Laragh ( – meaning "the site, or ruins, of a building") is a small village in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It lies at the junction of three roads (the R115, R755, and R756) through the

Wicklow Mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: '' Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Where the mountai ...

and is primarily known for its proximity to the

monastic Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

settlement of

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 min ...

. Sally Gap and the Glenmacnass Waterfall are to the north, to the west is Glendalough and the Wicklow Gap, and to the south is the

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 ...

Valley. The area is wooded, with the hills and mountains rising directly from the valley, and

hill walkers Walking is one of the most popular outdoor recreational activities in the United Kingdom, and within England and Wales there is a comprehensive network of rights of way that permits access to the countryside. Furthermore, access to much uncultivat ...

, hikers, and other

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

s sometimes use the village – given its closeness to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

– as their centre for recreational activities in the mountains. About 5 km from the village, on the Rathdrum road, the Clara Lara FunPark covers an area of some 40 ha. Birdwatchers come here to look for the

great spotted woodpecker The great spotted woodpecker (''Dendrocopos major'') is a medium-sized woodpecker with pied black and white plumage and a red patch on the lower belly. Males and young birds also have red markings on the neck or head. This species is found acros ...

, Ireland's newest species, which breeds in the area. Laragh is also sometimes (including on Sunday mornings and lunchtime) used as a meeting and stop-off point for motorcyclists and cyclists following a run over "The Gap" ( the R756) before they head on to Rathdrum. "Laragh" is the name of a fictional sheep station in Western Australia run by the Regan family in

Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name to protect his enginee ...

's novel ''

Beyond the Black Stump ''Beyond the Black Stump'' is a novel by British author Nevil Shute. It was first published in the UK by William Heinemann Ltd, in 1956. Plot summary The story concerns a young American geologist, Stanton Laird, working in the Australian outb ...

''.

Notable people

Former or current residents of the village have included: *

Francis Stuart Henry Francis Montgomery Stuart (29 April 19022 February 2000) was an Irish writer. He was awarded one of the highest artistic accolades in Ireland, being elected a Saoi of Aosdána, before his death in 2000. His associations with the IRA an ...

(1902–2000), Irish writer lived for a time in Laragh Castle

References

External links

Laragh Badminton Club

Wicklow Way
{{County Wicklow Towns and villages in County Wicklow

Notable people

See also

References

External links