Ballinaclash is a village in east County Wicklow

County Wicklow

County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...

 centred on a bridge that carries the R753 regional road

Regional road

A regional road in Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route , but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three digit route numbers, prefixed by "R" A regional road in Ireland is a...

 across the River Avonbeg

River Avonbeg

The Avonbeg River rises on the northern flank of Carmenbologue Mountain in the Wicklow Mountains and flows southeast into the valley of Glenmalure. It continues southeast through the villages of Greenan and Ballinaclash before joining the Avonmore at the Meeting of the Waters to form the River...

.

The village is mentioned in J.M. Synge's play 'The Tinker's Wedding

The Tinker's Wedding

The Tinker's Wedding is a two-act play written by Irish playwright J. M. Synge. The author's only comedy, it is set on a roadside near a chapel in rural Ireland...

': "And a big fool I was too, maybe; but we'll be seeing Jaunting Jim to-morrow in Ballinaclash, and he after getting a great price for his white foal in the horse-fair of Wicklow"

In 1837, the village had a population of 3855 according to Samuel Lewis' 'A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland'. This population was decimated by the famine and subsequent emigration and today is only a fraction of that number.
The village was originally the site of an ancient monastery founded by the brother of St. Kevin, according to Mervyn Archdall. The site is now occupied by Whaley Abbey; the home of the notorious Buck Whaley.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland