Bray

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For other places named Bray, and other meanings of the word bray, see Bray (disambiguation).
Bray
Bré
Town
The town as seen from Bray Head
The town as seen from Bray Head
Coat of arms of Bray
Coat of arms
Motto: Féile agus Fáilte  (Irish)
"Hospitality and Welcome"
Bray is located in Ireland
Bray
Bray
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°12′04″N 6°06′41″W / 53.20102°N 6.11136°W / 53.20102; -6.11136Coordinates: 53°12′04″N 6°06′41″W / 53.20102°N 6.11136°W / 53.20102; -6.11136
Country Ireland
Province Leinster
County County Wicklow
Dáil Éireann Wicklow
EU Parliament South
Elevation 18 m (59 ft)
Population (2016)
 • Total 32,600[1]
 • Rank 9th
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Eircode (Routing Key) A98
Area code(s) 01 (+3531)
Irish Grid Reference O264185
Website www.bray.ie

Bray (Irish: Bré, meaning "hill", formerly Brí Chualann) is a coastal town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated about 20 km (12 mi) south of Dublin city centre on the east coast. It has a population of 32,600 making it the ninth largest urban area in all of Ireland and the ninth largest urban area within the Republic of Ireland (at the 2016 census).[1]

Bray is a resort town, and its proximity to Dublin make it a destination for tourists and day-trippers from the capital.[citation needed] Bray is home to Ardmore Studios, and some light industry is located in the town, with some business and retail parks on its southern periphery. Commuter links between Bray and Dublin are provided by rail, Dublin Bus and the M11 and M50 motorways.

Etymology[edit]

The name of the town "Bray" or "Bré" means hill or rising ground, possibly referring to the gradual incline of the town from the Dargle Bridge to Vevay Hill and or Bray Head.

History[edit]

In medieval times, Bray was on the southern border of the Pale, and the coastal district was governed directly by the English crown from Dublin Castle. Inland, the countryside was largely under the control of Gaelic Chieftains, such as the O'Toole and O'Byrne clans. Bray features on the 1598 map "A Modern Depiction of Ireland, One of the British Isles"[2] by Abraham Ortelius as "Brey". The Earl of Meath purchased the Kilruddery estate in Bray in 1627 with the establishment of the Earl title. In August or September 1649 Oliver Cromwell is believed to have stayed in Bray on his way to Wexford from Dublin.[citation needed] During the 17th and 18th centuries, Bray was a small manorial village, but during the latter part of the 18th century, the Dublin middle-classes began to move to Bray.[citation needed]

The Dublin and Kingstown Railway, the first in Ireland, opened in 1834 and was extended as far as Bray in 1854. With the coming of the railway, the town grew to become a seaside resort. Hotels and residential terraces were built in the vicinity of the seafront. Railway entrepreneur, William Dargan, developed the Turkish baths, designed in a Moorish style at a cost of £10,000; these were demolished in 1980.[3] The town continued to thrive following Independence,[citation needed] but the outbreak of the Second World War put economic development 'on hold' for its duration. During the 1950s, tourists from the United Kingdom returned to Bray in some numbers to escape the austerity of Britain's post-war rationing.[citation needed] The town's use as a resort declined from the 1960s onwards when foreign travel became an option for holiday-makers.[citation needed] However, day-trippers continued to come to Bray during the summer months.

Thousands of people turned out on the seafront to see Olympic boxing champion Katie Taylor, return home from London in August 2012.[4]

Location[edit]

Seafront and Bray Head

The town is situated on the east coast to the south of County Dublin. Shankill, County Dublin lies to the north, and Greystones, County Wicklow to the south. The village of Enniskerry lies to the west of the town, at the foot of the Wicklow Mountains. People participate in such sports as sailing, rowing, swimming. The beach and seafront promenade are used by residents and visitors. The beach has been reworked several years back to protect the town from erosion.[when?]

The River Dargle which enters the sea at the north end of Bray rises from a source near Djouce, in the Wicklow Mountains. Bray Head is situated at the southern end of the Victorian Promenade with paths leading to the summit and along the sea cliffs. The rocks of Bray Head are a mixture of greywackes and quartzite. There is a large concrete cross at the summit.

Access[edit]

Bray Daly railway station.

