Donard

---

title: "Donard" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["towns-and-villages-in-county-wicklow", "civil-parishes-of-county-wicklow"] description: "Village in County Wicklow, Ireland" topic_path: "general/towns-and-villages-in-county-wicklow" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donard" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in County Wicklow, Ireland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Donard
native_name	Dún Ard
native_name_lang	ga
settlement_type	Village
image_skyline	Donard,County_Wicklow-geograph.org.uk-_1774366.jpg
image_caption	Donard village
pushpin_map	Ireland
pushpin_label_position	right
pushpin_map_caption	Location in Ireland
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Ireland
subdivision_type1	Province
subdivision_name1	Leinster
subdivision_type3	County
subdivision_name3	County Wicklow
unit_pref	Metric
population_as_of	2016
population_footnotes
population_total	196
population_density_km2	auto
timezone1	WET
utc_offset1	+0
timezone1_DST	IST (WEST)
utc_offset1_DST	-1
coordinates
elevation_m	180
blank_name	Irish Grid Reference
blank_info
::

|name = Donard |native_name = Dún Ard |native_name_lang = ga |settlement_type = Village |image_skyline = Donard,County_Wicklow-geograph.org.uk-_1774366.jpg |image_caption = Donard village |pushpin_map = Ireland |pushpin_label_position = right |pushpin_map_caption = Location in Ireland |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Ireland |subdivision_type1 = Province |subdivision_name1 = Leinster |subdivision_type3 = County |subdivision_name3 = County Wicklow |established_title = |established_date = |unit_pref = Metric |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = |population_as_of = 2016 |population_footnotes = |population_total = 196 |population_density_km2 = auto |timezone1 = WET |utc_offset1 = +0 |timezone1_DST = IST (WEST) |utc_offset1_DST = -1 |coordinates = |elevation_footnotes = |elevation_m = 180 |blank_name = Irish Grid Reference |blank_info = |website = |footnotes =

Donard (historically Dunard, from ) is a small village in County Wicklow, Ireland, located at the northern end of the Glen of Imaal, in the western part of the Wicklow Mountains. The village is in a civil parish of the same name.

Located near the village of Donard is Lugnaquilla, which is the highest mountain in Wicklow and one of the highest mountains in Ireland. The mountain has a height of 925 metres (3,035 ft). The Wicklow Mountain Rescue team operates in the area.

Donard takes its name from Dún Ard meaning high fort, the ruins of which are still somewhat visible on a rise above the town. The village is surrounded by Table Mountain (702m), Church Mountain (546m), Lugnaquilla (925m) and Keadeen (655m).

History

An ogham stone is located on the village green. It was moved to this site in 1995 having had three previous locations. It is a rectangular block of stone measuring 1.52m x 0.69m x 0.53m.

Donard Motte (also known as the Ball Moat) is a Norman motte-and-bailey structure on the southern side of the village. It was most likely built by Jordan de Marisco between 1169 and 1190.

In the nearby village of Derrynamuck (also known as Dernamuck or Doire na Muc) is a cottage dedicated to the memory of Michael Dwyer, an Irish insurgent active during the 1798 Rebellion. There, an engagement between British forces and a detachment of United Irishmen rebels led by Dwyer, known as the Dwyer-English engagement, occurred on 15 February 1799. During the battle, a fellow insurgent, Sam McAllister, intentionally drew the direction of British fire towards himself in order to allow Dwyer to escape.

During the Rebellion, the village was burnt by the rebels and the inhabitants were forced to flee to Dunlavin.

The Great Famine impacted Donard and the surrounding areas significantly. The population of the parish declined by one third between 1841 and 1851.

Much of the surrounding Glen of Imaal (5,948 acres) has been used as an army artillery range since 1900.

Amenities

A post office was opened in Donard in 1851 and An Post closed it at the end of 2018.

There is a Roman Catholic chapel of ease, Church of the Holy Trinity, in the village as Donard is part of the parish of Dunlavin. It was built in 1926. There is a small First Fruits Church of Ireland church in the village which dates to 1835.

Donard Community Hall sits in the centre of the village, and houses a community coffee shop

Donard/Glen GAA club grounds are on the outskirts of the village.

References

References

1. "Sapmap Area - Settlements - Donard". Central Statistics Office.
2. [http://www.logainm.ie/54683.aspx Placenames Database of Ireland] {{Webarchive. link. (14 June 2012 (see archival records))
3. "Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team". Dwmrt.ie.
4. "CIIC 48. Donard, Co. Wicklow".
5. Caley, James. (2022-06-09). "Donard Motte (The Ball Moat)".
6. Liam, Cathal. (2003). "Forever Green: Ireland Now & Again". St. Padraic Press.
7. Lewis, Samuel. (1837). "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland".
8. Lawlor, Christopher. (2020-05-01). "The establishment and evolution of an Irish village: the case of Dunlavin, county Wicklow 1600-1910". St. Patrick’s College Drumcondra.
9. Frank, Harald. (1990-09-29). "Irish Post Offices and their postmarks 1600-1990". Forchumgs- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft Irland e.V..
10. (17 October 2018). "Donard post office to close on the 31st of December". WicklowNews.net.
11. Allen, Edward. (2022-10-06). "Chapel of Ease: the Church of the Holy Trinity, Donard".
12. "Donard Church, DONARD DEMESNE EAST, Donard, WICKLOW".
13. "Events and news {{!}} Donard Glen Community".
14. "Donard Glen GAA".

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