| Settlement Type: | Village |
| Ashford | |
| Native Name: | Irish: Áth na Fuinseoige |
| Native Name Lang: | ga |
| Pushpin Map: | Ireland |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Ireland |
| Coordinates: | 53.011°N -6.108°W |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Irish Grid Reference |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Ireland |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Leinster |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | County Wicklow |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Elevation Footnotes: | [1] |
| Elevation M: | 24 |
| Population As Of: | 2022 |
| Population: | 1892 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
Ashford, historically known as Ballymacahara,[3] is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies on the River Vartry and at the meeting of the R772, R763 and R764 regional roads. The village was formerly on the main Dublin–Wexford route, the N11, but was bypassed by the new N11 in 2004 (later part of the M11 motorway). As of the 2022 census, the village had a population of 1,892 people.[2]
Ashford is about 3km (02miles) north of Rathnew, which is on the outskirts of the county town of Wicklow.
The Mount Usher Gardens and Arboretum are located at the end of the village nearer Wicklow Town. The gardens were previously owned and operated by Madelaine Jay and the Jay family, but recently the gardens and shopping courtyard were leased to the Avoca Handweavers company, which originated in Avoca, County Wicklow, and which was owned and operated by the Pratt family for many generations, but sold to U.S. multinational corporation Aramark in 2015.[4] [5]
There are a number of shops in the village centre, as well as a small shopping yard at Mount Usher Gardens, with both locations also featuring eating places. A community playground, Ashford Community Park, was opened in 2014, with 200,000 euro in County Council and Leader Programme funding. Opened by the donor of the 30-year lease, Brian Stokes, and playground committee chairperson Maurice Ramsay, the facility was built over two years and includes a full children's playground, teen zone, zip line, quiet zone and adult outdoor gym equipment.[6]
Ashford is served by Bus Éireann route 133, linking it with Wicklow and Dublin.[7] This route now operates to and from Dublin Airport. Since 2012, routes 002 and 006 linking the village with Rosslare Harbour and Waterford no longer serve the village, with route 006 terminated from the network altogether.[8]