Shops by the roundabout on Main Street, Rath Naoi - geograph

Rathnew () is a village in

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 ...

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 ...

. Located south of the capital

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 ...

along the M11 between Dublin and

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

, it is close to the

county town In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a county town is the most important town or city in a county. It is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county and the place where the county's members of Parliament are elect ...

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 ...

, which is situated to the east.

Education

Rathnew is home to Gaelscoil Chill Mhantáin, an

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

primary school, which was established in 1996. The school was Ireland's first inter-denominational primary school, and draws pupils from Rathdrum, Brittas and Newcastle, as well as Rathnew. Rathnew is also home to St Coen's National School, a co-educational national (primary) school which was formed following the amalgamation of a number of former/smaller schools in the area. As of 2019, it had over 270 pupils enrolled. The local secondary school is Coláiste Chill Mhantáin, which opened in September 2011. Coláiste Chill Mhantáin is the amalgamation of two previous secondary schools based in Wicklow Town, Abbey Community College and De La Salle. Since late 2006 Clermont Convent, previously a private Secondary School for girls, has reopened on the same grounds as a Third Level College affiliated to the Institute of Technology, Carlow.

Sport

The village's

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

team has won the

Senior Provincial Championship more than 30 times, most recently in 2017. Rathnew's soccer club was founded in 1958. For a time there the village had two soccer teams, Rathnew Ernans and Rathnew Celtic. Rathnew Celtic was only team to ever go through the Leinster Junior Cup without conceding a goal in 1978/1979 season. In 1986 both teams joined to make Rathnew A.F.C. a team which is still present today The club is based in Shamrock Park. Since late 2010, Rathnew A.F.C. has also played host to Rathnew Ladies A.F.C. soccer side, the first women's team in the history of the club, and which won the DWSL Shield in 2011.

Tourism

Rathnew is home to the historic Tinakilly House, the former residence of Capt. Robert Halpin and now a hotel. It is situated in the center of the village opposite the local cemetery with narrow entrance to a mile-long avenue. The building was first built in 1883 when it became Halpin's residence. The house overlooks the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...

with a large gardens surrounding it.

Transport

Rathnew railway station opened on 1 September 1866, closed for goods traffic on 9 June 1947, and finally closed on 30 March 1964. For rail transport today, the closest station is

Wicklow railway station Wicklow railway station ( ga, Stáisiún Chill Mhantáin) is a railway station in Wicklow, County Wicklow, Ireland. Facilities The main station building is on platform 1. There are a waiting room and toilets next to the ticket office. An autom ...

, two miles inwards. The local bus goes through the village every hour and stops outside the local primary school.

Economy

Rathnew is home to three pubs: The Rathnew House, Fitzpatricks, and Shay Doyle's. Rathnew is also home to two chip shops as well as three shops one of which is also a petrol station. Rathnew held three sawmills two of which are still operational: Duffy's and Jameson's. M.D. & Sons industrial steel manufacturers is another local company. The local postoffice is located at Merrymeeting Shopping Centre.

Community Space

* Rathnew Women's Shed * Rathnew Men's Shed

Famous people associated with Rathnew

Francis Chomley John Francis Chomley (22 May 1822 – 14 April 1892) was an Irish businessman in Hong Kong and China in the mid-19th century. He was the first chairman of the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Company and member of the Legislative Council of Hong Ko ...

(1822-1892) - businessman * Tom Cullen (1891-1926)

Irish republican Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The develop ...

Johnny Doran Johnny Doran (1908 – 19 January 1950)Sleeve notes compiled by Jackie Small and published with ''The Bunch of Keys'' audio tape, Comhairle Bhéaloideas Éireann (CBÉ 001), 1988 was an Irish uilleann piper. Life and family Johnny Doran was bo ...

(1908-1950) -

uilleann piper The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...

Susyn M. Andrews Susyn M. Andrews (born 1953) is a British taxonomic horticulturist. Her research has focussed on temperate and subtropical woody plants, especially Holly and Lavender. Life and work Andrews went to school at Rathnew, County Wicklow, Ireland, st ...

(b. 1953) -

horticulturist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

Patricia O'Brien Patricia O'Brien (born 8 February 1957)is Ambassador of Ireland to Italy. She served as Ambassador to France and to Monaco from 2017 to 2021. She had served from 2013 as the Permanent Representative (Ambassador) of Ireland to the United Nations ...

(b. 1957) - diplomat * Leighton Glynn (b. 1982) -

References

External links

Rathnew at Wicklow County Tourism

Rathnew GAA Club
{{County Wicklow Towns and villages in County Wicklow