Avoca, County Wicklow

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 Abhóca in Irish. None of the other names are used today.

Mining

Copper mining is reported to have begun in the Avoca River valley around 1720 and it continued, with interruptions, until 1982. Earlier mining, perhaps dating back to the Bronze Age, may have occurred. The East Avoca site, today, is composed mainly of a number of rock waste spoil heaps, abandoned quarries (Cronebane and East Avoca open pits) and disused roads. The largest spoil heap, Mount Platt, was built up from waste rock excavated from Cronebane open pit. There was a mineral tramway built from the West Avoca mines, through the village (on the opposite side of the river) and on to Arklow Harbour. The route of most of this was subsumed into the Dublin-Rosslare railway line, but an arch and a tunnel under the road from Rathdrum to Avoca remains.

Transport

Avoca lies on the R752 regional road linking Rathnew with Woodenbridge. Bus service to Avoca is provided by Local Link route 183 from Arklow to Sallins.

There has been some local political pressure to reopen Avoca railway station, from which passenger services were withdrawn on 3 March 1964, almost 101 years after its opening, on the Dublin-Rosslare railway line, on 18 July 1863.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)
• Cocaine Bear (2023)

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
• 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

References

1. "Census Interactive Map – Towns: Avoca". [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland).
2. "Abhóca/Avoca".
3. "Ballykissangel". Wicklow Film Commission.
4. "TFI Local Link Carlow Kilkenny Wicklow". [[TFI Local Link]].
5. (September 2010). "Dick urges Council to "Get together with CIE to reopen Avoca Station"".
6. "Avoca station". Railscot - Irish Railways.
7. "WELCOME TO BROMHAM". Bromham Wiltshire.
8. Galvin, Tom. (2025-03-07). "Europe's Hollywood: Explore the iconic filming locations of Wicklow". [[Bray People]].
9. (2012-12-04). "Boxing commentator Noel Andrews is laid to rest". Independent.ie.
10. There is a landscape view of Avoca in the National Gallery of Ireland, Bodkin p. 76
11. "Oliver Byrne: The Matisse of Mathematics - Biography 1810-1829 | Mathematical Association of America".
12. Harrison, Harry. (2024). "Harry Harrison! Harry Harrison!: A Memoir". [[Macmillan Publishers]].
13. Two sources from 1842 show either option as Kavenagh's "native place": (1) Register (Van Diemen's Land), Description lists of convicts convicted locally or arriving on non-convict ships (1842), page 111; Lawrence Kavanagh; age 33; "New Bridge, County Wicklow" (Ancestry.com); (2) Indents of Convicts Locally convicted or Transported from Other Colonies (Van Diemen's Land), [https://stors.tas.gov.au/CON16-1-1$init=CON16-1-1P212 ''Marian Watson'' indent] 1842; Lawrence Kavenagh (Police No. 860); age 30; native place: "Redrum, Wicklow".
14. "Atlas of Irish Mathematicians". cardcolm.
15. Alborn, p. 375.
16. [http://www.irishcollege.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Hagan-Introduction.pdf Hagan Introduction] Irish College Rome Archive.
17. O'Sullivan Vallig, Marc. (2024-04-15). "Japanese war photographer who documented Ireland's Troubles". [[The Irish Examiner]].
18. (2024-05-09). "Derry via Tokyo: How an outsider captured the Troubles in colour".
19. (October 13, 2013). "Wicklow wife in Jackass divorce".
20. (2006-10-22). "Donald Pratt". [[Irish Independent]].
21. [https://www.greystonesahs.org/gahs2/index.php/journals?id=194] Greystones Archaeological & Historical Society.
22. (2017). "[[Dictionary of Irish Biography]]". Cambridge University Press.