County Wicklow

County Wicklow ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Mid-East Region and the traditional province of Leinster. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the east and the counties of Wexford to the south, Carlow to the southwest, Kildare to the west, and Dublin to the north. It is named after its county town of Wicklow, which derives from the name "Víkingaló" (Old Norse for "Vikings' Meadow"). Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county, which had a population of 142,425 . Colloquially known as the "Garden of Ireland", it is the 17th largest of Ireland's 32 counties by area and the 16th largest by population. It is also the fourth largest of Leinster's 12 counties by size and the fifth largest in terms of population.
Physical geography.
Geology.
The Wicklow Mountains form the largest continuous upland region in Ireland. The highest mountain in the range, Lugnaquilla, rises to , giving Wicklow the second-highest county peak after Kerry.
Hydrodrology.
The River Liffey, chief river of Dublin, rises in the county, and is a major source of water for Greater Dublin. The Liffey's leading tributary, the River Dodder, rises just across the border in southern County Dublin, and receives some minor flows from extreme northern Wicklow. The River Dargle runs to the Irish Sea at Bray. The River Avoca forms from the confluence of the Avonmore and Avonbeg at the Meeting of the Waters, before discharging into the Irish Sea at Arklow. The River Aughrim is a tributary of the Avoca. The River Slaney is in the western part of the county, bordering County Carlow. One of the smaller rivers of the county, the River Vartry is important to Dublin's water supply.
Lakes are small but numerous, located mainly in mountain valleys or glacial corries. They include Lough Dan, Lough Tay, Lough Brae, the lakes of Glendalough, and the Poulaphouca reservoir (the largest by volume).
Built environment.
Wicklow is home to several major water supply and hydroelectric facilities. The Turlough Hill pumped-storage scheme, a significant civil engineering project, was carried out in the mountains in the 1960s and 1970s.
Leisure and tourism.
Wicklow, often called "The Garden of Ireland", has been a popular tourist destination for many years, due to its scenery, beaches, walking, hiking and climbing options, and attractions including the ruins of the monastic city of Glendalough, Wicklow Gaol and water-based activities on reservoirs and the coast.
The Wicklow Way is the oldest waymarked long-distance walking trail in Ireland.
The popular annual mass participation bike ride Wicklow 200 has taken place in the county every year since 1982.
History.
County Wicklow was the last of the traditional counties of Ireland to be shired in 1606 from land previously part of counties Dublin and Carlow. Established as a distinct county, it was aimed at controlling local groups such as the O'Byrnes. "The Military Road", stretching from Rathfarnham to Aghavannagh crosses the mountains, north to south, was built by the British Army to assist them in defeating the rebels still active in the Wicklow Mountains following the failed 1798 rebellion. It provided them with access to an area that had been a hotbed of Irish rebellion for centuries. Several barracks to house the soldiers were built along the route and the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation was built alongside the remains of barracks there. Battalions of the Irish Army use firing ranges in County Wicklow for tactical exercises, especially the largest one in the Glen of Imaal which was previously used by the British Army prior to independence.
The ancient monastery of Glendalough is located in County Wicklow. During the Cromwellian invasion of Ireland, local authorities immediately surrendered without a fight. During the 1798 rebellion, some of the insurgents took refuge in the Wicklow Mountains, resulting in clashes between British troops and the troops commanded by General Joseph Holt (1756–1826) near Aughrim and later at Arklow.
The boundaries of the county were extended in 1957 by the Local Government Act which "detached lands from the County of Dublin and from the jurisdiction and powers of the Council of the County of Dublin" near Bray and added them to the County of Wicklow.
Local government and politics.
The local government authority is Wicklow County Council which returns 32 councillors from five municipal districts (Arklow, Baltinglass, Bray, Greystones, Wicklow). All of the previous Town Councils (Arklow, Bray, Greystones, Wicklow) were abolished under a new Local Government Act at the 2014 Local Elections. For elections to Dáil Éireann, the entire county in included in the Wicklow constituency along with some eastern parts of County Carlow. The constituency returns five TDs to the Dáil.
Culture.
Mermaid, County Wicklow Arts Centre is based in Bray. Mermaid is the county's hub of artistic activity and creation, offering a programme in many art forms: visual arts, theatre productions, opera, dance performances, arthouse cinema, comedy and a music programme. Two of the county's festivals take place in Arklow, the Arklow Music Festival and the Arklow Seabreeze Festival.
The county is a popular film-making location in Ireland. Bray is home to Ardmore Studios, where many of Ireland's best known feature films, including "Rawhead Rex" John Boorman's "Excalibur" and "Zardoz", Jim Sheridan's Oscar-winning "In the Name of the Father", and several Neil Jordan films, have been shot. The BBC series "Ballykissangel" was also filmed in County Wicklow. Scenes from the movie "P.S. I Love You" were shot in the Wicklow Mountains National Park while several scenes from other movies, from "Barry Lyndon" to "Haywire", have been filmed in the county.
Media.
Filming locations.
Much of the television series "Vikings", (Amazon Prime), was filmed at Ashford Studios in the county, particularly scenes that required a green screen for subsequent CGI work. Some on-location filming was done elsewhere in the county. For example, certain scenes for Vikings (season 6) were filmed at and Powerscourt Waterfall and Powerscourt Estate and in Lough Tay. Ashford Studios was also the base for production of this final season. The spinoff from the series, "Vikings: Valhalla" (Netflix), will also be based at the Studios.
From 2016 to 2018, most of Into the Badlands (TV series) was filmed in County Wicklow.  
Another series, , announced by Netflix in 2019, was also scheduled to shoot in the county, and would also be based at Ashford Studios.
Twinning.
County Wicklow is twinned with Würzburg, Germany and Seminole County, Florida, USA.