St. Kevins Road (site of) — Brockagh,sevenchurches OR Camaderry

This section of St Kevin's Road runs from the top of Wicklow Gap at its NW end to the mouth of the Glendasan valley at SE for a distance of c. 2,350m but can only be traced for about 750m towards the NW end. It consists of a generally level track (Wth 3m) with a bank (Wth 1.5m; H 0.5m) on either side and a slight external drainage ditch on the upslope (SW) side. In some areas the road consists of the gravelly mineral soil cleared of stones and boulders but many sections are uncleared and earthfast boulders have been left in situ. The SE end cannot be traced but it may have turned S to cross the Glandasan river. While St Kevin's road is only indicated on the OS 6-inch map as far N as Wicklow Gap, Price (1940) notes that it continued north-westwards to Templefinan church (WI016-009----) in Ballinagee townland. (Price 1940, 256; 1945, 28-9) According to Healy (1972, 147-8) ‘the position of St Kevin's Road is marked on the O.S. Maps, and much of it can still be seen on the ground. It starts behind the houses which face the Royal Hotel, and for the first two and half kilometres (1 miles) follows a course between the Glendasan River and the road to Wicklow Gap. In the first 100 metres part of the paved surface can be seen, but beyond this it is much overgrown, and difficult to trace. It also passes through several farms where it is still in use and-has been resurfaced. Near the upper end of Glendasan, the site of the road is buried under a spoil heap from mines operated in recent years. For a few hundred metres at the top of the valley the paving is again exposed, and shows that the road was about five metres wide, and paved with flat stones up to one metre across, carefully fitted together with smaller stones in the interstices. The extreme steepness at this point would suggest that it was not intended for vehicular traffic, but for horse and foot travellers only. At other points along this road there are large boulders protruding through the road surface which would also block the way to wheeled traffic. On Nevill's map of Co Wicklow, made in 1760, this is shown as the only road through Wicklow Gap, and was apparently still in use at that period. The present county road through Glendasan was built about 1826. Wrights guide to Wicklow (1827 edition) states that a road is being built through Wicklow-Gap, and Lewis in 1837 says that a new road has been made from Glandalough to Hollywood (Lewis 1837, 661). But north of this road and very much higher up the side of Glendasan there is an unfinished road over 6.5 kilometres long (4 miles) known as the "Madman's Road, about which very little is known. It is apparently earlier than the present county road. It starts at a point on Brockagh Mountain, directly opposite to the Royal Hotel, and approximately on the 700 ft. contour, and finishes on the side of Tonlagee Mountain, north, west of Wicklow Gap. It is about 4 metres wide, well graded, and has been provided with stone culverts where necessary. This road was apparently never used. Apart from the difficulty of getting to the beginning or to the end, there are gaps along the route, wet boggy areas where a causeway was required, but never finished. The stones used have been split by explosives, and the track of the drill can be seen on some. Wright's Wicklow map of 1822 shows a road which follows the line of the "Madmans Road" to beyond Wicklow Gap. The earliest records of lead mining in Glendasan are a report of a trial shaft at Luganure in 1800 and a plan of the same mine fourteen years Later. In 1826 The Mining Company of Ireland started operations here, they opened new mines and the output was greatly increased. It is probable that the "Madman's Road" was started soon after the opening of mines in the area, and was shown by the map makers as an existing road. The reason why it should be abandoned in 1826 would appear to be that all the shafts except one were well below the level of the "Madman's Road" and were very much better served by the present road which follows as far as possible the floor of the valley’. A number of small excavations were carried out along the road in 1968 and 1972 by the National Museum of Ireland (Excavations 1972, No. 33) and more recently by University College Dublin in 2005 (Excavation Licence 05E1261) (McDermott 2008, 415) and 2006 (Excavation Licence 06E0755) (McDermott 2009, 570). The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Wicklow' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload/revision: 19 November 2012