County Wicklow (Irish: Contae Chill Mhantáin, [ˈkɔnˠt̪ˠeː ˈçɪl̪ʲ ˈwanˠt̪ˠaːnʲ]) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties to be formed, as late as 1606, 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 Víkingaló, which means "Vikings' Meadow". Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 136,640 according to the 2011 census.

Wicklow is colloquially known as the Garden of Ireland. It is the 17th largest of Ireland's 32 counties by area, being thirty-three miles in length by twenty miles in breadth, and 15th largest by population. It is the fourth largest of Leinster's 12 counties by size and the fifth largest in terms of population. Between 2006 and 2011 the population of the county grew between 5–10%

The boundaries of the county were extended in 1957 by the Local Government Act which "detached lands from the County of Dublin and from the jurisdiction and powers of the Council of the County of Dublin" near Bray and added them to the County of Wicklow. The adjoining counties are Wexford to the south, Carlow to the south-west, Kildare to the west and Dublin to the north.

Wicklow (Irish: Cill Mhantáin, meaning "church of the toothless one") is the county town of County Wicklow and the capital of the Mid-East Region in Ireland. Located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island, it has a population of 10,356 according to the 2011 census. The town is to the east of the N11 route between Dublin and Wexford. Wicklow is also linked to the rail network, with Dublin commuter services now extending to the town. Additional services connect with Arklow, Wexford and Rosslare Europort, a main ferry port. There is also a commercial port, mainly importing timber and textiles. The River Vartry is the main river which flows through the town.

Geography

Wicklow town forms a rough semicircle around Wicklow harbour. To the immediate north lies 'The Murrough', a popular grassy walking area beside the sea, and the eastern coastal strip. The Murrough is a place of growing commercial use, so much so that a road by-passing the town directly to the commercial part of the area commenced construction in 2008 and was completed in summer of 2010. The eastern coastal strip includes Wicklow bay, a crescent shaped stone beach approximately 10 km in length.

Wicklow is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 5 deputies (Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs). The method of election is the single transferable vote form of proportional representation (PR-STV).

History and boundaries

The constituency was created for the 1923 general election and elected 3 deputies to Dáil Éireann until 1977, this was increased to 4 deputies in 1981. In part this was because, in 1977, parts of the county had been placed in the constituencies of Dublin County Mid and Dublin County West, while the 1981 constituency included the entire county. The number of seats was increased to 5 for the 1992 general election.

The constituency spans the entire area of County Wicklow, including the towns of Wicklow, Arklow, Greystones and Bray and includes a small part of eastern County Carlow containing the villages of Hacketstown and Rathvilly.

The Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2013 defines the constituency as:

Wicklow is a town in Ireland.

Wicklow may also refer to:

Constituencies

The current parliamentary constituency bearing the County's name is:

The previous constituencies were: