Wicklow Day Tour

Glencree

• Survivors of the 1798 Rebellion sought refuge in the mountains.
• Construction of the military road began in 1800.
• Glencree Barracks was designed to accommodate a captain and 100 soldiers.
• The Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) established St. Kevin’s Reformatory School in 1858, and rebuilt the property to house upwards of 300 boys. The reformatory was closed in 1940.
• From 1945 to 1950 at the end of World War 2, under the auspices of the Irish Red Cross, Glencree became a Refugee Centre for German children.
• Since 1974, Glencree has engaged in practical peacebuilding and reconciliation in Ireland and more recently, internationally.

Sally Gap

P.S. I Love You - Bridge

Lough Tay

The set of Viking’s at Lough Tay

Glendalough

• Founded in the 6th century by St. Kevin.
• After the Anglo Norman invasion, ecclesiastical authority moved to Dublin, in 1214 and the Diocese of Glendalough became part of Dublin.
• The destruction of Glendalough by English forces in 1398 left it a ruin but it continued as a local church and a place of pilgrimage.
• The surviving ruins date from the 10th and 12th centuries.
• The Gateway was originally two-storied with two fine, granite arches.
• The cross-inscribed stone denoted sanctuary, the boundary of the area of refuge.
• The Round Tower
  • Built of mica-slate interspersed with granite is 100 ft (30 metres) high.
  • The conical roof was rebuilt in 1876 using the original stones.
  • The tower originally had six timber floors, connected by ladders.
  • The four storeys above entrance level are each lit by a small window, while the top storey has four windows facing the cardinal compass points.
• The Cathedral
  • The large mica-slate stones which can be seen up to the height of the square-headed west doorway were re-used from an earlier smaller church..
  • The chancel and sacristy date from the late 12th century.
• St. Kevin's Cross - an early cross of local granite, with an unpierced ring.
• St. Kevin's Church or "Kitchen"
  • The steep roof, formed of overlapping stones, is supported internally by a semi-circular vault.
  • Access to the croft or roof chamber was through a rectangular opening towards the western end of the vault.
  • The church also had a timber first floor.
  • The belfry with its conical cap and four small windows rises from the west end of the stone roof in the form of a miniature round tower.

Powerscourt

• Originally a 13th century medieval castle, owned by the Le Power Family from which ‘Powerscourt’ takes its name.
• In 1603 Richard Wingfield was granted Powerscourt Castle and its lands as a reward for his military achievements by Queen Elizabeth.
• In 1730 the Viscount Powerscourt commissioned the architect Richard Castle to build Powerscourt House, a 68 room mansion which was completed in 1741.
• The mansion was designed around the medieval castle in the style of Palladian architecture which is based on the formal classical temple architecture of the Ancient Greeks and Romans.
• In November 1974 a fire badly damaged Powerscourt House.

Athgreany Stone Circle

• Áth Gréine meaning “Field of the Sun"
• 14 granite stones dating from the late Bronze Age (1400-500 BCE)
• Locally known as the Piper's Stones, 23 metres diameter.
• Outlier stone (the Piper) 30 metres to the north-east.
• According to legend, dancers and piper were turned into stone for dancing on the sabbath.

Castleruddery Stone Circle

• Dating from the late Bronze Age (1400-500 BCE)
• Embanked Stone Circle, 40 stones, 30 metres in diameter.
• 2 white quartz portal stones weighing about 15 tons each.
• Surrounded by an earthen bank 1.2 metres high.