Tinahely () 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 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It is a market town in the valley of the

River Derry The River Derry () is a large river in the southeast of Leinster, Ireland, a tributary of the Slaney. It rises just south of Hacketstown, County Carlow, Ireland. It flows southeast to Tinahely, being accompanied by the R747 regional road ...

, a tributary of the

River Slaney The River Slaney () is a large river in the southeast of Ireland. It rises on Lugnaquilla Mountain in the western Wicklow Mountains and flows west and then south through counties Wicklow, Carlow and Wexford for 117.5 km (73 mi), be ...

Location and access

It is located on the

R747 road The R747 road is a regional road in Ireland running north-west/south-east from the M9 near Ballitore in County Kildare to Arklow in County Wicklow, a distance of . File:IMG_R747westward5075w.jpg, 350px, The R747 road poly 1606 580 1610 692 ...

which links the west Wicklow town of

Baltinglass Baltinglass, historically known as Baltinglas (), is a town in south-west County Wicklow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Carlow and County Kildare, on the N81 road. Etymology The town's Irish name, '' ...

with

Arklow Arklow (; ; , ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 re ...

on the east coast. The village is situated near the southern point of the Wicklow Way which winds through 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 ...

. The River Derry runs through the village.

History

The town of Tinahely is part of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

Kilcommon Kilcommon ( ga, Cill Chomáin) is a civil parish in Erris, north Mayo consisting of two large peninsulas; Dún Chaocháin and Dún Chiortáin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remote that they have no inhabitants. Habitatio ...

in the ancient

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Ballinacor South Ballinacor South () is a barony in County Wicklow, Ireland. This geographical unit of land is one of eight baronies in County Wicklow. It is located in the southern Wicklow Mountains. Its chief town is Aughrim. The barony lies between Ballin ...

. Most of the village dates from the early part of the 19th century as it was rebuilt by Lord Fitzwilliam after it was burnt during the

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

. The Fiztwilliam family lived in nearby Coolattin House. The Coollattin estate once comprised , had 20,000 tenants and occupied almost a quarter of County Wicklow.

Parish church

Tinahely's parish church, St. Kevin's church, lies 2 km to the east of the village in the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

of Kilaveny overlooking the valley of the Derry stream. The church was erected in 1843 when it replaced another structure located in the adjacent townland of Whitefield which had been burned down on 11 November 1798 by Yeomen soldiers in reprisal for local activity during the

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

. The Whitefield church was replaced by a temporary wooden structure until the erection of St. Kevin's church. The original structure had been erected during the Penal Laws in 1700 and was cruciform in style with two transepts and a nave. Nothing now remains of the original church except for the cemetery that was attached to it. No burials have taken place in the cemetery since the mid 1900s. In the

Jubilee Year 2000 A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

, parishioners erected a carved commemorative limestone marker on the site of the original church, in the present Whitefield Cemetery, setting out the above history.

Commemorative marker Whitefield Cemetery

Amenities and events

The Courthouse Arts Centre, Dwyer Square, formerly the civil courthouse building hosts musical performances, artist exhibitions, plays and film screenings. The building was restored by a committee of local people with help from FÁS. The local public library, also in Dwyer Square, was formerly the town's market house. There is also a community center located on grounds of original national school on School Road. Churches in the area include St. Kevin's Church, Kilavaney (Roman Catholic), St. Peter & St. Paul Church, Crossbridge (a Roman Catholic sub-parish of Kilaveney), and Kilcommon Church, Parish of Crosspatrick and Carnew Group (Church of Ireland). There is a walking route along the line of a former railway which leads from Tinahely to Tomnafinnoge Oak Wood in the nearby town of

Shillelagh A shillelagh ( ; ga, sail éille or , "thonged willow") is a wooden walking stick and club or cudgel, typically made from a stout knotty blackthorn stick with a large knob at the top. It is associated with Ireland and Irish folklore. Other ...

. Three circular waymarked trails were also opened in 2010, and Tinahely is close to the Wicklow Way, one of Ireland's most popular long-distance trails. The Tinahely

Agricultural Show An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

takes place annually on the first Monday of August (a

bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or h ...

in the Republic of Ireland). This one-day show is held at Fairwood Park and has been running for over 70 years.

Sport

Tinahely GAA club was established in 1886. The club plays in St Kevin's Park which opened in May 1978. The club colours are red and white. In 1984 the club became the first club from Wicklow to reach the final of the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship but was beaten by

St Vincents GAA St Vincents is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Marino, on the northside of Dublin, Ireland. The club was founded in 1931 in Marino, instrumental in the founding of the club were Rev Dr William Fitzpatrick (St Vincent de Paul Church ...

. The local Triathlon club run a Duathlon every year on the Sunday of the May Bank Holiday.

Transport

Rail transport

Tinahely railway station opened on 22 May 1865, closed for passenger and goods traffic on 24 April 1944 and finally closed altogether on 20 April 1945.

Bus transport

The Wicklow Way bus service serves Tinahely on a daily basis (must be booked in advance) and links with Dublin trains at

Rathdrum railway station Rathdrum railway station ( ga, Stáisiún Ráth Droma) is a railway station in Rathdrum, County Wicklow, Ireland. History It opened on 18 July 1863, replacing the terminus at Rathdrum (Kilcommon) (opened 20 August 1861) when the line was ex ...

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidi ...

route 132 (

Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort ( ga, Europort Ros Láir) is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeasternmost point of the island of Ireland. The port is the premier Irish port serving the European Contin ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

serves Tinahely on Thursdays once in each direction linking to

, Tallaght,

Carnew Carnew () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is the most southerly town in Wicklow situated just a mile from the border with County Wexford. For historical reasons it has often been described as "a Protestant enclave". Location Car ...

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 ...

People

Sebastian Barry Sebastian Barry (born 5 July 1955) is an Irish novelist, playwright and poet. He was named Laureate for Irish Fiction, 2019–2021. He is noted for his lyrical literary writing style and is considered one of Ireland's finest writers. Barry's l ...

, playwright, novelist and poet, lives near Tinahely. * Noel Vincent Willoughby, former Bishop of Cashel and Ossory, born in Tinahely. * Dermot Troy, lyric tenor, born in Tinahely.

References

External links

Tinahely website

Tinahely GAA club history

Courthouse Arts Centre website

Tinahely at the Wicklow Tourism website

Tinahely Agricultural Show website

Kilavaney Parish, Roman Catholic Church

{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Wicklow