Dunlavin

Dunlavin Dún Leamhán
—  Town  —
Dunlavin Town Hall by night
Dunlavin Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°03′20″N 6°42′14″W / 53.0556°N 6.7039°W / 53.0556; -6.7039Coordinates: 53°03′20″N 6°42′14″W / 53.0556°N 6.7039°W / 53.0556; -6.7039
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Wicklow
Elevation	158 m (518 ft)
Population (2006)
- Urban	1,292
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
- Summer (DST)	IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference	N868016

The town sign of Dunlavin, Co. Wicklow

Dunlavin (Irish: Dún Luain) is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland, situated about thirty miles south west of Dublin. It is centred on the junction of the R412 and R756 regional roads. It was founded around the end of the 17th century and became a prominent town in the area, for a time.

The village is pleasant but quiet, the chief attraction for visitors is its proximity to the well known Rathsallagh House Golf & Country Club and the Wicklow National Park, its also close to Irelands premier horse racing centre the Curragh, County Kildare. Dunlavin's unusually wide streets are characteristic of the village. The Courthouse in the centre of the village, built in the Doric style of Grecian architecture, it is one of three such buildings in Ireland. The Dunlavin Festival of Arts is held in the summer.

There have been proposals to develop a sand and gravel quarry in Rathsallagh Demesne. These were rejected in 2007, on appeal to An Bord Pleanála, the Irish central planning authority.^[1]

History

The settlement of Dunlavin was founded during the late 1650s by the Bulkely family from Cheshire (occasionally and erroneously referred to as "Buckley"). In 1702, Heather Bulkely married James Worth-Tynte and started the long association of the Tynte family with Dunlavin.^[2]

Dunlavin is remembered in Irish history for the Massacre of Dunlavin Green in 1798. The Catholic Church (dedicated to St Nicholas of Myra) was built on adjacent land donated by the local Tynte family. The church dates from 1815, although Catholic worship was observed on the site prior to this.

Education

There are local schools: Jonathan Swift National School (primary, with a Church of Ireland ethos), St. Nicholas of Myra National School (primary, with a Catholic ethos) and St. Kevin's Community College (secondary and vocational).

Transport

• Dunlavin railway station opened on 22 June 1885, closed for passenger traffic on 27 January 1947, closed for goods traffic on 10 March 1947 and finally closed altogether on 1 April 1959.^[3]

Motor Club. Classic and Vintage Motor enthusiasts are catered for by the recently set up West Wicklow Classic & Vintage Vehicles Club ( www.westwicklowclassics.com ) which boasts a number of members in the area.

People

Born in Dunlavin:

• Raymond Daniels, Wicklow Gaelic footballer (1979–2008)

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Market Houses in Ireland

References

1. ^ Wicklow people
2. ^ Lawlor, Chris (31 May 2008). "An Irish Village". http://dunlavin.blogspot.com/. Retrieved 2008-08-28. 
3. ^ "Dunlavin station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-10-12.