Overview
A stone bridge carries the R753 over the River Avonbeg at Ballinaclash, and it’s right here that the river narrows into a short gorge, the clais, or ravine, that gives the village its name (Irish: An Chlais). It’s a small place in east County Wicklow, 4 km south-west of Rathdrum. See it from the public village streets, give traffic room near the bridge and keep bridge approaches clear. The East Wicklow Rivers Trust explains the river’s wildlife and records the village’s links to J.M. Synge.
History and a Synge connection
The area is older than it looks. The 18th-century antiquarian Mervyn Archdall recorded an early monastery here, said to have been founded by a brother of St Kevin of nearby Glendalough; the stonework is long gone, and the site is now taken up by the grounds of Whaley Abbey, the old estate that still carries the Whaley family name.
Ballinaclash also turns up in Irish theatre. The playwright J.M. Synge walked and cycled these roads and set his comedy The Tinker’s Wedding in the district, which is about as much fame as a village this size tends to get. The 2016 census put the population at 311.
The riverbank and its otters
The Avonbeg is the heart of the place. The East Wicklow Rivers Trust has put up signage in the village as part of its Harbour to Headwaters river trail, and its page covers the river’s wildlife. Otters live in bankside burrows called holts and, like us, use play to teach their young; on a still morning one might be hunting the shallows. The same Trust works against invasive plants along the banks, such as rhododendron, cherry laurel, Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed. Riverside fields and gateways are private, so stay on public routes, leave them clear, and keep back from the water when it is high.
The village
Ballinaclash is a working village, not a managed attraction, and there’s no ticket booth or opening hours to speak of. It has a licensed grocer that doubles as the village bar, but check before you go if you are relying on it. That is more or less the extent of it, which is the honest truth about the place: come for the setting and the history, not for a day’s worth of things to do.
Walking and cycling
The R753 is a quiet road that ties Ballinaclash into the wider spread of central Wicklow cycling routes, with country lanes and open valley. The hills behind the village open onto longer routes into the Glenmalure valley and up toward Lugnaquilla, and the Wicklow Way passes in the area. Check current route notices and use waymarked public routes, and do not cross private land.
Nearby
A few kilometres south is the Meeting of the Waters, where the Avonbeg joins the Avonmore to make the Avoca, the confluence Thomas Moore put in a poem. Avondale House and forest park, birthplace of Charles Stewart Parnell, is a short distance to the north-east, and the road carries on into Avoca village. North of Ballinaclash, the Glenmalure valley runs up into the Wicklow Mountains.
Practical information
- Access: the R753, about 4 km south-west of Rathdrum.
- Parking: keep bridge approaches, riverside fields and gateways clear. Check local signs before parking.
- Public transport: the nearest train station is Rathdrum, on the Dublin–Rosslare line. Check current bus options before you travel, as most people arrive by car.
- Facilities: no admission fee. Check the East Wicklow Rivers Trust page for trail updates or flood closures.
Take in the Avonbeg gorge from the bridge and the public street, then move on to the wider Wicklow valleys.