Arklow
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| Arklow An tInbhear Mór |
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| Maoin na mara ar muinighin Our hope lies in the riches of the Sea |
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| Location | ||
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| Irish Grid Reference T240735 |
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| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Leinster | |
| County: | County Wicklow | |
| Elevation: | sea level | |
| Population (2002) - Town: - Rural: |
9,955 38 |
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| Website: www.arklow.ie/ | ||
Arklow (An tInbhear Mór in Irish, meaning "the large estuary") is a historic town in County Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland. Founded by the Vikings in the ninth century A.D., and the location of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 rebellion, it is now a thriving commuter town with a population of 11,721 according to the provisional 2006 census statistics. It is the second largest town in Co. Wicklow.
Arklow is situated at the mouth of the River Avoca, the longest river entirely within County Wicklow. The town is divided by the river, which is crossed by the Nineteen Arches Bridge, a stone arch bridge linking the south or main part of the town with the north part, called Ferrybank.
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[edit] History
The town's English name derives from "Arknell's Low" (Arknell was a Viking leader, a low was an area of land). Its Irish name means "the large estuary". Artifacts from the Viking Period are on display in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. Historically it was a major seafaring town, with both shipping and fishing using the port, and shipbuilding was a major industry. The town also has a long history of industry, in particular the chemical industry.
After the arrival of the Anglo-Normans Theobald Walter ancestor of the Earls of Ormonde, was granted the town and castle of Arklow by King Henry II. In 1264 the Dominicans were granted a large tract of land, which is now known as Abbeylands, and they built an Abbey, which became known as the Priory of the True Cross or Holy Cross.
Some time after 1416 the Manor of Arklow came into the control of the MacMurrough Kings of Leinster, possibly after the death of the 4th Earl of Ormonde in 1452. In Muiris Kavanagh (McMurrough, King of Leinster 1522-31) returned the manor and castle of Arklow and its lands to his nephew Piers Butler, the Earl of Ormonde.
During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in September 1649 Oliver Cromwell arrived at Arklow on his way to Wexford and took the surrender of the town. In 1714 James, Duke of Ormonde, sold the Manor of Arklow to John Allen of Stillorgan, Co. Dublin. In 1750 Allen’s eldest granddaughter Elizabeth Allen married John Proby who was raised to the peerage in 1752 as Baron Carysfort of Co. Wicklow and came into possession of the Arklow Estate.
[edit] Shipping & Shipbuilding
The national sail training vessel Asgard II, and Gypsy Moth III, the yacht that Francis Chichester sailed in the first solo transatlantic yacht race in 1960, were built in Arklow. Recent times have seen large reductions in cargo and fishing and the shipyards have closed. However the town retains its significance to shipping in Ireland as the headquarters of Arklow Shipping Limited, which maintains a fleet of 37 cargo ships.
[edit] Transport & Communications
Arklow's proximity to Dublin and its consequent attractiveness to commuters have led to much recent expansion. The town is situated near the N11 route from Rosslare to Dublin, as well as having rail connections provided by Iarnród Éireann along the same route – there are commuter services in and out of the capital.
[edit] Industry
In 1884 Charles Stewart Parnell rented Big Rock townland from his cousin William Proby, Earl of Carysfort, and commenced quarrying. Parnell was also a supporter of the Arklow harbour scheme. The Parnell quarries closed in the 1920s.
In the early part of the 20th century, a large munitions factory, Kynoch, was established on the north side of the town. This factory employed several thousand workers during the First World War but closed shortly after it, all production being moved to South Africa. 17 workers were killed in an explosion at Kynoch in 1917. The town is also famous for its pottery (which eventually closed after first being taken over by Noritake) and for its shipbuilding industry.
In the 1960s a state-owned fertiliser factory, Nitrogen Éireann Teoranta (NET), later Irish Fertiliser Industries (IFI), was established on the outskirts of the town. This factory complex comprised a number of chemical plants and manufactured a range of fertilisers from basic raw materials. It was one of the first major chemical plants in Ireland and contributed to the present-day success of the Irish chemical industry. It closed in 2002.
There is still a good industry base in Arklow, with Servier and Allergan, still remaining, just two of the biggest manufacturers in Arklow.
[edit] Environmental Issues
The River Avoca is generally held to be one of the most polluted rivers in Ireland as a result of the long history of industry in the area, both from early mining operations, and more recent chemical industries. In previous centuries, Arklow was renowned for oyster beds, however, these were destroyed over a century ago by pollutants from mining operations flowing down the river into the estuary. Raw effluent still pumps into the river untreated, near the back of the Ostán Beag Hotel. This is due to a delay of several years in the granting of planning permission to a sewage treatment plant, caused by Arklow Town council's failure to implement the planning permission which was granted two years ago. A few kilometers into the Irish Sea is to be the site of the world's largest offshore wind farm known as the Arklow Bank Wind Park, currently made up of a test of seven GE 3.6 MW machines, with 106m turbines. A further 193 turbines are planned by the operating company, Airtricity. This seems to have been put on hiatus due to problems with the government
[edit] Sport
Arklow has many sporting clubs, associations and facilities, including:
- Arklow Sea Scouts,
- Arklow Golf Links,
- Arklow Rowing Club [1],
- Arklow Rugby Club [2],
- Arklow Sailing Club [3],
- Arklow Town Football Club [4],
- (Coral Leisure) public swimming pool,
- Arklow Lawn Tennis Club
community groups etc.
- Arklow Tidy Towns Action Committee
- Arklow Twinning Association
- Arklow Historical Society
- Revival Gospel Choir
- Inver ladies Choir
[edit] Arklow Today
The town of Arklow has expanded rapidly in the last decade. There has been a growth in retail in the town and a new shopping centre, The Bridgewater Centre[5] is being built on Ferrybank. At the moment there are no cinemas in the town but the Bridgewater Centre will house a 6-screen multiplex when it is completed.
[edit] Cultural references
To many foreign music fans, Arklow is most known as the title setting for Van Morrison's highly evocative 1974 song "Streets of Arklow". It is also the home town of pop group Moloko's lead singer Róisín Murphy.
