Woodenbridge is a small village 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,...

. It lies between Arklow

Arklow

Arklow , also known as Inbhear Dé from the Avonmore river's older name Abhainn Dé, is a historic town located in County Wicklow on the east coast of Ireland. Founded by the Vikings in the ninth century, Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 rebellion...

 and Avoca

Avoca, County Wicklow

Avoca is a small town near Arklow, in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated on the River Avoca.The Avoca area has been associated with its famous copper mines for many years and the valley has been immortalised by Thomas Moore in the famous song The Meeting of the Waters...

, at the meeting of the Avoca

River Avoca

The Avoca is a river in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is contained completely within the county.The Avoca starts life as two rivers, the Avonmore and the Avonbeg...

, Aughrim

River Aughrim

The Aughrim River flows from confluence of the Derry Water and River Ow south of the village of Aughrim in County Wicklow in Ireland. It flows in a generally easterly direction for approximately following the R747 regional road for its full length before joining the River Avoca in the Vale of...

and Goldmine rivers. The village is located at the junction of the R747

R747 road

The R747 road is a regional road in Ireland running north-west/south-east from the M9 near Ballitore in County Kildare to Arklow in County Wicklow, a distance of .File:IMG_R747westward5075w.jpg|thumb|350px|left|The R747 road...

 and R752

R752 road

The R752 road is a regional road in County Wicklow, Ireland. From its junction with the R772 in Rathnew on the outskirts of Wicklow Town it takes a generally south-westerly route to its junction with the R747 in the village of Woodenbridge, where it terminates....

 roads. The R747 crosses the Aughrim on the stone bridge (see photo) which is still called "Wooden Bridge".

Name

The village was historically called Garrynagowlan, Garragowlan and Garnagowlan after the townland

Townland

A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...

 it occupies.

Amenities

Woodenbridge Golf Course is located here, as are two hotels. The entire golf course was flooded to a depth of several feet during Hurricane Charlie

Hurricane Charley (1986)

Hurricane Charley was the costliest tropical cyclone of the 1986 Atlantic hurricane season. The third tropical storm and second hurricane of the season, Charley formed as a subtropical low on August 13 along the Florida panhandle. After moving off the coast of South Carolina, the system...

 in August 1986, which also destroyed a number of bridges over the River Avoca

River Avoca

The Avoca is a river in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is contained completely within the county.The Avoca starts life as two rivers, the Avonmore and the Avonbeg...

 and its tributaries. The Woodenbridge Hotel & Lodge, established in 1608 claims to be the oldest hotel in Ireland.

Transport

The remains of an abandoned railway station on the mainline railway between Dublin and Rosslare Harbour

Rosslare Harbour

The village of Rosslare Harbour grew up to serve the needs of the harbour of the same name , first developed in 1906 by the Great Western Railway and the Great Southern and Western Railway to accommodate steamferry traffic between Great Britain and Ireland...

 can be seen beside the golf course. Woodenbridge railway station opened on 22 May 1865 and finally closed on 30 March 1964.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland