Arklow also known as
Inbhear Dé from the
Avonmore riverThe Avoca is a river in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is contained completely within the county.The Avoca starts life as two rivers, the Avonmore and the Avonbeg...
's older name
Abhainn Dé, is a historic town located in
County WicklowCounty Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
on the east coast of
IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. Founded by the Vikings in the ninth century, Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest
battlesThe second Battle of Arklow took place during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 on 9 June when a force of United Irishmen from Wexford, estimated at 10,000 strong, launched an assault into County Wicklow, on the British-held town of Arklow, in an attempt to spread the rebellion into Wicklow and to...
of the
1798 rebellionThe Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
. Arklow's proximity to Dublin and its consequent attractiveness to commuters has led to much recent expansion. It is now a thriving
commuter townA commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
with a population of 14,090 at the 2011 census, making it the third largest town in the county.
Arklow is situated at the mouth of the
River AvocaThe Avoca is a river in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is contained completely within the county.The Avoca starts life as two rivers, the Avonmore and the Avonbeg...
(formerly Avonmore), the longest river entirely within
County WicklowCounty Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
. The town is divided by the river, which is crossed by the Nineteen Arches bridge, a stone arch bridge linking the south or main part of the town with the north part, called Ferrybank. The Nineteen Arches bridge is the longest hand made stone bridge in Ireland and is considered a famous landmark. The plaque which is situated on the south end of the bridge is testimony to this.
History
The town's
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
name derives from
Arnkell's Lág (Arnkell was a Viking leader; a "lág" (low) was an area of land). Its Irish name means
the large estuary. Historically it was a major seafaring town, with both the shipping and fishing industries using the port, with shipbuilding also being a major industry. The town has a long history of industry.
After the arrival of the
Anglo-NormanThe Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
s, their leader
Theobald Walter, ancestor of the Earls of Ormonde, was granted the town and castle of Arklow by King
Henry IIHenry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
. In 1264 the
DominicansThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
were granted a large tract of land, which is now known as Abbeylands, and they built an abbey, which became known as the Priory of the True Cross or
Holy CrossThe Holy Cross Abbey in Tipperary is a restored Cistercian monastery in Holycross near Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland, situated on the River Suir. It takes its name from a relic of the True Cross or Holy rood....
.
Some time after 1416, the Manor of Arklow came into the control of the
MacMurroughMacMurrough is a townland in the parish of New Ross, County Wexford, Ireland. According to local tradition, it is called after a 12th century king of Leinster, Dermot MacMurrough, who is supposed to have had a hunting lodge there. Unfortunately the lodge, if that is what it was, was destroyed...
Kings of
LeinsterLeinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
, possibly after the death of the 4th Earl of Ormonde in 1452. In 1525, Muiris Kavanagh (McMurrough, King of Leinster 1522-31) returned the manor and castle of Arklow and its lands to his nephew Piers Butler, the Earl of Ormonde.
During the
Wars of the Three KingdomsThe Wars of the Three Kingdoms formed an intertwined series of conflicts that took place in England, Ireland, and Scotland between 1639 and 1651 after these three countries had come under the "Personal Rule" of the same monarch...
in September 1649,
Oliver CromwellOliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
arrived at Arklow on his way to Wexford and took the surrender of the town. In 1714 James, Duke of Ormonde, sold the Manor of Arklow to John Allen of Stillorgan, County Dublin. In 1750 Allen’s eldest granddaughter Elizabeth Allen married John Proby who was raised to the peerage in 1752 as Baron Carysfort of County Wicklow, and came into possession of the Arklow Estate.
On June 9, 1798, the town was the scene of one of the
bloodiest battlesThe second Battle of Arklow took place during the Irish Rebellion of 1798 on 9 June when a force of United Irishmen from Wexford, estimated at 10,000 strong, launched an assault into County Wicklow, on the British-held town of Arklow, in an attempt to spread the rebellion into Wicklow and to...
of the 1798 rebellion when a large force of Wexford rebels attacked the town in an attempt to spread the rising to Dublin but were repulsed by the entrenched British forces with huge slaughter.
Education
There are eight primary schools located around the town, including one
GaelscoilA gaelscoil is an Irish-medium primary school in Ireland, of a sort found outside the traditionally Irish-speaking regions, especially in urban areas....
.
There are four
secondary schoolSecondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s serving the town, which are St. Mary's College, St.Kevin's C.B.S., Arklow Community College and Gael Cholaiste na Mara.
