the most irreligious. Other Christian denominations comprised 8.8% of the population. As a proportion of population, Wicklow has the largest Church of Ireland affiliation of any county in the Republic of Ireland, at 6.2%, although this figure was historically much higher. The 1901 census recorded that just under 20% of Wicklow's population was affiliated with the Church of Ireland. In 2016 Greystones had the highest percentage of Protestants in the State (10.5%), and was also Ireland's least religious town, with 18.3% of residents stating they did not follow any religion. Just over 0.5% of the population adhered to smaller Protestant denominations such as Presbyterian, Apostolic Church (disambiguation), Apostolic and Pentecostal. A further 1.05% of respondents stated that they were "Christian" but did not specify any denomination. Eastern Orthodox is the fastest growing of the major Christian denominations, increasing from 840 adherents in 2011 to 1,317 in 2016, a 56.7% increase. The largest non-Christian religions were Islam (0.4%) and Hinduism (0.16%). All other stated religions constituted 2.5% of the population, and 1.8% of respondents did not state their religion.

Economy

Built environment

Wicklow is home to several major water supply and hydroelectric facilities. The Turlough Hill pumped-storage hydroelectricity, pumped-storage scheme, a significant civil engineering project, was carried out in the mountains in the 1960s and 1970s.

Leisure and tourism

Wicklow, often called "The Garden of Ireland", has been a popular tourist destination for many years, due to its scenery, beaches, walking, hiking and climbing options, and attractions including the ruins of the monastic city of Glendalough, Wicklow Gaol and water-based activities on reservoirs and the coast. The

is the oldest waymarking, waymarked long-distance trail, long-distance walking trail in Ireland. The popular annual mass participation bike ride Wicklow 200 has taken place in the county every year since 1982.

Governance and politics

Local government

The local government authority is

which returns 32 councillors from six local electoral areas: Arklow, Baltinglass, Bray East, Bray West, Greystones, and Wicklow. Wicklow County Council sends three members to the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly, where it is part of the Eastern Strategic Planning Area.

Former districts

County Wicklow was formerly divided into the rural district (Ireland), rural districts of Baltinglass No. 1, Rathdown No. 2, Rathdrum, and Shillelagh, and the Urban and rural districts (Ireland), urban districts of Arklow, Bray, County Wicklow, Bray and

. The rural districts were abolished in 1925. Greystones, in the former rural district of Rathdown No. 2, was given town commissioners in 1984. The urban districts of Arklow, Bray and Wicklow and the town commissioners of Greystones became town council (Ireland), town councils in 2002. All town councils in Ireland were abolished in 2014.

National politics

The whole county is in the Dáil constituency of Wicklow (Dáil constituency), Wicklow (5 seats).

Transportation

Road

Wicklow has a well-maintained network of Regional road (Ireland), regional roads which connect the county's western portion to its eastern portion, cross-cutting the Wicklow Mountains from east to west. Several north-south regional roads also traverse the mountains, providing amenity access to the county's interior. The county is also serviced by a National secondary road (N81) in western Wicklow, and a National primary road (N11) in eastern Wicklow which becomes a Motorways in the Republic of Ireland, motorway at Junction 14 north of Ashford. The N11/M11 is the main route used by Wicklow commuters heading northbound to Dublin. Southbound traffic can also be heavy on weekends due to the influx of Dublin visitors into Wicklow and

. Major routes include: * IRL N11

N11 road (Ireland), N11/M11 – Runs near the east coast for , linking

and Wexford. Becomes the M11 at Junction 14 north of Ashford, County Wicklow, Ashford. * IRL N81

N81 road (Ireland), N81 – National secondary road that runs from Dublin to Tullow, crossing through western Wicklow from Blessington to Baltinglass. * IRL R115

R115 road (Ireland), R115 – Ireland's highest paved mountain pass. Follows the route of the old Military Road, constructed by the

from 1800 to 1809 to put down insurgents in the Wicklow mountains. Terminates at Laragh, County Wicklow, Laragh. * IRL R412

R412 road (Ireland), R412 – Regional road that runs north–south from the outskirts of Naas, crossing through western Wicklow for , terminating at the N81 near Loughmogue. * IRL R725

R725 road (Ireland), R725 – long regional road that crosses the Wicklow Mountains from east to west, connecting Gorey to Carlow. * IRL R747

R747 road (Ireland), R747 – Crosses the southern foothills of the Wicklow Mountains through Tinahely, connecting Arklow to Ballitore. * IRL R750

R750 road (Ireland), R750 – Runs for in eastern Wicklow from Rathnew to the northern outskirts of Arklow. * IRL R755

R755 road (Ireland), R755 – North-south regional road that runs for from the N11 at Kilmacanogue to Rathdrum, County Wicklow, Rathdrum. * IRL R756

R756 road (Ireland), R756 – Runs west-east through the Wicklow Gap for from Dunlavin to Laragh, intersecting the N81 at the village of Hollywood, County Wicklow, Hollywood. The section from Hollywood to Laragh is known as the ''Wicklow Gap Road''. * IRL R759

R759 road (Ireland), R759 – Runs south-east to north-west through the Sally Gap. The road is in length, and in winter can be dangerous or impassable as it is not treated by the Local Authority. * IRL R761

R761 road (Ireland), R761 – long regional road that runs through several settlements in northeastern Wicklow (Bray, Greystones, Kilcoole, Newcastle) south to Rathnew.

