In the early 1940's, the Irish Tourist Association (ITA), precursor to An Bord Fáilte and today's Fáilte Ireland, embarked on an ambitions project to survey the counties of Ireland with a view to recording the cultural, physical and tourism-related assests of local areas.
The Wicklow survey was carried out in 1942/43 by the noted archaeologists J.A. Pattison and P.J. Darcy who were tasked with lising the items of topographical interest, local geological features, local mansions and castles, and local custorms and patterns for each parish. In addition, they were tasked with making an inventory of local amenities, give general information on towns and villages, list local dance halls, cinemas, industries, handcrafts, fairs and markets, and local petrol stations. The types of local bed and breakfasts and guest houses were listed, together with a commentary on whether they had facilities such as bathrooms, toilets, etc.
These details were recorded using 5 seperate forms which allowed for the taking of generous notes. In many cases, additional pages were inserted to allow the full potential of an area to be documented. Supporting materials were also included such as drawings of noteworthy architectural features, reproductions of memorial plaques, photographs of archaelogical features and stately homes of interest.
These files provide us a valuable insight into Wicklow social history during the early 1940s. They document the economic, cultural and sporting life of the county during the 'Emergency' and show how outside influences such as WWII effected everyday life in small rural communities.
The areas surveyed were based on parish boundaries and, for County Wicklow, records exist for the parishes of Annacurra & Kilaveny, Arklow, Ashford, Aughrim, Avoca, Baltinglass, Blessington, Boystown, Bray & Little Bray, Dunlavin, Enniskerry, Glendalough, Greystones, Kilbride, Kilquade, Rathdrum, Tomacork and Wicklow.
The files have been digitised and are now available to view at the links below. Some parishes have been transcribed while others contain the original handwritten notes only.