Road
The N11/M11 from Dublin to
RosslareThe name Rosslare may refer to:*Rosslare Strand, a village in County Wexford, Ireland* Rosslare Harbour, a village in County Wexford, Ireland*The Rosslare Europort at Rosslare Harbour...
bypasses Arklow between junctions 20 and 21, becoming a motorway heading Southbound from junction 20. Construction of a stretch of motorway between Arklow and Rathnew is expected to begin in September 2011. This stretch of motorway will replace a single carriageway section of the N11.
Rail
Rail connectionsRail services in Ireland are provided by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.Most routes in the Republic radiate from Dublin...
are provided by
Iarnród ÉireannIarnród Éireann is the national railway system operator of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann . It operates all internal intercity, commuter and freight railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the...
along the
Dublin-Rosslare railway lineThe Dublin-Rosslare railway line is a main rail route between Dublin Connolly station and Rosslare Europort, where it theoretically connects with ferry services to the United Kingdom and mainland Europe. The line between Dublin and Greystones is electrified and forms the southern part of the DART...
, including commuter and intercity services in and out of the capital. There is also a train to
DundalkDundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
available Monday to Sunday.
Arklow railway stationArklow railway station opened on 16 November 1863 and serves the town of Arklow in County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. The station consists of two platforms, one of which is served by a passing loop....
opened on 16 November 1863.
Bus
Bus ÉireannBus Éireann provides bus services in Ireland with the exception of those operated entirely within the Dublin Region, which are provided by Dublin Bus. Bus Éireann, established as a separate company in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. The logo of Bus Éireann incorporates a red Irish...
provides several routes through Arklow, including the 002, 006, 133 and 384 services. In addition, Wexford Bus operates several services day and night linking Arklow with Dublin Airport.
Industry
In 1884.
Charles Stewart ParnellCharles Stewart Parnell was an Irish landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, and the founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
rented Big Rock townland from his cousin William Proby,
Earl of CarysfortEarl of Carysfort was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1789 for the John Proby, 2nd Baron Carysfort. The Proby family descended from Sir Peter Proby, Lord Mayor of London in 1622. His great-great-grandson John Proby represented Huntingdonshire and Stamford in the House of Commons...
, and commenced quarrying. Parnell was also a supporter of the Arklow harbour scheme. The Parnell quarries closed in the 1920s.
In the early part of the 20th century, a large munitions factory,
KynochKynoch was a manufacturer of ammunition, later incorporated into ICI but remaining as a brand name for sporting cartridges.-History:Kynoch was established in Witton in Birmingham in 1862 by Scottish entrepreneur George Kynoch when he opened a percussion cap factory in Witton. In 1895 he built an...
, was established on the north side of the town. This factory employed several thousand workers during the
First World WarWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
but closed shortly after it, all production being moved to
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. 17 workers were killed in an explosion at Kynoch in 1917. The town is also famous for its
potteryArklow Pottery was a pottery founded in 1934 and formally opened by Seán Lemass 29th July 1935 in South Quay, Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland. The company produced many decorative earthenware goods and general table crockery...
(which eventually closed after first being taken over by
Noritakeis a porcelain maker headquartered in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.- History :Noritake Co., Limited, commonly known as "Noritake," grew out of a trading company established in Tokyo and in New York City by the Morimura Brothers in 1876. In 1904, key members of this trading company created the...
) and for its shipbuilding industry.
In the 1960s, a state-owned fertiliser factory, Nitrogen Éireann Teoranta, later Irish Fertiliser Industries, was established on the outskirts of the town. This factory complex comprised a number of chemical plants and manufactured a range of fertilisers from basic raw materials. It was one of the first major chemical plants in Ireland and contributed to the present-day success of the Irish chemical industry. It closed in 2002.
There is still a good industry base in Arklow, with Servier and
AllerganAllergan, Inc., is a global specialty pharmaceutical company. Their product ranges include ophthalmic pharmaceuticals, dermatology products, and neurological products.-Profile:...
still remaining, just two of the biggest manufacturers in Arklow. Allergan confirmed on the 30 January 2008 that they will move their production to
Costa RicaCosta Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. This will take place over the next two years.
Shipping and shipbuilding
The national sail training vessel
Asgard IIAsgard II was the Irish national sail training vessel, until she sank in the Bay of Biscay in 2008. A brigantine, she was commissioned on 7 March 1981 and purpose-built as a sail training vessel by Jack Tyrrell in Arklow, County Wicklow...