Culture

Architecture

The Architecture of Ireland, vernacular architecture of County Wicklow conformed to that of Ireland as a whole. Unlike neighbouring County Wexford however, Wicklow was not a county generally associated with Thatching, thatched roofing. Historian Christiaan Corlett contends that thatch was "formerly very common in Wicklow until about the 1930s", when afterwards "during the 1930s, 40s and 50s the fashion in Wicklow was to replace thatch roofs with Corrugated galvanised iron, galvanised ones". Sometimes the old thatched roof was kept in place underneath the sheets of galvanising to act as a layer of insulation and dampen the noise of heavy rain.

Media

Mermaid, County Wicklow Arts Centre is based in Bray. Mermaid is the county's hub of artistic activity and creation, offering a programme in many art forms: visual arts, theatre productions, opera, dance performances, arthouse cinema, comedy and a music programme. Two of the county's festivals take place in Arklow, the Arklow Music Festival and the Arklow Seabreeze Festival. The county is a popular film-making location in Ireland. Bray, County Wicklow, Bray is home to Ardmore Studios, where many of Ireland's best known feature films, including John Boorman's ''Excalibur (film), Excalibur'' and ''Zardoz'', Jim Sheridan's Academy Award, Oscar-winning ''In the Name of the Father'', ''Rawhead Rex (film), Rawhead Rex'', and several Neil Jordan films, have been shot. The BBC series ''Ballykissangel'' was also filmed in County Wicklow. Scenes from the movie ''P.S. I Love You (film), P.S. I Love You'' were shot in the Wicklow Mountains National Park while several scenes from other movies, from ''Barry Lyndon'' to ''Haywire (2011 film), Haywire'', have been filmed in the county.

Media

* Local newspapers include ''The Bray People'', ''Wicklow Times'' and ''Wicklow People''. * WicklowNews.net is a popular news website in the county. See Wicklow#News media, Wicklow News. * The local radio station in Wicklow is East Coast FM. In 2010, Radio Nova 100FM (Ireland), Radio Nova became the second local radio service to be licensed for North Wicklow. The station broadcasts to Bray, Greystones, Kilmacanogue, Enniskerry and Blessington, in addition to Dublin, North Kildare and South Meath. It broadcasts to North Wicklow on 95.7 from Bray Head and 100.3 FM. Beat 102-103 also can be picked up in parts of South and West Wicklow where the borders of Wexford and Carlow meet.

Filming locations

Much of the television series ''Vikings (2013 TV series), Vikings'', (Amazon Prime), was filmed at Ashford Studios in the county, particularly scenes that required a green screen for subsequent CGI work. Some on-location filming was done elsewhere in the county. For example, certain scenes for Vikings (season 6) were filmed at and Powerscourt Waterfall and Powerscourt Estate and in Lough Tay. Ashford Studios was also the base for production of this final season. The spinoff from the series, ''Vikings: Valhalla'' (Netflix), is also based at Ashford Studios. From 2016 to 2018, most of Into the Badlands (TV series) was filmed in County Wicklow. Fate: The Winx Saga, announced by Netflix in 2019, was also shot in the county and based at Ardmore Studios, Bray. Disenchanted (film), Disenchanted, an Walt Disney Pictures film, was also filmed in the town of Greystones and Enniskerry, Enniskerry village. The latter location being notable because the entire village was decorated for the production and closed to the public for certain days.

Places of interest

*Avondale Forest *

*Brittas Bay *Glen of the Downs *

*Poulaphouca Reservoir *Powerscourt Estate *Powerscourt Waterfall *Wicklow Gaol * Wicklow Mountains National Park

Twinning

County Wicklow is twinned with Würzburg, Germany and Seminole County, Florida, USA.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * *

External links

Wicklow County Council

Wicklow County Tourism
{{coord, 53, 00, N, 6, 25, W, region:IE_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title County Wicklow, Counties of the Republic of Ireland, Wicklow Leinster, Wicklow Local government areas of the Republic of Ireland, Wicklow

History

Missions and monasteries

17th century onwards

Irish language

Geography

Location

Geology

Hydrology

Coast

Forest

Urban development

Climate

Subdivisions

Baronies

Townlands

Towns and villages

Demographics

Population

Urban areas

Migration

Religion

Economy

Built environment

Leisure and tourism

Governance and politics

Local government

Former districts

National politics

Transportation

Road

Culture

Architecture

Media

Media

Filming locations

Places of interest

Twinning

See also

References

Citations

Sources

External links