The R115 road is a
regional road in counties
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 ...
and
Wicklow
Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...
in
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 follows the Military Road ( ga, An Bóthar Míleata) for its entire length. The R115 is long; the full length of the Military Road (
Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council a ...
to
Aghavannagh
Aghavannagh () is a small village and townland in south County Wicklow, Ireland. It is located in the barony of Ballinacor South on the Military Road originally constructed between 1804 and 1809, in the wake of the 1798 rebellion. It is so remo ...
) is .
![Military Road Laragh-Glenmalure](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Military_Road_Laragh-Glenmalure.jpg)
The Military Road runs north-south across the spine of 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 ...
. It was constructed between 12 August 1800 and October 1809, in the wake of 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 ...
, to open up the mountains to British forces to assist them in tracking down
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, ...
insurgents who were hiding there. Rathfarnham itself was the scene of some skirmishes in the early days of the rising.
[The Military Road](_blank)
by John Godden. Retrieved: 2011-12-04.
It was one of the first purpose-built roads in Ireland, excepting
turnpikes. Four barracks were built along the way at
Glencree
Glencree ( ga, Gleann Crí from the older Gleann Criothach, which translates as Valley of the Shaking Bog) is a valley in the Wicklow Mountains in eastern Ireland. It is the third-closest valley in the mountains to Dublin city, the first being G ...
,
Laragh,
Glenmalure
Glenmalure () is a 20-kilometre long U-shaped glacial valley in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. Glenmalure is an important base for climbing in the Wicklow mountains, and particularly accessing the massif of Lugnaquilla, and contains one of t ...
, and
Aghavannagh
Aghavannagh () is a small village and townland in south County Wicklow, Ireland. It is located in the barony of Ballinacor South on the Military Road originally constructed between 1804 and 1809, in the wake of the 1798 rebellion. It is so remo ...
. The engineer in charge was Alexander Taylor (b. 1746), who was responsible for many other roads in the country, including some
turnpike roads (toll roads).
Route
The official definition of the R115 from the ''Roads Act 1993 (Classification of Regional Roads) Order 2012''
[Statutory Instrument 54 of 2012 — Roads Act 1993 (Classification of Regional Roads) Order 2012](_blank)
''Irish Statute Book'' (irishstatutebook.ie). Retrieved 2017-02-02. reads:
:R115: Rathfarnham, County Dublin - Laragh, County Wicklow
:Between its junction with R114 at Butterfield Avenue Rathfarnham in the county of South Dublin and its junction with R755 at Laragh in the county of Wicklow via Grange Road, Willbrook Road, Ballyboden Road, Scholarstown Road, Stocking Lane and Military Road in the county of South Dublin: Glencree, Liffey Head Bridge, Sally Gap and Drummin in the county of Wicklow.
Description
The R115 / Military Road starts in Rathfarnham,
County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg
, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
, outside the ''Yellow House'' pub and continues to the Ballyboden roundabout, where it intersects with the
R113; it then follows the
Edmondstown
Edmondstown (), sometimes spelt ''Edmundstown'', is an outer suburb of Dublin, in the jurisdiction of South Dublin. It is situated on the R116 regional road, south of Ballyboden and north of Rockbrook, in the valley of the Owendoher River
...
Road for 100 metres where it meets the
R116. At this point the route takes the Scholarstown Road and turns left onto Stocking Lane where it rises through the
Dublin 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 ...
(past the
Hell Fire Club), followed by a descent into Glencree at the head of the valley of the Glencree river, with a spur down that valley to
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 ...
, before rising again to the vicinity of the entrance gate/road to the TV mast at Kippure (this part of the Military Road is
the highest paved public road in Ireland at 523 m). It descends slightly to the Sally Gap Crossroads (elevation 495 m)(), where it intersects with the
R759 road
The R759 road is a regional road in Ireland running south-east to north-west through the Sally Gap in the Wicklow Mountains, from the R755 near Roundwood in East Wicklow to the N81 in West Wicklow. The other route through the Wicklow Mounta ...
. From there it continues to a point east of
Mullaghcleevaun
Mullaghcleevaun () at , is the 15th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, and the 20th–highest peak on the Vandeleur-Lynam scale.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: The Vandeleur-Lynams & the Ar ...
Mountain (850 m) before descending to the village of
Laragh, near
Glendalough
Glendalough (; ) is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland, renowned for an Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin. From 1825 to 1957, the head of the Glendalough Valley was the site of a galena lead mine. ...
, via the scenic
Glenmacnass waterfall
Glenmacnass Waterfall () is an 80-metre high waterfall situated at the head of the Glenmacnass Valley in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. The Glenmacnass Waterfall is a popular tourist destination and scenic viewpoint area in the Wicklow Mount ...
.
The R115 terminates at Laragh, at a junction with the
R755 and the 'Wicklow Gap' road, the
R756. The Military Road continues south past Glenmalure to Aghavannagh in south
County Wicklow
County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...
, but is designated as a local road south of Laragh.
For many years, the road was used as the Sally Gap
special stage in the
Circuit of Ireland
The Circuit of Ireland International Rally is an annual automobile rally, which was first held in 1931 making it the third oldest rally in the world. The most recent event was held in 2016.
''The Circuit'', as it is colloquially known, is org ...
car rally.
The road was upgraded from the Dublin border to Sally Gap in 1942, by the 3rd battalion of the Construction Corps, to allow for the harvesting of peat and for post-war tourists. The route from Sally Gap to Laragh was apparently overgrown during this period but upgraded in 1956, along with the addition of a car park at
Glenmacnass Waterfall
Glenmacnass Waterfall () is an 80-metre high waterfall situated at the head of the Glenmacnass Valley in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. The Glenmacnass Waterfall is a popular tourist destination and scenic viewpoint area in the Wicklow Mount ...
.
[https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1956/0521/Pg001.html#Ar00118:3F3A6A413A844F1A57516A71]
See also
*
Wicklow Round
The Wicklow Round is a long-distance hill running challenge in the Wicklow Mountains in Ireland. The route follows a proscribed 100-kilometre circuit of 26 mountains, which must be completed in a fixed order, that total over of elevation; the ...
*
Roads in Ireland
The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from tr ...
*
Motorways in Ireland
In Ireland, the highest category of road is a motorway (''mótarbhealach'', plural: ''mótarbhealaí''), indicated by the prefix M followed by a one- or two-digit number (the number of the national route of which each motorway forms a part). Th ...
*
National primary road
A national primary road ( ga, Bóthar príomha náisiúnta) is a road classification in Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of ro ...
*
National secondary road
A national secondary road ( ga, Bóthar Náisiúnta den Dara Grád) is a category of road in Ireland. These roads form an important part of the national route network but are secondary to the main arterial routes which are classified as national ...
*
Rathfarnham and the Military Road
*
Ireland's first ski rescue
Further reading
*
References
External links
Sally Gap Map of R115 routeMap of Military Road From A to B is R115 section. A to C is Military Road.
{{Roads in Ireland
Regional roads in the Republic of Ireland
Roads in County Dublin
Roads in County Wicklow
Military roads