Aghavannagh
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Aghavannagh Irish: Achadh Bheannach |
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| Irish transcription(s) | |
| • Derivation: | Aughavanna, Revells |
| • Meaning: | "Hilly field" |
Former military barracks, youth hostel at Aghavannagh
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 Aghavannagh
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| Coordinates: 52°54′55″N 6°25′28″W / 52.915277°N 6.424550°WCoordinates: 52°54′55″N 6°25′28″W / 52.915277°N 6.424550°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| County | Wicklow |
| Barony | Ballinacor South |
| First recorded | 1825 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,119.72 ha (2,766.89 acres) |
| Irish grid ref | 03468 89452 T 03468 89452 |
Aghavannagh (Irish: Achadh Bheannach, meaning "Hilly field") is a small village and townland in south County Wicklow, Republic of Ireland in the barony of Ballinacor South. It is located on the Military Road originally constructed between 1804 and 1809, in the wake of the 1798 rebellion. It is so remote that inhabitants say that Aghavannagh is the last place God made.
The village is situated near the base of the Lugnaquilla massif, the highest mountain in eastern Ireland, and within a few miles of Aughrim, Glenmalure and Tinahely to the east and south, and Kiltegan, Hacketstown and Baltinglass to the west. The area is mainly surrounded by forests and is composed of mountains and mountain land. This fact may indicate an original name in Irish as achadh mbeannach whose meaning is hilly field. This mountainous terrain is where the Ow river rises on the southern slopes of Lugnaquilla, flows through a glacial valley and passes the outskirts of the village meeting the Aghavannagh river, which is much smaller and flows through the village, a short distance to the south.
One of the earliest references to the place is in 1623 to "Aghavanny" in the Calendar of Patent Rolls of James I, followed by five other 17th century references with three different spellings of "Aghamanagh", "Aghamannagh" "Aghavannagh", and lastly "Aghavanagh" on A.R. Neville's Map of Co. Wicklow dated c 1810.
There is no commercial centre to the village that only comprises residences and a school (on map— no longer in use). Between 1896 and 1899 a sub-post office was opened in Aghavannagh under the nearby post town of Aughrim but this was already closed by 1909.
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