The Granite City

Known locally as "The Granite City" because of its many buildings constructed from locally quarried Wicklow Granite, Aughrim is beautifully situated at the junction of several mountain valleys. The valley of the River Ow boasts magnificent scenery, which extends north-west of Aughrim for about 10 miles to the foot of Lugnaquilla Mountain.

The village of Aughrim is very picturesque and is well worth a visit. It is located approximately 80 km (1 hour drive) south of Dublin. Whether you want to take a day trip to the village or stay for a longer duration, there is an abundance of local pubs, restaurants, hotels and B&B's where you can get quality accommmodation and dine in style. There are many impressive buildings of historical interest in the village. In the centre of the village the Forge and the Market House have interesting architectural features, while the Old Mill, the local Catholic and Church of Ireland church buildings are impressive landmarks. On the bi-centenary of the 1798 rebellion, a monument commemorating this important event in Irish history was erected in the village.

If you are an angler, there are a number of rivers in the locality renowned for fishing. The rivers Aughrim, Ow and Derry hold numerous small brown trout. Trout fishing is also available for all at Aughrim's "Angling for All" National Disabled Angling Facility, with its wheelchair accessible lake, located in the village beside the Park Pavillion. Aughrim has it's own bowling green, and IT Centre, also located beside the Park Pavillion.

National Tidy Towns Award Winners

In September 2007, after many years of hard work, Aughrim won Ireland’s highest accolade in the Tidy Towns competition, the Overall National Tidy Towns Award. President Mary McAleese visited Aughrim on 20th April 2008 to formally present the national award to the people of Aughrim. Achievement of the overall national award followed on from the success in 2006 of winning the prize as Ireland’s best kept small town. Also in June 2006, Aughrim won the title of "Irelands Best Kept Small Town" at a ceremony hosted by Northern Ireland Amenity Council Belfast and the Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government, Dublin.

2009 was another exciting year for Aughrim. In addition to winning a gold medal in the National Tidy Towns competition, Aughrim also claimed the title of Irelands Tidiest Small Town again.

In addition to these great achievements, several other major projects of interest to the village have recently been completed. Aughrim Tidy Towns Committee have completed construction of an extension to the Park Pavillion for the New to You thrift shopand Aughrim Community Field Committee have completed phase 1 of the construction of a new Community Sports Centre at Andy Allen Park. Aughrim Business Association was formed in 2009 to help promote business in Aughrim.

Aughrim is a thriving village with lots to do and see in the locality. Browse this website for more information on our beautiful village. Better still, why not come and visit us? You will be impressed with all that Aughrim has to offer. Click on the link to find out how to get to Aughrim. When you get to Aughrim, if you want more information about what to do, you can drop into the tourist information point located at The Green Bean.