Historic county of Ireland
Wicklow
Contae Cill Mhantáin / County of Wicklow
Province: Leinster
Mountains at the centre, long glens opening towards the sea.
Wicklow / Cill Mhantáin rises rapidly from the Irish Sea into one of Ireland’s great mountain landscapes. The Wicklow Mountains dominate rather than merely decorate the county: high ridges, deep valleys, lakes, rivers and wooded glens separate the eastern coastal corridor from the gentler inland country to the west.
The coast forms a narrow north–south strip beneath the uplands, while western valleys open into the wider Leinster interior. Wicklow is therefore best understood as a mountain county with two faces — one towards the Irish Sea and the other towards inland Ireland.
- Mountains, valleys and monastic glens
- Long one of the last districts to be fully shired
- Formed from South Leinster tribal lands
- Area: 781 sq miles / 2,023 km²
- Population: 136,448
- County Top: Lugnaquilla 3,035ft / 925m
County geography
Mountain, glen and coast
The mountain mass gives Wicklow its internal structure. Long glens provide routes into otherwise formidable uplands, while rivers descend rapidly towards either coast or western lowlands.
Lugnaquilla provides the county’s highest ground, but the enclosed valleys are just as characteristic as the summits above them.
The “Garden of Ireland”
Wicklow’s famous nickname arises naturally from its geography. Mountain valleys, woodland, lakes and comparatively sheltered lowlands created an exceptional setting for gardens, estates and parkland.
The phrase works best not as a substitute for the landscape but as a consequence of it.
County questions
Questions about Wicklow
Why was Wicklow shired so late?
Wicklow took county form in 1606, the last of Ireland’s traditional counties to do so. The mountainous country had remained under powerful Gaelic lordships and outside effective Crown control considerably longer than neighbouring territory.
Does that make Wicklow less historic than other counties?
No. Ireland’s counties developed piecemeal over several centuries. Wicklow’s comparatively late formation is simply part of that varied history.
County record
Names and continuity
- Formal name
- County Wicklow
- Local name
- Contae Cill Mhantáin
- Province
- Leinster
- Alternative name
- County of Wicklow
- Foundation
- 1606
Wicklow, County Wicklow, Cill Mhantáin and Contae Chill Mhantáin are forms associated with the county. Its county framework is comparatively late, but its mountain-and-glen geography is much older.