Glenealo Valley
valley in County Wicklow, Ireland
Glenealo Valley (Irish: Gleann Abhlach, meaning 'The Valley of the Apple Trees') is a national nature reserve of approximately 4,838 acres (19.58 km2) located in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is managed by the Irish National Parks & Wildlife Service, part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Features
Glenealo Valley was legally protected as a national nature reserve by the Irish government in 1988. The reserve is primarily an open valley set within the Wicklow Mountains, with a large plateau area of peatland and mixed heathland. The area was the site of a former mine, which was closed in the 1950s. A population of feral goats lives in the area, descended from the goats the miners left behind in the valley when the mine was abandoned.
The valley forms part of the 10km Spinc and Glenealo Valley Loop walking trail.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Glenealo Valley” as valley in County Wicklow, Ireland. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as valley in County Wicklow, Ireland. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q104849570. Authority coordinates are 53.011, -6.390. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1988.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Glenealo Valley”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Glenealo Valley primary sources, Glenealo Valley archive and Glenealo research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Glenealo Valley”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Glenealo Valley” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.