Rail[edit]

A public transport network, both north into Dublin and south into County Wicklow and County Wexford, serves the town. Bray is on the DART Rail Network which stretches north to Malahide and Howth and south to Greystones. The town is also on the mainline Iarnród Éireann rail network which connects north to Connolly Station in Dublin city centre and further to Drogheda and Dundalk. To the south, the rail line goes through Arklow and Gorey before reaching Rosslare Europort. Bray's railway station is named after Edward Daly, an executed leader of the 1916 Easter Rising. Bray Station was opened on 10 July 1854.[5]

Road[edit]

Bray lies along the M11 motorway corridor; an interchange at its northern side links with the M50 Dublin bypass.

Five bus companies pass through Bray: Dublin Bus, Bus Éireann, Finnegan's Bray, Aircoach, St. Kevin's Bus Service to Glendalough. Dublin Bus is the biggest operator with services to and from Dublin city centre and services within the North Wicklow and South Dublin area. Dublin Bus also provides services to Dún Laoghaire, Enniskerry, Greystones, Kilmacanogue, Kilcoole and Newtownmountkennedy. Finnegan's Bray also offer a nightlink service from Dublin.[6] Aircoach operates a service to and from Dublin Airport.

Air[edit]

Dublin Airport is reachable via the M50 which passes to the west of Dublin City. The AirCoach has two stops in Bray to and from Dublin Airport.[7] Newcastle Aerodrome is the closest private airfield a short distance south of Bray.[8]

Demography[edit]

Bray has a growing population of permanent residents. It increases in the warmer seasons with tourists from Dublin and other countries.

Historical population
Year Pop. ±%
1991 26,953 —    
1996 27,923 +3.6%
2002 30,951 +10.8%
2006 31,901 +3.1%
2011 31,872 −0.1%
2016 32,600 +2.3%

Local government[edit]

Old town hall

Bray was governed by a town council until 2014.[citation needed] Part of the northern Bray area lies within the local authority area of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The border between County Wicklow and County Dublin lies along Old Conna/Corke Abbey,[citation needed] making all areas north of that point Bray, County Dublin. The town itself is part of the Bray Local electoral area for elections to Wicklow County Council which elects eight councillors which also sit on the Bray Municipal Council. These eight councillors are:[9]

  • Brendan Thornhill (Ind; Cathaoirleach of the Bray Municipal District)[9]
  • Steven Matthews (GP; Leas-Cathaoirleach of the Bray Municipal District)[9]
  • Joe Behan (Ind)[9]
  • Michael O'Connor (SF)[9]
  • Christopher Fox (Ind)[9]
  • Oliver O'Brien (SF)[9]
  • John Ryan (FG)[9]
  • Pat Vance (FF)[9]

Tourism[edit]

Hillwalkers at the cross on the summit of Bray Head.

Bray is a long-established holiday resort with hotels and guesthouses, shops, restaurants and evening entertainment. The town also hosts a number of festival events.

In the town's vicinity are two 18-hole golf courses, one tennis club, fishing, a sailing club and horse riding. Other features of Bray are the amusement arcades and the National Sealife Centre. It has a beach of sand and shingle which is over 1.6 km (0.99 mi) long, fronted by an esplanade. Bray Head, which rises (241 m (791 ft)) from the coast, has views of mountains and sea. The concrete cross at the top of the head was erected in 1950 for the holy year.

Killruddery House, an EIizabethan-Revival mansion built in the 1820s.

Bray is used as a base for walkers, and has a mile-long promenade which stretches from the harbour, with its colony of mute swans, to the base of Bray Head at the southern end. A track leads to the summit. Also used by walkers is the 7 km (4.3 mi) Cliff Walk along Bray Head out to Greystones.

In January 2010, Bray was named the "cleanest town in Ireland" in the 2009 Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey of 60 towns and cities.[10]

Festivals and events[edit]

Bray Air Show 2016

The Bray St. Patrick's Carnival and Parade is presented by Bray & District Chamber to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, and is a five-day festival of carnival events, parades and live entertainment.[citation needed]

Bray also hosts a yearly silent film festival, the Killruddery Film Festival in Killruddery Gardens.[11] Bray Jazz Festival takes place annually on the May bank holiday weekend, and includes performances by jazz and world music artists.

