GREAT IRISH DRIVES THE WICKLOW MILITARY ROAD:IN TOTAL contrast to the bleak landscape of the first part of the Wicklow Military Road from Rathfarnham to Laragh, the second part, from Laragh to Aghavannagh, travels through some of the most naturally beautiful landscape in this country.
Wooded, rolling hills and fertile fields make for an ever-changing vista that continually delights the eye.
The village of Laragh, our starting point for this week’s exploration, owes its very existence to the construction of the Military Road. The village was once no more than a junction with the road from Roundwood to The Seven Churches, known by its more familiar name: Glendalough.
A military barracks was built here in 1803 and by 1806 the Military Road had reached Laragh making the developing village an important junction. Further development of Laragh and the surrounding area was prompted by the establishment of the Mining Company of Ireland and its acquisition of Glendasan mine.
From Laragh, the road heads south for a couple of kilometers before branching off to the right and climbing through a beautifully wooded section.
To the east is Trooperstown Hill with its peak at Maoilín rising to 430m. To the west rise Derrybawn Mountain (474m) and Cullentragh Mountain (5610m). This is probably the most scenic part of the Military Road and one can easily imagine red-coated soldiers marching between these hills heavily laden with musket.
At one of the most attractive points on the road is the memorial to Shay Elliott, the racing cyclist who did so much to put Ireland on the international cycling map.
From the memorial, the road starts to wind gently downhill skirting the peaks of Carriglineen (455m) and Kirikee Mountains (474m) before it meets the Glenmalure Valley that cuts across it running from southeast to northwest at Drumgoff Bridge.
From Drumgoff, where there is another barracks, the road climbs steadily for around 6km before reaching the pass bounded by Slieve Maan (550m) to the west and Croaghanmoira Mountain (664m) to the east.
There are superb views across some of the most beautiful parts of Wicklow. From here the road begins to wind its way downhill towards its end at Aghavannagh.
Nearby, yet another military barracks had been completed some six years in advance of the arrival of the road but this building was vacated in 1825, when ownership reverted to the landlord, William Parnell.
His son, Charles Stewart Parnell used it as a hunting lodge. After Parnell’s premature death in 1891, some of his supporters acquired the building and its grounds as a gift to his successor, John Redmond. Today, sadly, it lies derelict.
From the standpoint of history, the Wicklow Military Road probably achieved little in terms of suppressing rebellious activity. It did, however, serve to help in ending the illegal activities of those who continued to persecute the rebels of 1798, although by the time it was completed, this was no longer the problem it had been when the road was first contemplated What it did do, however, was to provide relatively easy access to Wicklow for visitors who have enjoyed the county’s many charms since and for that, we should be grateful to Alexander Taylor who overcame many obstacles – natural and political – in its construction.