Residents of the village of Aughrim in County Wicklow (Eachdhruim Ui Bhroin) must often rue the fact that they live in a place that shares its name with a village in County Galway near which a famous battle was fought in 1691, Eachdhruim Ui Ceallaig. Whenever a controversial game is played at the headquarters of Wicklow GAA – in Aughrim – headline writers immediately refer back to this famous event and occasionally we read headlines like ‘Battle of Aughrim’, ‘Fortress Aughrim’ and such like. In many ways this is a pity because it can cloak the fact that Aughrim is one of the most charming, hospitable and welcoming places anywhere in Ireland.
There is a wonderful community spirit in the area and a great ability to get things done. Known locally as ‘The Granite Village’, Aughrim has a great tradition in quarrying and stone cutting. In the past there were three thriving quarries surrounding Aughrim and cut stone from the area was used in municipal buildings, churches, quays at home and abroad. In the early years of the new state a great forestry tradition built up in this area and this was a huge source of employment until recent times. One of the spin-offs was the establishment of a sawmill in the village more than thirty years ago. Another plus has been the development of a number of forest nurseries, some of which are well known nationally. Another industry for which Aughrim was well known was flour milling. Again this was a steady source of employment but the magnificent granite structure of Fogarty’s Flour Mills has lain idle for many years now. Also long gone is the rail link from Woodenbridge to Shilelagh with a station in Aughrim. The fine old granite buildings are still in use – as a residence and as part of a local motor business. In and around the village we have a number of trout farms established on the local River Ow. Thus when the local Tidy Towns organisation developed a four acre Disabled Angling Lake right in the centre of the village, they had the means to keep their lake stocked with fish literally on their doorstep.
There are a number of local groups/organisations of long standing based in the Granite Village. The Michael Dwyer Pipe Band, the Anne Devlin branch of CCE, Aughrim Camogie Club and Aughrim Soccer Club are long established. Aughrim was overall winner of the National Tidy Towns competition in 2007. The Tidy Towns Committee concentrated in their building and renovation on the granite tradition and through persistence and hard graft they eventually achieved national success. In 2009 a new Community Sports and Leisure Centre was built to supplement the existing Community Sports Field. In this regard, the facilities on offer are almost a mirror image of those in Skreen, Dromard. And playing a big role in the midst of all this we have a thriving GAA Club.
Aughrim GAA Club is a club which has contributed – and continues to contribute – to all facets of GAA activity in County Wicklow. We have provided inter county players in both hurling and football in all grades, one International Rules player (Pat O’Byrne), County Board officers and Referees over many years. Back in the early years of the last century the club was exclusively a football club with occasional launches into hurling activity. However, the only successes we recorded in the first sixty years of the GAA were in hurling with junior success in 1938 and 1940. The club came and went a bit over the next twenty years or so. Following on two more junior hurling successes in 1964 and 1968, the club then became an exclusively hurling club up to 1985. Aughrim footballers played with neighbouring football clubs Annacurra and Ballymanus. Our hurlers won another junior title in 1976, an Intermediate crown in 1979 and a second Intermediate title in 1986. From about ’78 on an active juvenile programme ensured under age success. We represented Wicklow at two National Feiles – Galway ’81 and Laois/Offaly ’88. Our minor hurlers captured county titles in ’81 and ’83.
In 1985 our club decided to re-enter the football ranks and we operated as a dual club for the next 25 years, up to 2010. We were playing at Intermediate level in both codes and contested county finals in both codes during this period. Our hurlers again won the Intermediate title in ’97 followed by the first football championship win in ’98 when our club captured the junior crown. This was followed in ’99 by our win in the hardest grade of all to win in Wicklow – the Intermediate Football Title. Our last county title was captured in 2004 when the junior hurlers came up trumps again. However, our only hurling activity now is at juvenile level as we have not fielded at adult level since 2009.
I hope that I have given you some flavour of how interesting a place we have here in Aughrim and I further hope that my ‘unbiased’ regard for the Granite Village would encourage you to call down our way. To quote the historians out of context, when visiting Wicklow – Remember Aughrim.