Shillelagh is a village located in 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...

, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

.

The town was planned as part of the FitzWilliam

Viscount FitzWilliam

Viscount FitzWilliam, of Merrion in the County of Dublin, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1629 for Thomas FitzWilliam, along with the subsidiary title Baron FitzWilliam, of Thorncastle in the County of Dublin, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He was succeeded by his son, the...

 estate in the 17th century. Nearby Coolattin House (designed by John Carr and built around 1800) was the seat of the Fitzwilliam Estate. Tomnafinnoge Woods

Tomnafinnoge Woods

Tomnafmnoge Woods is the last surviving fragment of the great Oak Woods of Shillelagh, County Wicklow, which once clothed the hills and valleys of south Wicklow. As early as 1444 these woods supplied timber for the construction of King's College, Cambridge, and later for Westminster Abbey, St...

 is the largest remaining oak forest in Ireland. It is a stronghold of the Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

The Great Spotted Woodpecker , Dendrocopos major, is a bird species of the woodpecker family . It is distributed throughout Europe and northern Asia, and usually resident year-round except in the colder parts of its range...

, which has recently recolonised Ireland. One of only two Cork Oak

Cork Oak

Quercus suber, commonly called the Cork Oak, is a medium-sized, evergreen oak tree in the section Quercus sect. Cerris. It is the primary source of cork for wine bottle stoppers and other uses, such as cork flooring. It is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa.It grows to up to 20 m,...

s in Ireland exists in Shillelagh. The town name is associated with the blackthorn walking stick known as a shillelagh

Shillelagh (club)

A shillelagh is a wooden walking stick and club or cudgel, typically made from a stout knotty stick with a large knob at the top, that is associated with Ireland and Irish folklore.- Construction :...

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Sports

• Shillelagh has a Gaelic Athletic Association
  Gaelic Athletic Association
  The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
  
  team. Their colours are sky blue and navy.

• Coolattin Golf Club is an 18 hole parkland course, and is situated close to the village.

See the Street View of Shillelagh on Google Maps

Transport

• Shillelagh railway station opened on 22 May 1865, closed for passenger and goods traffic on 24 April 1944 and finally closed altogether on 20 April 1945.
• The town is on the Wicklow Way, one of Ireland's most popular long distance walking routes.

External links

• Historic Wicklow lodge has great potential Article about Coolattin Lodge, a farmhouse on the FitzWilliam estate.
• A Wee Look at the History of County Wicklow Information about the FitzWilliam Estate.
• Shillelagh at Wicklow Tourism
• Shillelagh GAA information at Wicklow GAA