Valleymount
| Valleymount Moin an Bhealaigh
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|---|---|
| Town | |
 Valleymount
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| Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. | |
| 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 An Chrois) is a small village in western County Wicklow, Ireland. Neighbouring villages are Hollywood, Ballymore Eustace, Blessington, Ballyknockan and Lacken.
Contents
Location and transport
Valleymount is at an average elevation 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.
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
Buildings/Sites
St. Joseph's Church
The most notable building is the church which of a traditional Mexican style, a design created when emigrants from the area returned home and adapted the style to the local area. The church features beautiful stained glass windows by Harry Clarke, a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement and art students from Dublin's Art colleges regularly visit the church to see the windows.
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 their son, Leo O'Connor, 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]
Needs a good clean again
Valleymount House
A stone building that was the village's one and only shop and post office until it closed in 2006.[citation needed]
The old Forge
The village used to have its own forge which was active until the 1980s.
The Sweathouse
There is a prehistoric sweathouse in the townland of Annacarney near Valleymount.[2]
Sports
Honours won by Valleymount GAA club include:[3]
- 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 Valleymount GAA and won a junior championship medal in 1998 with the club.[citation needed]
Cultural references
Films
The following films were made in or near Valleymount:[4]
- Cyril Cusack filmed a scene for the The Outcasts (1982) in the old Forge in Valleymount (south of the Star Inn).
- Widows' Peak (1994) starring Mia Farrow, Joan Plowright and Natasha Richardson was filmed in the area, particularly in Ballyknockan.
- Braveheart (1995) was filmed on location near Valleymount. The film starred Mel Gibson and a consequence of the project was the creation of a route around the lake called Braveheart Drive.[citation needed]
- This is my Father (1998) featuring Aidan Quinn and James Caan was filmed around Valleymount, Hollywood and Kilteel in Co. Kildare.
- P.S. I Love You (2007) starred Oscar Award Winning Actress Hilary Swank and some scenes were filmed locally near Valleymount and in Ballyknockan.
