Guide to County Wicklow in Ireland

County Wicklow

County Wicklow is a county on the east coast of Ireland, situated immediately south of Dublin, and located within the province of Leinster. The county is bordered by the Irish Sea to the east and by the counties of Carlow and Kildare to the west. County Wexford forms the southern boundary, and the northern border is now made up of two parts of what was County Dublin (Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County and South Dublin County). Wicklow is known as the Garden of Ireland, more because of its fine scenery rather than its agricultural produce. It was also the last of the conventional 32 counties to be formed, its lands having previously been divided between Carlow and Dublin.

The population of the county at the 2006 census was 126,194 making Wicklow the seventh most densely populated county in Ireland. This statistic is greatly influenced by the number of Dublin workers who choose to commute from homes in this appealing county. The county seat is Wicklow town with a population of 10,000 although the largest urban centre is Bray (pop. 31,901), on the northern limits of the county and effectively a Dublin suburb.

The Wicklow Mountains which cover much of the county are the largest range of uplands in Ireland. Lugnaquilla is the highest peak of the range and the highest mountain in Leinster at just over 3,000 feet (the minimum height for high ground to qualify as a mountain), but at just 13th in the list of Irish mountains one gets the impression that the Wicklow Mountains are ideal for ramblers rather than all-out mountaineers. This expansive hilly terrain is sparsely populated meaning that the larger Wicklow towns scattered down the East coast make up a consistently dense but desirable residential region on the edge of one of Ireland´s National Parks.

Two other large towns on the coast are Greystones (which as its name suggests has a rocky shoreline as well as good beaches) and Arklow situated on the River Avoca. Other towns of interest include Ashford, Aughrim, Avoca, Baltinglass, Blessington (with its spectacular lake drive) , Carnew, Donard, Dunlavin, Enniskerry, Glenealy, Kilcoole, Kilmacanoge, Kilpedder, Laragh, Newcastle, Newtown Mount Kennedy, Rathdrum, Rathnew, Roundwood, Shillelagh, Stratford and Tinahely.