Lacken, County Wicklow

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Lacken
An Leacain
Lackan
Townland
View from the beach at Pollaphuca reservoir - geograph.org.uk - 396270.jpg
View of Pollaphuca Reservoir from Lacken townland
Ireland adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Lacken
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°08′01″N6°28′41″W / 53.13361°N 6.47806°W / 53.13361; -6.47806
Country Ireland
Province Leinster
County County Wicklow
Population
 (2011) [1]
200
Time zone UTC+0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid Reference O005111

Lacken or Lackan (Irish : An Leacain) [2] is a townland and small village in the west of County Wicklow, Ireland, located on the shores of the Blessington lakes and western edge of the Wicklow Mountains.

Contents

Lacken in situated on the Blessington 'Lake Drive' and is sometimes noted for its view across the lake. [3] The area has been used as a location for a number of number of films, including Dancing at Lughnasa (1998), This Is My Father (1999) and P.S. I Love You (2007). [4]

As of the 2011 census of Ireland, the townland had a population of 200 people. [1]

History

Built heritage

Evidence of ancient settlement in the townland includes holy well, bullaun stone and ecclesiastical enclosure sites. [5] [6] The local Catholic church, Our Lady Of Mount Carmel church, is in the parish of Valleymount and was built in 1811. [7]

Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Lacken.jpg
Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

A primary school was built in Lacken in 1869, and later converted to become a community centre. [4] A new primary school was built and opened in January 2011, [8] and (as of 2013) had an enrollment of 71 pupils. [9]

A post office was opened in Lacken on 4 September 1951 as a sub-office to Blessington, [10] but has since closed.

RAF crash

At approximately 04:34am on 18 April 1941, a Handley Page Hampden aircraft (Registration AD730) [11] [12] got lost in bad weather and crashed on nearby Black Hill (Kilbeg) [13] killing its entire crew of four. All of the crew were under the age of 23. [14]

The plane was one of seven aircraft which had departed RAF Lindholme, North Yorkshire the previous evening around 20.15pm on a bombing mission to Berlin. [11] On the return leg, AD730 went missing. Lack of visibility, bad weather or failure of equipment due to technical or atmospheric problems have all been given as possible reasons for the plane going off course. [11] The plane crashed in an almost inaccessible part of remote bog [14] [12] on Black Hill and it took searchers two days to find the remains of all four crew members. [11] It appeared that death would have been instantaneous as the crew had not even been aware to put on parachutes. [14] Full military funerals took place on Tuesday 22 April 1941 at St. Mary’s Church, Blessington, by order of the Irish Government. [12] In attendance was a Mr. Leywood of the British Legation, who had arrived in Blessington on Sunday 20th and visited the scene of the crash. [14] The Irish Times the day after reported that “During the funeral all shops in Blessington were closed and blinds drawn on windows.” [12] A memorial stone was unveiled at the crash site on 18 April 1991 [14] [11] and the crew are remembered in the prayers of the congregation of St. Mary’s on every anniversary of the crash. [14] The crew included wireless operator/gunner Sgt. Frederick Henry Erdwin, navigator Sgt. John Thompson Lamb, WOp/Gunner Sgt. Stanley Wright, and pilot officer John Kenneth Hill. [11]

Mass path

Lacken Mass Path Lacken Mass Path Aug 24.jpg
Lacken Mass Path

Lacken Mass path is a walking trail that is accessible from the village. [15] The trail follows a signposted route to Lugnagun and unmarked tracks and Coillte forestry roads to Sorrel Hill and Black Hill. [16]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "CD174 - Wicklow Population by Private Households, Occupied and Vacancy Rate". data.gov.ie. Central Statistics Office. April 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2022. Lackan, Lackan, Co. Wicklow [..] Townlands [..] Population: 200
  2. ↑ "An Leacain / Lackan". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  3. ↑ "Blessington Lakes". Visit Wicklow. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Lacken" (PDF). wicklowuplands.ie. Retrieved 16 April 2022. Lacken Community Centre [..] Originally a local primary school, this building was constructed in 1869
  5. ↑ Archaeological Inventory of County Wicklow. Dublin: Stationery Office. 1997. WI010-010---- [..] holy well [..] Lackan / WI010-011004- [..] Bullaun stone [..] Lackan / WI010-011002- [..] Ecclesiastical enclosure [..] Lackan [..] Situated on a gentle SW-facing slope beside a stream. Part of the N graveyard wall (WI010-011003-) stands on an earth and stone bank (Wth 2m; H 1m) outside which there is a fosse
  6. ↑ "Welcome to Lacken - About". lackencommunity.com. Lacken Community. Retrieved 16 April 2022. Lacken [..] is the 27th largest townland in Wicklow. The general area has obviously been inhabited for some thousands of years, as evidenced by the existence of pre-historic burial sites , Bullauns and many other archaeological discoveries
  7. ↑ "Our Lady Of Mount Carmel Lacken". lackencommunity.com. Lacken Community. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  8. ↑ "Lacken National School - About Us". lackeens.com. 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "Whole School Evaluation - Report - Lacken National School". gov.ie. Department of Education. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Frank, Harald; Stange, Klaus (29 September 1990). Irische Postämter und ihre Stempeltypen / Irish Post Offices [Irish Post Offices and their postmarks]. Munich: Forchumgs- und Arbeitsgemeinschaft Irland e.V. p. 296. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Handley Page Hampden Mk I AD730, 18 Apr 1941". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Lennon, Mattie (30 March 2020). "Kylebeg and World War II". County Wicklow Heritage. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "An Chill Bheag/Kilbeg". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Government of Ireland - Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Dublin City University . Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hill, Colin. "What is Known about the Last Flight of AD730". Irish Aviation. Retrieved 16 April 2022.
  15. ↑ Buchanan, Myles (29 February 2024). "Two new Wicklow walking trails added to national scheme". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  16. ↑ "Lacken - Mass Path Loop - Sorrel Hill & Black Hill". Wicklow County Tourism. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
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