Roundwood, historically known as Tóchar ( ga, an Tóchar , meaning 'the causeway'), 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 ...

. It was listed as having a population of 948 in the 2016 census.

Geography

Roundwood is located where the

R755 road The R755 road is a regional road in Ireland. It runs for its entire length in County Wicklow. From the village of Kilmacanogue on the N11 national primary road it goes north/south for to the town of Rathdrum. Route From the N11 it goes wes ...

joins the R764 and R765. The R755 is part of the main route from

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 ...

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. ...

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 ...

. At 238 metres above sea level, Roundwood is one of the highest villages in Ireland.

Vartry Reservoir Vartry Reservoir ( ga, Taiscumar Fheartraí) is a reservoir at Roundwood in County Wicklow, Ireland. The water is piped from Vartry to a large open service reservoir in Stillorgan in the southern suburbs of Dublin. The reservoir is operated b ...

Lakes (reservoirs built in the 1860s) are close by.

History

Roundwood has a close association with two former

Presidents of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitut ...

Seán T. O'Kelly Seán Thomas O'Kelly ( ga, Seán Tomás Ó Ceallaigh; 25 August 1882 – 23 November 1966), originally John T. O'Kelly, was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the second president of Ireland from June 1945 to June 1959. He also serve ...

who lived locally, and

Erskine Hamilton Childers Erskine Hamilton Childers (11 December 1905 – 17 November 1974) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as the fourth president of Ireland from June 1973 to November 1974. He is the only Irish president to have died in office. He also ...

, who, with other family members, is buried in Derrylossary

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

churchyard near the village.

Sport

The local

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 ...

and

ladies' Gaelic football Ladies' Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach na mBan) is a women's team sport. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a ...

club is

An Tóchar GAA An Tóchar () is a Gaelic football and ladies' Gaelic football club based in Roundwood, County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland. History ''Tóchar'' GAA club was founded on 8 August 1885 by Laurence Murphy of Togher House. Their first game was in ...

Twin towns — sister cities

Roundwood is twinned with the village of

Spézet Spézet (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Geography Spézet is a rural municipality in east central Finistère, historically belonging to Cornouaille. It is bounded on the west and north by the ...

, in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, northwestern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

.Roundwood School News
Roundwood.ie. Retrieved 11 December 2007. The schools in both areas regularly communicate and engage with another. For many years, exchange programmes have been in place for the students.

References

External links