GREAT IRISH DRIVES:The little-known Glenmalure Valley was the perfect hide-out for legendary rebel Michael Dwyer
AT THE very heart of Wicklow is the Vale of Glendalough, a “must-see” for tourists. As a result the area around the historic monastery is often congested, particularly when we have good weather.
But part of the appeal of Wicklow is that, even when places like Glendalough are congested, within a few short miles you can find roads that pass through equally beautiful landscapes and have little traffic on them.
The Glenmalure Valley is one such road and today’s exploration takes us from the village of Laragh down along the Military road and into the Valley of Glenmalure. It’s an intriguing journey that passes through differing landscapes and sparsely populated countryside.
Begin by heading south from Laragh on the R755. About one kilometre outside Laragh the road forks – stay on the R755 following the right-hand fork. After another kilometre leave the R755 by taking the right-hand fork. The road now climbs between Cullentragh Mountain (510m) and Kirikee Mountain (474m). This is the most pleasant landscape on this journey, with views opening in almost all directions.
Before long, Cullentragh and Kirikee are left behind and the road falls through a surprisingly lush valley as it skirts Carriglineen Mountain before reaching the crossroads at Drumgoff Bridge. Here it meets the Avonbeg River, which flows out of Glenmalure, and here we leave this section of the Military Road as it continues on to Baltinglass while we turn into the Valley of Glenmalure.
Glenmalure is a wild and rugged place quite unlike the landscape adjoining the Military Road. The valley runs in a northwest direction bound to the northeast by Mullacor (657m) and Lugduff (652m) and to the south-west by Lugnaquilla – at 925m, the highest mountain in the Wicklow range.
Soon after entering the valley, there is an inscription carved on a rock remembering Michael Dwyer, the rebel leader of 1798 who used the terrain of Glenmalure and the adjoining Glen of Imaal to escape capture by the British after being surrounded in a cottage at Derrynamuck in 1799. One hundred soldiers besieged the cottage of the Connell family, where Dwyer and his companions had taken refuge. It was agreed to give the Connell family safe passage from the cottage and once this was done, a fight to the death began. Dwyer was the only survivor. Eventually he was forced to surrender and was transported to Australia. There, Dwyer fell foul of the governor of New South Wales, the notorious William Bligh of Mutiny on the Bounty fame and was sent to Norfolk Island.
Several spectacular waterfalls make their way down the slopes of Lugnaquilla on their way to meet the Avonbeg River and there are abundant red deer and pine martens on the more remote slopes.
The road ends near the head of the valley in a car park where there is another monument to Dwyer and his followers. However, there is a ford safely crossable by car, on the other side of which the road continues for some distance. This road is not tarred and care should be exercised if you decide to explore it.
Glenmalure is perhaps less well known than it deserves to be and is a worthy and interesting alternative to the better-known parts of Wicklow.