Woodenbridge, Droichead an Adhmaid, Co. Wicklow

Droichead an Adhmaid · Co. Wicklow

The hotel claims 1608. John Redmond split the Irish Volunteers here in 1914. Three rivers meet at the bottom of the valley.

Woodenbridge is a hamlet in the Vale of Avoca where three rivers join - the Avoca, the Aughrim, and the Gold Mines River - at the bottom of a wooded valley that the 18th century decided was picturesque and the 21st century has largely left alone. The hotel has been here since 1608, or says it has, which is long enough that nobody argues the point seriously.

The speech John Redmond gave here on 20 September 1914 is the most consequential thing that happened at Woodenbridge. He stood in front of a gathering of Irish Volunteers and urged them to enlist in the British Army for the war in Europe. The Irish Volunteers had been founded in 1913 to press for Home Rule; Redmond controlled the majority and committed them to the war effort. The minority who refused kept the Volunteer name and the guns. They used both in April 1916. The split at Woodenbridge was one of the events that made that possible.

The Vale of Avoca walk connects Woodenbridge south to Avoca village, 3km north along the river. The hotel, under the Fitzpatrick Hotel Collection since August 2024, is the only accommodation in the immediate area.

Population

~200

Founded

Hotel established 1608

Coords

52.8319° N, 6.2626° W

01 / 07

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 The Hotel

Ireland's oldest hotel. Or so the claim goes.

Woodenbridge Hotel dates its founding to 1608, making it one of the oldest continuously licensed premises in Ireland. New ownership under the Fitzpatrick Hotel Collection from August 2024. The setting - the confluence of three rivers in a wooded valley - has not changed.

Where to sleep → 02 Redmond's speech

20 September 1914. The Irish Volunteers split here.

John Redmond, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, stood at Woodenbridge on 20 September 1914 and urged the Irish Volunteers to enlist and fight for Britain in the First World War. The speech split the movement - the majority followed Redmond into the National Volunteers; the minority who refused kept the Irish Volunteers name and became the nucleus of the 1916 Rising.

Stories & lore → 03 The confluence

The Avoca, the Aughrim and the Gold Mines River meet here.

Three rivers join at Woodenbridge: the Avoca (flowing south from the Meeting of the Waters), the Aughrim River coming from the west, and the Gold Mines River from the south. The wooded valley around the confluence is the Vale of Avoca at its widest and most sheltered.

Walks & outings →

02 / 07

Where to sleep.

Place	Type	Local note
Woodenbridge Hotel	Hotel, est. 1608	The main building dates to the coaching inn era. The Fitzpatrick Hotel Collection took over ownership in August 2024. Set at the confluence of three rivers in the Vale of Avoca. A good base for south Wicklow and the vale walking routes. Check woodenbridgehotel.ie for current room rates and restaurant hours.

03 / 07

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

20 September 1914

Redmond's speech and the Volunteer split

John Redmond, leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party and the dominant figure in constitutional Irish nationalism, addressed a gathering of Irish Volunteers at Woodenbridge on 20 September 1914, six weeks after the outbreak of the First World War. He urged the Volunteers to enlist and serve wherever the firing line extended. Redmond controlled the majority of the 180,000-strong organisation; most followed him, becoming the National Volunteers. Around 11,000 refused - led by Eoin MacNeill - and retained the Irish Volunteers name. It was from this rump that the Military Council of the IRB recruited the men who planned and led the 1916 Easter Rising. The speech at Woodenbridge was the pivot point.

Avoca, Aughrim, Gold Mines

The three rivers

The rivers that join at Woodenbridge are the Avoca (which was formed at the Meeting of the Waters 3km north, where the Avonmore and Avonbeg join), the Aughrim River flowing from the west through Aughrim village, and the Gold Mines River from the south. The confluence creates the Vale of Avoca at its widest and most sheltered. The name Gold Mines River comes from the alluvial gold workings recorded in the area in the 18th century - small quantities were extracted from the streambed, though commercial-scale mining never materialised.

Licensed since 1608

The hotel

Woodenbridge Hotel's founding date of 1608 appears in its own records and in local historical accounts. The site was a coaching inn serving the road through the Vale of Avoca long before the Vale became the tourist route it later became. The building has been substantially rebuilt and extended over four centuries, but the licence and the location are continuous. Under the Fitzpatrick Hotel Collection from August 2024.

04 / 07

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Vale of Avoca River Walk (southern section) From the hotel, the path follows the Avoca River north through the Vale to Avoca village. Wooded, relatively flat, the river beside you. This is the southern section of the Vale walk; the full walk continues through Avoca toward Rathdrum. The water near the old mine workings is copper-tinted from acid drainage - not dangerous, but visible.

3 km one way to Avoca villagedistance

45 mintime

05 / 07

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

The wooded valley is at its best in May. The river walks are clear after winter. A quiet alternative to Avoca village.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

The hotel is at its busiest. The vale walks are good on weekday mornings before the Avoca village crowd arrives.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

October is the best month - the oak canopy turns, the rivers run high after rain, the valley is at its most dramatic.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

A hamlet in a south Wicklow valley in January. The hotel bar is open. The river walk stays walkable. Not a destination season.

◐ Mind yourself

06 / 07

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Confusing the rivers here with the Meeting of the Waters

Thomas Moore wrote about the Meeting of the Waters 3km north at Avoca village, where the Avonmore and Avonbeg join. At Woodenbridge it's the Avoca, the Aughrim, and the Gold Mines River. A different confluence, a different poem.

Getting there.

By car

Avoca village to Woodenbridge is 3km south on the R747. Arklow is 10 minutes south on the same road.

By bus

Bus Éireann route 133 serves the Vale of Avoca. Check for current stop locations near Woodenbridge.

Next on the tour

Co. Wicklow

Avoca

3km north. The 1723 woollen mill, the Meeting of the Waters, and the pub that became Fitzgerald's in Ballykissangel.

Co. Wicklow

Arklow

10 minutes south. A maritime town on the Avoca River with a train station and a proper working harbour.

Co. Wexford

Gorey

35 minutes south on the N11. North Wexford market town. A good stopping point before the ferry or the coast road south.

Co. Wicklow

Annacurra

Six kilometres east through the farmland, with a quiet 1798 story of its own.