Page 6 - A Ancient East (complete)_Neat

Avondale, a tribal museum or interpretative centre at Rathdrum would give the
town a much-needed boost.

A bolder proposal (in addition to the museum) would be the reconstruction of a
replica of Fiach McHugh’s roundhouse in Glenmalure. This would provide a
focal point of interest for tourists in an area which has been overlooked in Ire-
land’s Ancient East initiative.

What is proposed here is a first step towards the larger initiative and, therefore,
highly feasible with little cost. It entails the simple addition of an extra itinerary
to those already existing in the initiative. It could involve the publication of the
current pamphlet or something similar that contains updated (post-Covid-19)
advertisements from businesses in the area, especially enterprises with tourist
associations. This should cover most of the costs of publication.

The proposed itinerary would bring tourists to parts of Wicklow that are less
travelled (Map; p. 7). The tour would include Powerscourt House, Glendalough,
Tomnafinogue native woodlands, the valleys of the poets (Pallis and Loggan),
Huntington Castle, Garryhill and Borris House. The map provides an outline of
the area, which has been christened The Warrior Heartland of the South-East.

A brief outline of what might be seen or presented at each stop is given below.

A new itinerary

Powerscourt

Provide a brief history of
the O’Tooles of Pow-
erscourt and environs. The
story of local chieftain Tur-
lough O’Toole, who was
more favourably disposed
to the support provided by
Henry VIII than the Earl of
Kildare, opens the visitor to
the intrigue at play amongst Woodland in the vicinity of Powerscourt Es-
the main protagonists in- tate—former territories of the O’Toole lords of
Wicklow
volved in the Gaelic interi-
or of Wicklow.

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