placenamesAnnacurragh
Áth na Cora
Also commonly written Annacurra, the village preserves a church built through several years of fundraising and a club history stretching back to Wicklow’s first championships.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Áth na Cora · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Annacurragh · English · main form
Place & story
Building the parish church
Architect Richard Pierce designed Annacurra’s new Gothic Catholic church for Father Martin Fortune. Its foundation stone was laid on 30 July 1859, and the opening ceremony took place on Saint Patrick’s Day in 1864. The Irish Architectural Archive records expenditure of £1,800 by that point, followed by a bell in 1865 and a new organ in 1867. The sequence shows the building and its furnishings developing over several years rather than arriving as one completed project. [2]
The east window
The east window links the church with the partnership of Pugin and Ashlin. The archive records their design in 1863 and its execution by McCann of Middle Abbey Street, Dublin, associated with the church’s 1864 opening. John Hyacinth Talbot presented the design. A later drawing by George Coppinger Ashlin proposed a Sacred Heart altar in 1883, although the existence of a proposal alone does not establish that it was installed. [2]
A chalice recorded in 1943
Wicklow’s Irish Tourist Association survey recorded an older chalice at Annacurra chapel in 1943. Its inscription identified it as a presentation to the parish of Kilpipe in 1809. The county heritage account notes a difficulty in interpreting that wording because it does not correspond neatly with the Catholic parish names. The chalice therefore preserves evidence of an earlier local religious association, while its precise provenance remains unresolved. [3]
Football’s early fields
Annacurra’s own GAA history recalls practice at Caufield’s field near the crossroads, followed by games at Blake’s field in Kilpipe. Avondale supplied the opposition for its first match. The club became prominent in Wicklow’s earliest championships and represented the county against Wexford in 1888. That encounter was abandoned and later replayed at Clonskeagh, where Annacurra lost after extra time. The account reflects a period when local fields, county representation and unfinished competitions were all part of the developing game. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Wicklow
- Barony
- Ballinacor South
- Civil parish
- Preban
- Within
- Kilballyowen
- Coordinates
- 52.84148, -6.35923
- Logainm ID
- 113002 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Annacurragh. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Co. Wicklow, Annacurra (Aughrim), Church (RC), work13932 · Irish Architectural Archive, Dictionary of Irish Architects
- Brief History: Annacurra/Kilaveny parishes, ITA1943 material · Wicklow County Heritage Office
- Annacurra GAA: History · Annacurra GAA
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2026-06-08. How this page was prepared.