, and
Gypsy Moth III, the yacht that
Francis ChichesterSir Francis Charles Chichester KBE , aviator and sailor, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for becoming the first person to sail single-handed around the world by the clipper route, and the fastest circumnavigator, in nine months and one day overall.-Early life:Chichester was born in Barnstaple,...
sailed on the first solo transatlantic yacht race in 1960, were built by John Tyrrell & Son Ltd in Arklow. Recent times have seen large reductions in cargo and fishing, and the shipyards have still survived to this day. However the town retains its significance to shipping in Ireland as the headquarters of Arklow Shipping, numerically the largest shipping company in Ireland, which maintains a fleet of 37 cargo ships and a subsidiary in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Environmental issues
The River Avoca is classified as seriously polluted by the Irish EPA as a result of the discharge of sewage directly into the river in addition to a long history of industrial pollution in the area from early mining operations and more recent chemical industries. In previous centuries, Arklow was renowned for
oysterThe word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
beds, however, these were destroyed over a century ago by pollutants from mining operations flowing down the river into the estuary.
A few kilometers into the
Irish SeaThe Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
is the
Arklow Bank Wind ParkThe Arklow Bank Wind Park is the first offshore wind farm in Ireland and the world's first commercial application of offshore wind turbines over 3 megawatts in size. It is located on the Arklow Bank, a shallow water sandbank in the Irish Sea, around off the coast of Arklow with an area of...
, currently made up of a test of seven
GEGê are the people who spoke Ge languages of the northern South American Caribbean coast and Brazil. In Brazil the Gê were found in Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Piaui, Mato Grosso, Goias, Tocantins, Maranhão, and as far south as Paraguay....
3.6 MW machines, with 106m turbines. A further 193 turbines are planned by the operating company,
AirtricityAirtricity was founded in 1997 in the Republic of Ireland and now is a renewable energy company owned by Scottish and Southern Energy...
.
A recycling centre is located in one of the town's industrial estates, where a range of materials including cardboard, plastic bottles and paper (amongst other materials) can be brought for recycling. It is run by Wicklow County Council.
Proposed sewage treatment plant
Raw
effluentEffluent is an outflowing of water or gas from a natural body of water, or from a human-made structure.Effluent is defined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as “wastewater - treated or untreated - that flows out of a treatment plant, sewer, or industrial outfall. Generally refers...
from the entire town still travels through the drainage system built in the 1930s, and spews out into the River Avoca untreated via several sewage outfall pipes along the river between the bypass bridge and the Nineteen Arches bridge, on both sides of the river. The proposed sewage treatment plant was first awarded planning permission in 1993. This was challenged unsuccessfully to An Bord Pleanála, however subsequently no funding arrived from government, and the planning permission was allowed to lapse. A further ten year planning permission was granted in 1999. Since then it too has been challenged unsuccessfully to An Bord Pleanála. The current situation is that yet another legal challenge has been mounted by the objectors to the plant. Meanwhile raw human effluence continues to flow untreated into the River Avoca. The Arklow Sea Scout group has started an online petition in favour of the proposed plant.
Sports
Arklow Sports Clubs
| Club | Sport | Founded | Venue |
| Arklow Boxing Club |
BoxingBoxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
|
1971 |
Arklow Boxing Club |
| Arklow Geraldines Ballymoney GAA Club |
Gaelic FootballGaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
|
1999 |
Pearse Park |
| Arklow Golf Club |
GolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
|
1927 |
Arklow Golf Links |
| Arklow Lawn Tennis Club |
TennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
|
1921 |
Arklow Lawn Tennis Club |
| Arklow Ravens |
UltimateUltimate is a sport played with a 175 gram flying disc. The object of the game is to score points by passing the disc to a player in the opposing end zone, similar to an end zone in American football or rugby...
|
2011 |
The Pines Field (Temporary) |
| Arklow Rock Parnells |
HurlingHurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
/CamogieCamogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women; it is almost identical to the game of hurling played by men. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and world wide, largely among Irish communities....
|
1953 |
Parnell Park |
| Arklow Rowing Club |
Rowing Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
|
1990 |
South Quay |
| Arklow Rugby Club Arklow RFC is an Irish rugby team based in Arklow, County Wicklow. They play in Leinster League Division Three of the Leinster League. The club colours are black and red. They have 1st and 2nd Senior team, ladies team the Arklow Amazons, Under 18s Girls, Under 19's 17's, 15's, 13's, and full mini...
|
Rugby Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
|
1936 |
The Oval |
| Arklow Sailing Club |
SailingSailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
|
1969 |
North Quay |
| Arklow Town F.C. |
Football |
1948 |
Bridgewater Park |
| Arklow United F.C. |
Football |
1978 |
Ferndale Park |
| Woodenbridge Golf Club |
GolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
|
1884 |
Woodenbridge Golf Course |
Music
To many foreign music fans, Arklow is most known as the title setting for
Van MorrisonVan Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
's 1974 song "
Streets of Arklow"Streets of Arklow" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It appears on the album Veedon Fleece, released in 1974.The song describes a perfect day in "God's green land" and is a tribute to the Wicklow town of Arklow visited during the singer's 1973 vacation trip back to...
