Ashford, County Wicklow

Geography

Ashford is about 3 km north of Rathnew, which is on the outskirts of the county town of Wicklow.

Amenities

The Mount Usher Gardens and Arboretum are located at the end of the village nearer Wicklow Town. The gardens were previously owned and operated by Madelaine Jay and the Jay family, but recently the gardens and shopping courtyard were leased to the Avoca Handweavers company, which originated in Avoca, County Wicklow, and which was owned and operated by the Pratt family for many generations, but sold to U.S. multinational corporation Aramark in 2015.

There are a number of shops in the village centre, as well as a small shopping yard at Mount Usher Gardens, with both locations also featuring eating places. A community playground, Ashford Community Park, was opened in 2014, with 200,000 euro in County Council and Leader Programme funding. Opened by the donor of the 30-year lease, Brian Stokes, and playground committee chairperson Maurice Ramsay, the facility was built over two years and includes a full children's playground, teen zone, zip line, quiet zone and adult outdoor gym equipment.

Transportation

Ashford is served by Bus Éireann route 133, linking it with Wicklow and Dublin. This route now operates to and from Dublin Airport. Since 2023, it has also been served by route 131, connecting Wicklow Town and Bray. Since 2012, routes 002 and 006 linking the village with Rosslare Harbour and Waterford no longer serve the village, with route 006 terminated from the network altogether.

Notable people

• Maclean Burke, actor, known for his role as Damien Halpin in the Irish soap opera Fair City lives in the village.
• Katie McGrath, actress, known for her role as Morgana in the BBC drama Merlin.
• Joey Tempest, lead singer with the Swedish rock group Europe lived in Ashford for six years.
• Rod Tuach, photographer
• Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, actor, musician, known for his lead role in the motion picture Sing Street and as Alfred the Great in Vikings.
• Niall MacGinnis, actor, physician, known for his lead role in the motion picture Martin Luther. His family still live in Ashford.

References

References

1. [http://maps.osi.ie/publicviewer/#V1,726954,697414,7,9 Ashford, historic 25" map] {{Webarchive. link. (2012-08-29 Ordnance Survey Ireland.)
2. "Interactive Data Visualisations: Towns: Ashford". [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland).
3. "Áth na Fuinseoige/Ashford".
4. "Avoca to be sold to US multinational Aramark for in excess of €60m".
5. Deegan, Gordon. "Investments lead Avoca owner Aramark to record €14.9m loss".
6. (20 June 2014). "Park a big hit with local community". The Wicklow People (regional newspaper).
7. "Dublin Airport-Ashford-Wicklow". Bus Éireann.
8. https://www.buseireann.ie/routes-and-timetables/131
9. "Dublin-Arklow-Gorey-Enniscorthy-Wexford-Rosslare Harbour and return". Bus Éireann.
10. (13 December 2020). "Upfront: Fair City's Maclean Burke on how being bullied led him into acting". Irish Independent.
11. "Joey Tempest's Final Countdown on Ireland". Irish Examiner.