Hollywood, County Wicklow

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Hollywood Village

Hollywood is a village in West County Wicklow, Ireland. It is located at the end of the R756, Wicklow Gap road, just off the N81 national route. A population of less the 100 people registered in the 2002 Census, though the community draws from a larger area which consists of about 500 people.

1 Hollywood
2 History
3 Surroundings
4 Sport
5 See Also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Hollywood

Cillín Chaoimhín is the associated Irish name for Hollywood, its literal translation being Kevin's small church. Another, older Irish name is Cnoic Rua, literally meaning "Red Hill." This may be a reference to the red berries of holly trees on the hills above the village or it may in fact be a reference to the presence of Wicklow heather. Another possibility is that the original name for Hollywood may have been Holy Wood, as a reference to St. Kevins passage through.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] History

The village has a long association with St. Kevin and many pilgrims passed here, following in St. Kevins footsteps, on his way to the monastic settlement at Glendalough, until the practice ceased in early 1900’s. Local landmarks include St. Kevins Chair^[1], and St. Kevins Cave^[2]. St. Kevin’s Way is a 30km Pilgrim path^[3]^[4]from Hollywood to Glendalough and it is the perfect way to enjoy some of the Wicklow’s National Park^[5].

[edit] Surroundings

The Protestant church has a vaulted roof from the 17th century. About 3km north-east of the village is the picturesque Poulaphouca where the Liffey cascades in three stages. The Poulaphouca Reservoir (also know as Blessington Lakes) and which cover about 5,000 acres or 20 km², were formed 50 years ago by the building of the Poulaphouca Dam and hydroelectric power station and today serve the purpose of providing the power and water supply County Dublin.

The Bronze Age Piper's Stones^[6], are 3.5 km to the south-west of Hollywood on the N81. The site is signposted.

Hollywood, County Wicklow, like Hollywood, USA has an illustrious past in the entertainment industry. It has provided the picturesque setting for some of the filming for the following movies: King Arthur (2004), Dancing At Lughnasa (1998) and Michael Collins (1996)