Glencree ( ga, Gleann Crí from the older Gleann Criothach, which translates as Valley of the Shaking Bog) is a valley in the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: ''Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in the Republic of Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Wh ...

in eastern

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 ...

. It is the third-closest valley in the mountains to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

city, the first being

Glencullen Glencullen () is a village and townland in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in south County Dublin, Ireland. It is also the name of the valley above one end of which the village sits, and from which it takes its name, and is on the R ...

and the second

Glenasmole Glenasmole ( ga, Gleann an Smóil) is a valley in the Dublin Mountains in the south of County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The valley itself is around in elevation and is surrounded by mountains exceeding in elevation. Kippure, at , is ...

. The

River Dargle The River Dargle () is a river that flows from the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland to the Irish Sea. It forms Powerscourt Waterfall, receives the Glencree and Glencullen Rivers, and later the Glenmunder Stream / County Brook, and the Swan River ...

flows down the valley, which rises to a height of about 400 metres (1,312 feet). The foot of the valley is site of the village of

Enniskerry Enniskerry (historically ''Annaskerry'', from ) is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. The population was 1,889 at the 2016 census. Location The village is situated on the Glencullen River in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains in the ea ...

. In mediaeval times it was heavily wooded, and was a

royal forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

. The trees seem to have mainly been

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

The barracks

The top of the glen emerges onto the military road, constructed by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in the early 19th century in order to hunt down the

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...

guerrillas, holding out in the mountains after the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influence ...

. A barracks was built just off the road in 1806. At the end of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

in 1815, the building was vacated by the British Army. In 1858 the barracks was converted into a reformatory school. St Kevin's Reformatory was operated by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI). For most of the year, the boys were housed in the rear building, which now stands derelict. On several occasions, boys attempted to escape back to Dublin. In 1878, a young student Shane Bodkin died from exposure on the Featherbeds after trying to leave the school. It closed in 1940. Under ''Operation Shamrock'' the Irish Red Cross and the French

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...

cared for German and Polish war orphans here from 1945 to 1950. The

Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation The Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation is a non-governmental charitable organisation located in the Republic of Ireland. Its goal is to promote peace and reconciliation within and between communities through facilitated dialogue and l ...

opened in 1975 to foster better relations between the two communities in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Currently, they run a broad range of programmes bringing people from global conflict zones to the valley. There are programmes serving youth, women, ex-combatants, the churches, victims and political/economic leaders. Also, the centre provides training in mediation and conflict resolution, as well as hosting a summer school each year on a topic of relevance to the Irish conflict and society. Of late, they have begun broadening their reach to include actors from other global conflicts, most notably from the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. For many years, the centre ran a volunteer programme that invited adults from around the world to serve from two months to one year on programme and service work. On the site, there is a gift and coffee shop.

German War Cemetery

Glencree German War Cemetery (german: Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof) was dedicated on 9 July 1961. There are 134 graves. Most are (air force) or (navy) personnel. Fifty-three are identified, 28 are unknown. Six bodies are those of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

held by the British. Forty-six were German civilian detainees who were being shipped from Britain to Canada for internment when their ship, was torpedoed by a German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

, , off

Tory Island Tory Island, or simply Tory (officially known by its Irish name ''Toraigh''),Toraigh/Tory Island

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

, in July 1940. Dr

Hermann Görtz Hermann Görtz (also anglicised as Goertz; 15 November 1890 in Lübeck – 23 May 1947 in Dublin) was a German spy in Britain and Ireland before and during World War II, liaising with the Irish Republican Army (IRA). After the war, he commi ...

, an

Abwehr The ''Abwehr'' (German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', but the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context; ) was the German military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ''Wehrmacht'' from 1920 to 1944. A ...

spy, is also buried there. Dr Görtz committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

after the war when he was informed he would be deported; he feared he would be handed over to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. The graveyard is administered by the

German War Graves Commission The German War Graves Commission ( in German) is responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of German war graves in Europe and North Africa. Its objectives are acquisition, maintenance and care of German war graves; tending to next of kin; youth ...

(). Alongside the German Cemetery, on the bank of the Glencree River, a

Mass rock Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a Physical object, physical body, until the discovery of the atom and par ...

can be reached by a narrow riverside path.

Grotto

In the valley, by the Glencree River, there is a grotto dedicated to Our Lady of Reconciliation.

Youth hostel

There was previously a

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ba ...

some metres outside the Glencree gates. The mountains around Glencree are popular for walking.
Irish Mountain Running Association This hostel, operated by

An Óige An Óige (; meaning "Youth"), or the Irish Youth Hostel Association (IYHA), is a non-profit organisation providing youth hostel accommodation across the Republic of Ireland. An Óige is a member of Hostelling International. Background An Óige ...

since 1950, was sold 2 May 2003.

Films shot in Glencree

* '' Casino Royale (1967)'' * '' Where's Jack? (1969)'' * '' Zardoz (1973)'' * '' The First Great Train Robbery (1978) '' * ''Green Journey (1990)''

References

External links

Glencree German CemeteryGlencree Centre for Reconciliation
*RTÉ Radio 1 programme on Glencree Valley http://www.rte.ie/radio1/shanksmare/rams/2006/23june.smil {{Authority control Valleys of County Wicklow Geography of County Wicklow