", one of eight songs he wrote on a three week vacation back to Ireland, and featured on his album
Veedon FleeceVeedon Fleece is the eighth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in October, 1974 . Morrison recorded the album shortly after his divorce from wife Janet Rigsbee...
. The "Battle of Arklow" is a well-known hornpipe and non-traditional set dance tune, and is often played at
feiseanna and other Irish dance competitions. Arklow is also the home town of pop group
MolokoMoloko were an Anglo-Irish electronic/pop duo consisting of Róisín Murphy from Wicklow, Ireland and Mark Brydon, from Sunderland, England.- Origin of band name :...
's lead singer
Róisín MurphyRóisín Marie Murphy is an Irish singer-songwriter and record producer, known for her electronic style.Murphy first came to note as part of the electronic music duo Moloko. Her partner in the band was then-boyfriend Mark Brydon. After the two ended their romantic relationship, Murphy released her...
.
Culture
The Seabreeze festival is a three-day event in mid-July. The festival is a popular visitor attraction with many live shows and events at various venues throughout the town, ending in a fireworks display.
Arklow has been both the birthplace and place of residence for many artists such as Arthur and George Campbell who were born there sons of Gretta Bowen, a self-taught artist who had a unique and individual style devoid of pretensions or attached to any particular movement.
The seaside town has also been the backdrop for artists and philosophers such a
Ludwig WittgensteinLudwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein was an Austrian philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He was professor in philosophy at the University of Cambridge from 1939 until 1947...
who frequented the town for its beaches and vivid sunsets as lighting conditions here are excellent in particular during winter and summer months. Also the surrounding countryside and valley stretching back to the village of Avoca along the Avoca river is calming, leaving one with a sense of well-being, there is little doubt then as to why it is popular in art and poetry. Laterly Avoca village and the surrounding area were popularised in the T.V. show
Ballykissangel, drawing many visitors from abroad who come to see where the show was filmed.
As a haven for inspiration and recuperation, Arklow was ideal for artists such as Lilian Davison, A.R.H.A. (landscape, portrait and Genre painter) Born in Bray in 1893 died 1954, Who painted subjects such as Jack B. Yeats, Sarah Purser, 'AE' George Russell, Austin Clarke and Joseph Holloway. She would visit the town regularly as it was and still is a popular beachside resort; during her many trips there she drew many sketches and painted scenes of the town and beaches in particular "The Netter, Arklow" which depicts a scene of a man repairing a net by the Harbourside with the harbour in the background; on the reserve-side of the painting is a sketch of children playing on the south beach.
Percy French, artist and poet, was also known to visit Arklow and Avoca so much so that he married there, He made many sketches and wrote poems describing his feeling for the place.
People
Born in Arklow:
- Garrett Byrne, Irish nationalist and MP (1829–1897).
- Ron Delany
Ronald Michael Delany , better known as Ron or Ronnie is a former Irish athlete, who specialised in middle distance running.Born in Arklow, Delany moved with his family to Dublin when he was 6...
, won Ireland's last gold medal in track and field at the 1956 OlympicsThe 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in Melbourne, Australia, in 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which could not be held in Australia due to quarantine regulations...
in the 1500m.
- Róisín Murphy
Róisín Marie Murphy is an Irish singer-songwriter and record producer, known for her electronic style.Murphy first came to note as part of the electronic music duo Moloko. Her partner in the band was then-boyfriend Mark Brydon. After the two ended their romantic relationship, Murphy released her...
, singer-songwriterSinger-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
.
- George Campbell RHA 1917-1979 and Arthur Campbell (sons of Gretta Bowen), Landscape artists.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- List of RNLI stations.
- Arklow railway station
Arklow railway station opened on 16 November 1863 and serves the town of Arklow in County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. The station consists of two platforms, one of which is served by a passing loop....
.
- Arklow Bank Wind Park
The Arklow Bank Wind Park is the first offshore wind farm in Ireland and the world's first commercial application of offshore wind turbines over 3 megawatts in size. It is located on the Arklow Bank, a shallow water sandbank in the Irish Sea, around off the coast of Arklow with an area of...
.
External links