The annual Bray Summerfest takes place over six weeks in July and August, and includes free entertainment, live music, markets, sporting events, and carnivals. Performers who have headlined include Mundy, Brian Kennedy, the Undertones, the Hothouse Flowers and Mary Black. In 2006, over 60,000 visitors attended the festival weekend in mid-July.[citation needed]

Hell & Back is an adventure race that takes place in Kilruddery Estates.[12] The 10 km Cliff Run from Bray to Greystones is an annual run on the coast around Bray Head Mountain.[13]

Pubs and restaurants[edit]

Bray's pubs and restaurants include the first Porterhouse bar, who brew their own ales, stouts and beers.[14] In 2010, the Lonely Planet Guide ranked the Harbour Bar in Bray the Best Bar in the World and the Best off the Beaten Track Bar in the world.[15] The O'Toole family owned the bar for three generations, but it was bought by the Duggan family in 2013.[16] The Duggans also operate two seafront premises, Katie Gallagher's and the Martello, both include restaurants on site.

There are twelve fully licensed restaurants, several unlicensed restaurants and cafes, and fast food outlets in Bray. In 2015, The Irish Times published a study which analysed the presence of fast food outlets in Ireland. Bray was found to have the lowest per capita concentration of the ten towns and cities included, with just 0.09 stores per 1,000 people.[17]

Culture[edit]

Art[edit]

There is a designated arts centre, several galleries, venues hosting live music and performance and a variety of arts groups operating in the community. The Mermaid Arts Centre opened in 2002 at the St. Cronan's Civic Offices Development off Main Street. The Centre has a two hundred and fifty seat auditorium hosting live music, theatre, performance and arthouse cinema. There is a gallery on the upper floor featuring contemporary visual art and a studio area. There is also a cafe on the ground floor.[18]

The Signal Arts Centre was founded in 1990 providing gallery and studio space for local artists. It operates under a voluntary directorate and hosts a calendar of exhibitions by groups and individuals. It is situated on Albert Avenue near the Seafront.[19]

The Bray Arts Group was founded in 1996 to press for an Arts Centre and to showcase local talent across the arts spectrum. Its monthly event at the Martello Hotel on Strand Road presents music, literature, dance and visual arts. The group publishes a monthly journal which is available online.

Film[edit]

Bray is home to Ireland's oldest film studios, Ardmore Studios, established in 1958, where films such as Excalibur, Braveheart and Breakfast on Pluto have been shot. Custer's Last Stand-up was filmed in Bray[20] and the town was also used to film Neil Jordan's 2012 film Byzantium, part of which was shot in the Bray Head Inn.[21] Neil Jordan's 1991 film The Miracle is set in Bray.[22]

The Mermaid Arts Centre is the only venue for cinema in Bray. The mainstream cinema on the Quinsborough Road closed down on 28 June 2007.[23][not in citation given]

Theatre and literature[edit]

Bray hosts a number of theatre groups including the Square One Theatre Group[24] and Bray Arts. The principal venue is the Mermaid Arts Centre, together with some smaller halls.[citation needed]

Authors who have lived in Bray have included James Joyce, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Molly Keane and Neil Jordan. Situated on Eglinton Road is a Carnegie Library dating from 1910.[25]

Music[edit]

Music sessions are held in pubs like the Hibernian, the Harbour Bar and the Martello. Music education forms is available through the School of Music[26] supported by the Everest Center.[27] There are a number of choirs in Bray including, the Bray Community Choir, the Bray Choral Society, Bray Gospel Choir and the Bray Youth Choir. There is also a Bray School of Dance.[28]

Media[edit]

The Bray People newspaper is focused on the news in the local areas and neighbourhoods.[29] East Coast FM Radio Station also operates locally.[30]

Sports[edit]

Bray is home to League of Ireland football club Bray Wanderers who play at the Carlisle Grounds. It also hosts schoolboy football club Saint Joseph's Boys A.F.C., Ardmore Rovers and Wolf Tone F.C. The local Gaelic Athletic Association club is Bray Emmets.[31] Established in 1885, the club hosts the annual All-Ireland Kick Fada Championship.[citation needed]

There are a number of golf clubs and pitch & putt courses in the area, including Bray Golf Club and Old Conna Golf Club.[32][33] Bray is also host to Bray Bowling Club, which trains in Fáilte Park,[34] and there is 10 Pin Bowling at the Bray Bowling Alley.[35]

