Avoca

The scenic village of Avoca is set amongst heavily forested hills at the confluence of the rivers Avonbeg and Avonmore. Beneath a tree the Irish Romantic poet Thomas Moore composed his 1807 poem "The Meeting of the Waters". Overlooking the scene from its imposing position on a cliff over the river's eastern bank is Castle Howard. Avoca is famous for many things, the most recent being the popular BBC television series "Ballykissangel", the story of an English priest who comes to a small, rural Irish village and the various characters he meets. Avoca Handweavers was established in 1723, and is Ireland's oldest surviving business. It is a family owned craft design company which had its beginnings at the Old Mill at Avoca, Co. Wicklow. Here the weavers produced the beautifully woven fabrics, which became Avoca's hallmark. Today, handweaving still takes place at the Old Mill and we continue to honour the tradition of quality design and craftsmanship.