County Wicklow is on the east coast of Ireland, directly south of County Dublin. It can be divided into three different areas, the coastal strip, the central mountains, and the flatter land of the western county.

Landscape

The underlying formation of County Wicklow is a weathered granite dome which forms the central mountains. This is fringed with schists and quartzite, which form a couple of coastal promontaries (Bray Head and Wicklow Head), and which in the valleys were once mined for lead and silver. Like most of Ireland, County Wicklow in prehistoric times had four main habitats: the moorland and blanket bog of the uplands, oak woodland on the mountain slopes and in the valleys, and a mixed ash-elm woodland on the better soils of the low-lying ground. While the blanket bog, moorland and some of the oak woodland still remain, 20th Century planting of introduced conifers made a startling difference to much of the mountains. All that remains of the lowland ash-elm wood is the presence of ash trees and hawthorn bushes in the hedges dividing the fields in the low-lying farmlands.

The Dargle, Vartry and Avoca rivers flow eastward to the sea, while the river Liffey flows west; it is now dammed to form a large reservoir at Poulaphouca, before winding around the mountains, and back eastward to the sea at Dublin.

The county is still a haven for wildlife, especially within the boundaries of the Wicklow Mountains National Park. Skylarks, ravens, kestrels and dippers can all be found in the uplands, while the wild mammals include red squirrels, red deer, and of course hares and foxes. On the coast, a 19km long shingle bank called the Murrough divides a wetland area from the sea. These wetlands are a magnet for wintering wildfowl, while the shingle bank itself is an important nesting site for little terns. The rest of the coast, (apart from the rocky Bray Head and Wicklow Head), has long sandy beaches backed by sand dunes.

Visible History

Nearly every stage of Ireland's history can be traced here: in west Wicklow, near Baltinglass, is the ?neolithic stone cirle of Castleruddery. Much of the gold used in the ancient torcs and other jewellery still to be seen in the National Museum came from this county, though no one has every traced the original deposit. The early Christian site of Glendalough still has relics of what was an important centre of the Celtic church. The coastal towns of Wicklow and Arklow were founded by the Vikings, as is still shown by the ending '-low' of their names.

While Norman and later English settlements were very successful in the area of the Pale, around Dublin, for a long time the Irish clans of the Byrnes and O'Tooles kept control over much of County Wicklow.¹. After the unsuccessful 1798 rebellion, a small group of rebels stayed active in the mountains. After the year 1800, a special road (still known as the Military Road) was built across the mountains in a successful attempt to curb the rebels. The remains of the army barracks used to garrison the area can still be seen in the valleys of Glencree, Glenmalure and Aughavannagh.

In the 19th Century, there was much political unrest in the pursuit of Catholic Emancipation, Home Rule, and land reform. Charles Stewart Parnell, statesman and leader of the Irish Party, was born in his family's ancestral home at Avondale, near Rathdrum. He eventually lost his position and influence due to a divorce scandal. The combination of land reform, the War of Independence, and the Civil War meant that very few large landowners retained their holdings, so most of the former Big Houses were left derelict of burned.

Since independence, the northern area round Bray has gradually become a dormitory town for Dublin, with the rapidly increasing population of the last 10 years putting huge pressure for development.

Towns and Industry

On the east coast are the three towns of Bray, Wicklow, and Arklow. Wicklow and Arklow are ports which have been in use since Viking times. Bray, on the northern edge of the county, developed as a seaside resort in the 19th Century, because of its early railway connection to Dublin. All three towns have some modern industry, the most distinctive being Ardmore studios in Bray, Ireland's only film studios.

Places to Visit

Glendalough and Mountains national park Wicklow way facilities for walking better than most

Wicklow is often referred to as 'the Garden of Ireland', and it has some of the most interesting Irish gardens open to visitors. Killruddery, beside Bray, has an early 18th Century formal garden in the French style, with geometric pools and hedges. Powerscourt, beside Enniskerry has an outstanding Victorian garden: steep terraces provide a dramatic view of the mountains, while other areas contain a Japanese garden, ponds, fountains and borders. Mount Usher Gardens, along the river Vartry beside Ashford, are in the late 19th century 'Robinsonian'² style of wild garden. Charles Stewart Parnell's former home at Avondale near Rathdrum is now the home of an Arboretum, and a forestry school.

Beaches: Blue Flag beaches Greystones, Brittas Bay; magnet for dubliners in summer

Recreation

GAA and Gaelic football; soccer in Bray; golf:number of links course on coast; Druid's Glen championship course; outdoor pursuits; horseriding, rock-climbing, canoeing

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