Kilcoole

Kilcoole () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is three kilometres (2 miles) south of Greystones, 14 kilometres (9 miles) north of Wicklow, and about 28 kilometres (17 miles) south of Dublin. It was used as the set for the Irish television series ''Glenroe'', which ran through the 1980s and 1990s.

The village has a large industrial estate to the south. An area of marshland runs along the coast from Kilcoole south to Wicklow town, called the ''Murragh''. This area is home to many endangered species of plants and animals. The beach in Kilcoole is the summertime home of the little tern, one of the few places in Ireland where these birds nest. Within the village, is an area of flora known as the ''Rock'' which is a huge rock/hill that predates the Cambrian Period.

Kilcoole is in the Roman Catholic parish of Kilquade, and the local church, St. Anthony's Church, cost £35,000 to build in the 1960s.

History

Next to the railway station is a monument commemorating the landing of 600 rifles and ammunition for the Irish Volunteers on board the ''Chotah'' by Sir Thomas Myles in August 1914. It is eclipsed by accounts of the contemporary landing of Volunteer's arms at Howth on board the ''Asgard''. On 1 August 1914, 600 Mauser rifles and 20,000 rounds of ammunition were landed at the beach in Kilcoole.

The arms and ammunition was smuggled using Thomas Myles's boat The Chotah during the night. When the arms were landed they were removed on bicycles and in vehicles by volunteers. The arms were taken to Patrick Pearse's school, St Enda's, in Rathfarnham, County Dublin.

Education

Coláiste Chraobh Abhann is a community secondary college, located on the southern outskirts of the village of Kilcoole. It currently numbers 700 students from Kilcoole, Newtownmountkennedy, Delgany, Roundwood and Greystones. Opened in September 2003, the college held its first state examinations in June 2006.

Kilcoole Primary School formerly consisted of Saint Anthony's Boys' National School and Saint Brigids Girls' National School, which were amalgamated in 2010. Junior students are now taught in the building formerly occupied by Saint Brigid's and the Saint Anthony's building accommodates pupils in the latter half of primary schooling.

Sports

Athletics

Kilcoole Athletics Club was founded in 1970. Its members have represented and captained Ireland at all levels up to and including Olympic Games. Kilcoole AC athletes have set and still hold national, provincial, intervarsity and school records in cross country and javelin events. The club holds one of the longest-standing athletics records when a ladies' team set the provincial (Leinster) record for the 4 × 400 m relay in 1987.

The National Cross Country Championships were hosted in the village three times; in 1975, 1979 and 1997. The venue for the first two events was Fox's Field on Cooldross Lane (the Holywell Crescent road cuts through where the finishing line was situated). On the third occasion the venue was Druids Glen Golf Resort. This was immediately prior to the construction of the Druids Heath course. The finish line for this event was situated where the 12th fairway is currently.

Golf

Druids Glen Golf Resort, which hosted the Irish open from 1996 to 1999 as well as the National Cross Country Athletics Championships in 1997, is located less than a kilometre (1000 yards) from Kilcoole, on the Newtownmountkennedy road. Kilcoole Golf Course, a nine-hole parkland course, is also located near the village. Druids Heath Golf Course, another championship course, is also located in Druids Glen.

Soccer

Saint Anthony's Football Club provides football for boys and girls from age six upwards. Almost 300 members make up their competing teams from under eight through under eighteen and adult.

Gaelic games

Kilcoole GAA fields teams in both hurling and Gaelic football, with representation for both men and women at junior and juvenile levels.

Transport

Dublin Bus only provides a service between Kilcoole and Dublin on its very infrequent 84X bus route, with a journey time of about 80 minutes; the 84 bus terminates at Blackrock. Iarnród Éireann has a station at the beach; Kilcoole railway station opened on 30 October 1855. There are limited train services along this line. On weekdays the mainline train stops twice in the early morning in the Dublin direction and three times in the late afternoon/early evening in the Rosslare direction. However, as of 11 December 2022, all trains on the weekend which run through the station will stop at Kilcoole. This means that on a Saturdays there will be 4 trains northbound and 3 southbound, and on Sundays, 3 trains in each direction. A more regular DART (Electric train) service runs from Greystones to Dublin city centre and beyond to Howth and Malahide.

Music

Kilcoole has acted as a musical hub over the past 15 years, for bands in punk and post-rock. Acts included Adebisi Shank, Heathers, the Brian Meakin Band, Kidd Blunt, Enemies, Croupier and Foot in Mouth. More recently a new collective named 'Boosegank' has emerged bringing together younger bands from the Kilcoole area such as Birds, Jack Latin and Doxy. The Hive Recording Studio is also situated in Kilcoole, and has recorded for Adebisi Shank, Enemies, Heathers, Bacchus and others.

The Kilcoole Music Festival is an annual festival started in 1955 by the then district nurse, Ms Mary Kiernan, who saw a need to help the area's children develop their talents. The festival awards individuals in over 50 classes ranging from vocal solos to orchestras, and flute to rock guitar.

In the media

Kilcoole was the setting for the long-running hit TV show ''Glenroe'', running from 1983 until 2001, which was broadcast on RTÉ One. At its height, it had over one million viewers, making it one of the most-watched programmes on Irish television. The farm on which it was based is now an open farm and hosts events annually.

In more recent times, Kilcoole has been the setting for scenes in the comedy series ''Moone Boy'' and ''Damo and Ivor''.

People

* Fionnuala Britton, an athlete who has represented Ireland internationally, is a member of Kilcoole Athletic Club.
* Elaine Cassidy, actress, was born in Kilcoole. Cassidy appeared in the 2001 film ''The Others'' and also starred in the television show ''Harper's Island''. She attended St Brigid's National School in Kilcoole.
* J. P. Donleavy, writer, wrote his debut novel ''The Ginger Man'' while living in the village.
* Josef Locke, tenor singer, lived at ''Calary House'' on Sea Road.

See also

* List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

External links

Kilcoole.ie

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Kilcoole