Avoca, Ireland

Avoca is a small town near Arklow, in County Wicklow in the Republic of Ireland. It is situated on the River Avoca.

The Avoca area has been associated with its famous copper mines for many years and the valley has been immortalised by Thomas Moore in the famous song Sweet Vale of Avoca.

Avoca is also famous for its hand weaving. Avoca Handweavers are based in Avoca.

Avoca was once known as Newbridge. It subsequently became known as Ovoca, and then in Victorian times as Avoca. Ptolemy mentions the river Obhoca on his early map of Ireland. The official name of the village is now Avoca in English and Abhoca in Irish. None of the other names are used today.

Avoca is the village where the BBC series Ballykissangel was filmed.

Mining

Copper mining is reported to have begun in the Avoca River valley, Co. Wicklow, around 1720 and it continued, with interruptions, until 1982. Earlier mining, perhaps dating back to the Bronze Age, may have occurred. The East Avoca site, today, is composed mainly of a number of rock waste spoil heaps, abandoned quarries (Cronebane and East Avoca open pits) and disused roads. The largest spoil heap, Mount Platt, was built up from waste rock excavated from Cronebane open pit. There was a mineral tramway built from the West Avoca mines, through the village (on the opposite side of the river) and on to Arklow Harbour. The route of most of this was subsumed into the Dublin - Rosslare railway line, but an arch and a tunnel under the road from Rathdrum to Avoca remain.

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