There is fishing in both the River Dargle and on the sea coastline, and a number of clubs locally, including Bray Head Fishing Club and Dargle Anglers Club.[36] Other clubs and facilities in the area include Bray Wheelers Cycling Club,[37] Brennanstown Riding School,[38] Bray Sailing Club,[39]and Wicklow Lawn Tennis Club - the latter founded in 1894 and located on Vevay Road.[40]

Presentation College, Bray

Education[edit]

There are approximately 13 primary schools in the Bray area, including national schools (like Saint Cronan's Boys' National School),[41] gaelscoileanna, a co-educational day school (St. Gerard's School),[42] and schools for special needs. Secondary schools in the area include Saint Brendan's College and Presentation College, Bray. A number of "English as a foreign language" and third-level schools also operate locally, including Bray Institute of Further Education.[43]

Industry[edit]

Bray has a number of commercial and industrial parks, including Bray Industrial Estate, Killarney Road Industrial Estate, Solus Tower Industrial Estate, and Southern Cross Business Park.[citation needed]

People[edit]

Swans where the Dargle flows into the harbour
See also: Category:People from Bray

Former or current residents of the town have included:

Bray from Bray Head
Bray Harbour, October 2014

Twin towns[edit]

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland

Bray has town twinning agreements with:[45]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Settlement Bray". Central Statistics Office. 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2017. 
  2. ^ "A Modern Depiction of Ireland, One of the British Isles". Retrieved 4 August 2016. 
  3. ^ "Bray's Turkish Baths". History Ireland. 15 (6). 16 November 2007. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. 
  4. ^ "Triumphant Bray homecoming for Olympic hero Katie Taylor". Irish Independent. Independent News & Media. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012. 
  5. ^ "Bray station" (PDF). Railscot – Irish Railways. Retrieved 8 September 2007. 
  6. ^ "Night bus to Bray/ Greystones/Kilcoole". Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. 
  7. ^ "AirCoach". 
  8. ^ "Newcastle Aerodrome". 
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Bray Council Members". 
  10. ^ "Bray named as cleanest town". Irish Times. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010. 
  11. ^ "Killruddery Film Festival". 
  12. ^ "Hell & Back". 
  13. ^ "Bray Cliff Run". 
  14. ^ "The Porterhouse Brewery". Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. 
  15. ^ "Greatest little pub in the world". Irish Independent. 25 November 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2010. 
  16. ^ "Harbour Bar". 
  17. ^ "Swords named as fast food capital of Ireland". 
  18. ^ "Mermaid Arts Theatre". 
  19. ^ "Signal Arts Center". 
  20. ^ Brendan, Grehan (6 December 2001). "Bray-based TV series wins top BAFTA award". braypeople.ie. Bray People. Retrieved 8 January 2012. 
  21. ^ "Neil Jordan film will stop traffic". Bray People. 
  22. ^ "The Miracle: Neil Jordan". Irish Film Institute. Retrieved 2 October 2017. 
  23. ^ "Major Bray shopping and cinema complex to go ahead". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2016-11-16. 
  24. ^ "Square One Theatre Group". 
  25. ^ "Bray Library Services". 
  26. ^ "Bray Music Center". 
  27. ^ "Everest Center". 
  28. ^ "Bray School of Dance". 
  29. ^ "Bray People Newspaper". 
  30. ^ "East Coast FM Radio Station". 
  31. ^ "Bray Emmets GAA Club". Retrieved 7 April 2017. 
  32. ^ "Bray Golf Club". 
  33. ^ "Old Conna Golf Club". 
  34. ^ "Bray Bowling Club". 
  35. ^ "Bray Bowling Alley". 
  36. ^ "Dargle Anglers Club". 
  37. ^ "Bray Wheelers Cycling Club". 
  38. ^ "Brennanstown Riding School". 
  39. ^ "Bray Sailing Club". 
  40. ^ "County Wicklow Lawn Tennis Club". 
  41. ^ "St Cronan's Boys' National School". 
  42. ^ "Saint Gerard's School Bray". stgerards.ie. 
  43. ^ "Bray Institute of Further Education - Welcome to BIFE Campus". 
  44. ^ "Maria Doyle Kennedy Biography". Hollywood.com. Retrieved 2015-11-21. 
  45. ^ "Twinned with Dublin". bray.ie. 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017. 

External links[edit]

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