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
An tInbhear Mór· Irish · main form · validated name
Arklow· English · main form
Place & story
An eighteenth-century crossing
Arklow Bridge was built between 1754 and 1756 and is attributed by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage to Andrew Noble. Its nineteen segmental arches and cutwater piers extend across the Avoca River.[2]
An old structure kept in use
The inventory records remodelling in 1959 and repairs in 1982. Rubble masonry and stone arch rings survive alongside a reinforced concrete deck and replacement metal railings. This combination distinguishes the bridge’s historical structure from later adaptations needed to keep the crossing useful. Its significance lies in that continued service as well as its eighteenth-century construction.[2]
People & connections
An Olympic champion’s birthplace
Ronnie Delany was born in Arklow in 1935. His family moved to Sandymount when he was six, and he later studied at Villanova University. At the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, his powerful finish won the 1,500 metres in an Olympic record of 3 minutes 41.2 seconds.[3]
Arklow commemorates that connection with a statue in Delany Park. His subsequent achievements included European 1,500-metre bronze in 1958 and World University Games 800-metre gold in 1961. The monument adds a twentieth-century sporting strand to a town whose older identity is strongly associated with its river crossing and maritime landscape.[3]
Both counts use the 2016 settlement boundary, allowing like-for-like comparison. CSO supplies the 2022 count on this older boundary for comparison only. The official 2022 Built Up Area has different boundaries.
View population figures
Arklow — Census 2016 settlement footprint — census population
These are the historical areas published in the 2006 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
Arklow Legal Town, Wicklow — Legal town, CSO 2006 report — census population
Arklow Environs, Wicklow — Town environs only, CSO 2006 report
2002–2006: town environs only
47people · 2006
These are the historical areas published in the 2006 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
Arklow Environs, Wicklow — Town environs only, CSO 2006 report — census population
These are the historical areas published in the 1996 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
Arklow Legal Town, Wicklow — Legal town, CSO 1996 report — census population
Arklow Environs, Wicklow — Town environs only, CSO 1996 report
1991–1996: town environs only
38people · 1996
These are the historical areas published in the 1996 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
Arklow Environs, Wicklow — Town environs only, CSO 1996 report — census population
Figures cover the historical town area printed in the 1986 report. Boundaries may have changed between censuses. Legal town, environs and suburb totals remain separate and differ from modern settlement boundaries.
View population figures
Arklow, Wicklow — Legal town, CSO 1986 report — census population
These figures use different area definitions. Read the boundary note before comparing them.
Arklow, Wicklow — 2011 legal town and environs; 2016 census settlement
Published census settlement populations
13,163people · 2016
Settlement boundaries changed during this period. Differences may reflect boundary changes as well as population change. Where a 2011 legal-town-and-environs count is shown, it has not been recalculated onto the 2016 settlement boundary.
View population figures
Arklow, Wicklow — 2011 legal town and environs; 2016 census settlement — census population
Arklow Bridge illustration: based on a reference photograph by David Quinn. AI-assisted watercolour and fine ink adaptation; warm cream paper margins; incidental clutter removed and architectural details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
placenames
