Valleymount
| Valleymount Moin an Bhealaigh
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| — Town — | |
 Valleymount
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| Coordinates: 53°06′21″N 6°31′30″W / 53.105763°N 6.525068°WCoordinates: 53°06′21″N 6°31′30″W / 53.105763°N 6.525068°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Wicklow |
| Elevation | 198 m (650 ft) |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | N984072 |
Valleymount (Irish: Moin an Bhealaigh or also An Chrois) is a small village in western County Wicklow, Ireland. Neighbouring villages are Hollywood, Ballymore Eustace, Blessington, Ballyknockan and Lacken.
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[edit] Location and transport
Valleymount is at an average of 198m above sea level and is situated on the R758 regional road. The village is on a land spit created by the flooding of the River Liffey and its primary tributary the King's River in the late-1930s and early-1940s for the Poulaphouca Dam project. The Poulaphouca project now supplies water to the Greater Dublin Area and electricity to the ESB national grid.
It is serviced by the Dublin Bus 65 route which connects to Dublin twice daily (Mon - Fri).
The Valleymount Spur of St Kevin's Way, the pilgrim route to the ancient monastery site at Glendalough runs through Valleymount village. Another spur runs from the nearby village of Hollywood to Glendalough.
[edit] Townlands
There are numerous townlands in the area of Valleymount, some of which are: Ballyknockan, (The) Togher, Monamuck, Valleymount (or Cross), Humphrystown, Lockstown Upper, Lockstown Lower, Baltyboys Upper, Baltyboys Lower, Rathballylong, Annacarney, Blackditches Upper, Blackditches Lower, Carrigacurra, Lugnagroagh, Tulfarris, Granabeg Upper, Granabeg Lower, Knocknadruce and Knocknadruce Upper. Nearby (to the NE) is the 'lost' townland of Ballinahown which was completely flooded by the Poulaphouca project in the late-1930s and early-1940s
[edit] Buildings
The most notable building is the church which of a Mexican style, a design created when immigrants adapted their own style to that of the local area.[citation needed] Another building of note is Valleymount House, a stone building that was the town's one and only shop until it closed down in 2006.[citation needed]
[edit] The Star Inn
The pub was established around 1836 and switched owners in 1947 to Edward O'Connor and his wife Julia. The current proprietor is Leo O'Connor the son of Edward who took over the business in 1985 and refurbished the premises in 1996.
The Inn is apparently named after the Morning Star that could be seen from the entrance.[1]
[edit] Organisations
- St.Joseph's Primary School
- Roman Catholic Church
- Valleymount GAA[2]
[edit] GAA
Honours won include:[2]
- Intermediate Football Championship 1952-1964-1978-1989
- Junior Football Championship "A" 1963-1998
- Minor Football Championship 1951
- Junior Hurling Championship 1988
- Intermediate Hurling Championship 1989
Rugby player Brian Carney played Gaelic football for the Valleymount GAA club and won a junior championship medal in 1998 with the club.
[edit] Popular culture
[edit] Films
Braveheart was filmed on location near Valleymount. The film starred the Oscar winning actor Mel Gibson and a consequence of the project was the creation of a route around the lake called Braveheart Drive.[citation needed] Some scenes of P.S. I Love You were filmed in the Valleymount area.
[edit] References
- ^ "Welcome to The Star Inn, Leo O Connor's Pub Vallymount, Wicklow". O'Connors Valleymount. http://www.oconnorsvalleymount.com/about.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
- ^ a b [1][dead link]
