Ballyknockan or Ballynockan ( ; ) is a village and

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

in County Wicklow,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Ballyknockan is situated on the western edge of a large granite band extending from Dublin Bay to County Carlow and was known for the granite quarries that existed since the early 19th century. According to an Ordnance survey of 1838, at the time almost half of the population of 400 were employed in the quarries. Ballyknockan village is located 220 metres above sea level and is around 25 miles from Dublin City Centre. In 1940 the village of Balinahown was completely flooded and parts of the surrounding towns of Valleymount and Lacken were also flooded to make way for the

Poulaphouca Reservoir Poulaphouca Reservoir, officially Pollaphuca (), is an active reservoir (for both water supply and electricity generation) and area of wild bird conservation in west County Wicklow, Ireland named after the Poulaphouca waterfall on its south-west ...

which spans out over 20 km² across the land. Since then, the village overlooks the reservoir that provides water to thousands of Dublin homes and creates electricity, while also offering many water pursuits such as fishing, sailing, windsurfing, boating, and leisure cruising and canoeing. Ballyknockan hosts the Ballyknockan Music Festival " KnockanStockan", annually each summer.

References

{{County Wicklow Towns and villages in County Wicklow

See also

Further reading

References