Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census, it had a population of 12,957 people. The town is to the east of the M11 route between Dublin and Wexford. It also has railway links to Dublin, Wexford, Arklow, and Rosslare Europort. There is also a commercial port for timber and textile imports. The River Vartry is the main river flowing through the town.
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 in the centre of the county. The dominant feature to the south is the rocky headlands of Bride's Head and Wicklow Head, the easternmost mainland point of the Republic of Ireland. On a very clear day, it is possible to see the Snowdonia mountain range in Wales.
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.
The name is usually explained as coming from the Old Norse words Víkingr ("Viking") and ló ("meadow"), that is to say "the Vikings' meadow". Norwegian toponymist Magne Oftedal Scandinavian Place-Names in Ireland in Proceedings of the Seventh Viking Congress (Dublin 1973), B. Alquist and D. Greene Editions, Dublin, Royal Irish Academy 1976. p. 130. 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 PricePrice p. 172. and A. Sommerfelt The English forms of the Names of the Main Provinces of Ireland, in Lochlann. A Review of Celtic Studies. IA. Sommerfelt Editions, Trad. ang. of Oslo University Press 1958. p. 224. derive it from Víkinga-ló ("the Vikings' meadow").
Nevertheless, the Irish Ó hUiginn and Mac Uiginn (anglicised O'Higgins and Maguigan) could bring a key for the meaning "Meadow of a man called Viking".Mac Giolla Easpaig p. 468
The origin of the Irish language 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, The Annals of Clonmacnoise, being annals of Ireland from the earliest period to A.D. 1408. Mageoghagan, Conell & Murphy, Dennis, 1896, p. 66. hence Cill Mhantáin ("church of the toothless one").
Seán Connors. Mapping Ireland: from kingdoms to counties, Mercier Press, 2001, , p45 Although its anglicisation spelling Kilmantan was used for a time and featured in some placenames in the town like Kilmantan Hill, it has gradually fallen out of use. The Anglo-Normans who conquered this part of Ireland preferred the non-Irish placename.
Vikings 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, 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 clansWills, James Lives of illustrious and distinguished Irishmen. MacGregor, Polson, 1840, p. 449. 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.Wills, James Lives of illustrious and distinguished Irishmen. MacGregor, Polson, 1840, p. 448. 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 monuments, the oldest surviving settlement in Wicklow proper is Wicklow Friary (founded 1252, dissolved 1551). This is located at the west end of Main Street, within the gardens of the local Catholic parish grounds. Other notable buildings include Wicklow Town Hall, which dates back to around 1690, 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 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. Billy Byrne, a leader of the 1798 rebellion, was executed at Gallows Hill near Wicklow in 1798. 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 Robert Halpin, commander of the telegraph cable ship Great Eastern, who was born in Wicklow in 1836.
Bus
Bus Éireann provides hourly bus services to Dublin Busáras on the 133 bus route. The route starts at Monument and makes its way around the town stopping at various stops before continuing to Rathnew and Dublin. It no longer serves Dublin airport.
A 131 bus route service has been introduced which provides sixteen return services from Wicklow to Bray per day. This route calls at several stops in the town before terminating at Bray DART station.
Wexford Bus operates ten services to Dublin airport and up to twelve from Dublin airport each day. Both services are via Dublin city center. Wexford Bus's services are one hour each way to Dublin city center, 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.
Wexford Bus also operates the UM11 service which calls at Wicklow's Grand Hotel bus stop and carries on to Maynooth University, via the Intel campus in Leixlip. It operates in college term time only. There is one outbound service each morning, weekdays, and a return service in the evening.
TFI Local Link operate the 183 service which runs between Arklow and Sallins in County Kildare. It calls at several stops within the town. There are five services per day operating between Arklow and Wicklow, before continuing on to, and returning from Sallins via several towns and tourist attractions in the Wicklow mountains.
Route 133: Wicklow ↔ Dublin Busáras
Route 740A: Gorey ↔ Wicklow ↔ Dublin Airport
Route 131: Wicklow ↔ Bray
Route 183: Arklow ↔ Wicklow ↔ Sallins
Route UM11: Gorey ↔ Wicklow ↔ Maynooth
Rail
Iarnród Éireann operate six trains per day in each direction from Wicklow railway station. Services offer connections to most large towns in counties Wexford and Wicklow, as well as a coastal link to Dublin city. Services northbound terminate at Dublin Connolly and southbound terminate at Rosslare Europort.
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