Avoca, County Wicklow

Avoca () is a small town near Arklow, in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated on the River Avoca.

The Avoca area has been associated with its copper mines for many years and the valley has been celebrated by Thomas Moore in the song "The Meeting of the Waters". The name of the song derives from the meeting of the Avonmore and Avonbeg rivers, about 3 kilometres from the village of Avoca. The song is said to have been written under a tree, the stump of which remains by the Meetings. Avoca is also famous for its handweaving, with Avoca Handweavers based there.

Avoca has been used as a filming location for several films and television series. The BBC series Ballykissangel was filmed there. In 1967, Avoca was one of the locations used in the film Jules Verne's Rocket to the Moon, and it was the setting for the comedy film Zonad which had a general Irish release in 2010.

The red kite, recently reintroduced to Ireland, is now commonly seen in and around Avoca.

Toponymy

Avoca was once known as Newbridge. It subsequently became known as Ovoca, and then in Victorian times as Avoca. Ptolemy mentions the river Oboka on his early map of Ireland. The official name of the village is now Avoca in English and in Irish. None of the other names are used today.

There has been some local political pressure to reopen Avoca railway station, from which passenger services were withdrawn on 3 March 1964, almost 101 years after its opening, on the Dublin-Rosslare railway line, on 18 July 1863.

International relations

Avoca has a town twinning agreement with Bromham, Wiltshire in England.

Filming location

The following films and television shows have been filmed in part at the village or the ruined Avoca mines:

Vikings (2013–2020)

Notable people

Noel Andrews (1932–2011), Irish radio and television commentator ran The Avoca Inn from 1970 to 1990
George Barret Sr. (c. 1730–1784), Irish landscape artist painted at Avoca
Aaron Bolger (born 2000), Irish professional footballer who plays for Galway United
Oliver Byrne (1810–1880), civil engineer and author of scientific works was born in the Vale of Avoca
Harry Harrison (1925–2012), American science fiction author, lived in the area in the 1970s
Lawrence Kavenagh (c. 1810–1846), Irish-Australian convict bushranger was born in either Newbridge (now called Avoca) or nearby Rathdrum
Pauline Mellon, Irish mathematician was born in the town
Abraham Mills (c. 1750–1828), English mining company manager and geologist, one of the earliest advocates of investment in Irish gold mining, spent time mining for copper in Avoca
John O'Hagan (1873–1930), Irish priest who served as Rector of the Pontifical Irish College in Rome from 1919 to 1930 was born in Ballykillageer near the town
Akihiko Okamura (1929–1985), Japanese photographer notable for his work in Northern Ireland during the Troubles
Chris Pontius (born 1974), American stunt performer and cast member of reality stunt show Jackass lived in the town from 2004 to 2008
Donald Pratt (born 1935), Irish businessman and former first-class cricketer purchased Avoca Handweavers in 1974
Günther Schütz (1912–1991), German citizen who worked for German Intelligence (Abwehr) during World War II retired in Avoca
Emily Wynne (1872–1958), Irish author and textile artist worked at Avoca Woollen Mills

References

Notes

Timothy Alborn, An Irish El Dorado: Recovering Gold in County Wicklow, Journal of British Studies, Vol. 50, No. 2 (April 2011), pp. 359–380. Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The North American Conference on British Studies. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/658187. PDF.
Bodkin T. (1920) Four Irish Landscape Painters: George Barret R.A., Irish Academic Press, 2nd ed. 1987. [https://archive.org/stream/fouririshlandsca00bodkiala/fouririshlandsca00bodkiala_djvu.txt]

External links

Avoca Cemetery Headstones
Mining, Metal Resources and Exploration in the Republic of Ireland in German, English summary