Co. Wicklow is called the "Garden of Ireland." Wicklow is a seaside resort and county town with a pleasant harbour area. In centuries past, Wicklow was repeatedly attacked in squabbles between O'Byrnes, O'Tooles and the English. Fitzwilliam Square has a granite obelisk commemorating Wicklow-born captain of Brunel's "Great Eastern," which laid the first cable across the Atlantic. Memorial in Market Square commemorates Wicklow men who fought in 1798. Black Castle was begun by Maurice Fitzgerald in 1176 and frequently was attacked over the following five centuries, now in ruins. Also view remains of 13th c. Franciscan friary in grounds of presbytery. Norman doorway in south porch of the Church of Ireland. There is a Maritime Museum in Arklow with 1,000 items relating to the town's nautical history, may be only open June through September.. Avoca, beautifully set village. See Tom Moore's tree, near Meeting of the Waters, when the poet is said to have spent many hours in contemplation. There are Forest walks and horseback riding! Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Moore's poem - "There is not in this wide world a valley so sweet As the vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet; Oh! the last rays of feeling and life must depart ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart. Yet, is was not that Nature had shed o'er the scene Her purest of crystal, and brightest of green; 'Twas not the soft magic of streamlet or hill, Oh, no! it was something more exquisite still. 'Twas that friends, the beloved of my bosom, were near, Who made each dear scene of enchantment more dear; And who felt how the best charms of Nature improve When we see them reflected from looks that we love. Sweet Vale of Avoca! how calm could I rest In they bosom of shade with the friends I love best, Where the storms that we feel in this cold world should cease, And our hearts, like thy waters, be mingled in peace." Look for waterfalls in Co. Wicklow and pastures with black-faced sheep are ushered by the slender-faced Wicklow Collie. There are three fine beaches. Bray is one of Ireland's biggest and longest established seaside resorts. The Avondale Estate is where Charles Stewart Parnell, great 19th century Irish leader lived in the 1779 house, which has been fully restored. Although he was a Protestant landlord, he favored Home Rule, was born at Avondale, near Rathdrum in 1846, the year that saw Ireland broken by the Great Famine. Avondale is an elegant "Big House" of its time, set on 500 acres of tranquil and pleasant woods and gardens. There is a wonderful ruined church at Baltinglass which, together with the cloister, is all that remains of the important 12th century Cistercian monastery. There is evidently an agricultural museum in Glenealy with machinery dating from the early 19th century, and veteran cars, believe you may have to make arrangements to see. >From the time of the Norman conquest 800 years ago, the families which ousted the O'Byrnes and O'Tooles from their traditional lands, settled, discarded their rough colonial ways and, in succeeding generations, opened their hearts and minds to the land and culture which surrounded them.