Enniskerry (historically Annaskerry, from Irish: Áth na Sceire, meaning 'rugged ford')[1] is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. The population was 2,008 at the 2022 census.[2]
The village is situated on the Glencullen River in the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains in the east of the island, just 5 minutes south of the Dublin border and some 24 km (15 mi) south of Dublin city centre. The R117 road, colloquially known as "The Twenty-One Bends" connects the town to the main N11 road to Dublin. The 185 Go-Ahead Ireland[3] route connects the village hourly to Bray, the nearest large town. The 44 Dublin Bus route connects the village with Dublin city centre.
History
Enniskerry, 1830.
Enniskerry is a planned estate village dating from the 1840s, with the original buildings designed in a neo-Tudor style.[4]
The Protestant population of the village attended church in the grounds of the Powerscourt Demesne until 1859. Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt built a new church, Saint Patrick's, in the village which was completed two years later, in 1861. This coincided with an extensive renovation programme that also established the Italian gardens at Powerscourt. The Viscount Powerscourt claimed the old church following the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland by the Irish Church Act 1869. The consequences were that only those with a right to be buried next to the old church within the Demesne could claim these rights thereafter.[5]
Powerscourt Estate, comprising a large house and gardens today occupying 47 acres (190,000 m2), is located near the town and is a popular visitor attraction. The extensive formal gardens form the grounds of an 18th-century Palladian house, designed by Richard Cassels, which was destroyed by fire in 1974, and lay as a shell until extensive restorations were carried out in 1996. Powerscourt Waterfall in the grounds of the estate, at 121 metres, is the highest waterfall in Ireland. [citation needed]
Culture
Enniskerry Village Square.Powerscourt Estate, including its house and Italian gardens.
The railway bridge of the failed Bray & Enniskerry Railway
The Bray and Enniskerry Railway was proposed in the 19th century, to link the town to Bray. Some initial work was carried out, including building a bridge to carry the railway over Dublin Corporation's Vartry watermain. Wicklow County Council recently removed much of the railway embankment in road widening, but left the bridge, which is directly opposite the ornate bridge carrying the watermain over the Cookstown River, a tributary of the River Dargle. The plan ran into financial difficulties, and the rails were lifted and sold off.[7]
There are two soccer clubs located in the village; Enniskerry Football Club and Enniskerry Youth Club.
Enniskerry Football Club was founded in the early 1970s as Enniskerry Schoolboys Football Club.[8] The club, which now fields teams of boys and girls, is based in the Bog Meadow. Enniskerry FC participates in the Metropolitan Girls League with all-girls teams, the Wicklow Schoolboys/Girls Soccer League for their all-boys teams and the Athletic Union League for the men's team.
Enniskerry Youth Club have several teams playing at adult and youth level.
There is also a Gaelic football club and Enniskerry Boxing Club located at St Mary's GAA grounds.
Religion
Strong ecumenical links have been forged over the years between the Roman Catholic parish of St Mary and the Church of Ireland parish of St Patrick, Powerscourt, both in the village of Enniskerry. For Volkstrauertag 2022, the Roman Catholic priest Bernard Kennedy led his congregation in "an Ecumenical prayer for peace with interfaith elements", joining Lutheran, Catholic and Jewish communities in Enniskerry.[9] Other clergymen have previously spoken out about the strong ties that exist between Christian communities in the area.[10]
