Scouting in Wicklow
Wicklow has been part of Irish scouting from the very start. Here's how scouting grew in the county, and where the 17th Wicklow Roundwood fits into the story.
More than a century of scouting
From the first troops in 1908 to the Friday evenings in Annamoe today, the mountains, lakes and forests of Wicklow have always been a natural home for scouting.
- 1908
Scouting comes to Ireland
Only months after Baden-Powell published Scouting for Boys, the first Irish Scouts were enrolled in Dublin on 15 February 1908, in the Wolf Patrol of the 1st Dublin Troop. Groups in Wicklow were among the very first to form outside the capital.
- 1920s
A Wicklow beginning
County Wicklow played an early role in Irish scouting. In the mid-1920s Fr. Ernest Farrell, a curate in nearby Greystones, started an informal scouting-inspired boys' club. It led directly to the founding of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland in 1927, which he set up alongside his brother, Fr. Tom Farrell.
- Over the years
Lough Dan, on our doorstep
Lough Dan, just outside Roundwood, became the national campsite of the Scout Association of Ireland, with sailing, kayaking, archery and orienteering. Generations of Scouts from all over the country have camped beside the lake.
- 1997
A national jamboree at Lough Dan
Lough Dan hosted a national jamboree, bringing Scouts from across Ireland to the Wicklow Mountains.
- 2004
One Scouting Ireland
Ireland's two scouting associations, the Scout Association of Ireland and the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland, came together as Scouting Ireland, the organisation our group belongs to today.
- 2020
The 17th Wicklow Roundwood is founded
Our group was founded in 2020, bringing Beavers, Cubs and Scouts to young people in Roundwood, Annamoe and the surrounding area, right in the heart of the Wicklow Mountains.
The 17th Wicklow Roundwood
Founded in 2020, the 17th Wicklow Roundwood Scout Group runs Beavers, Cubs and Scouts for young people from Roundwood, Annamoe and the surrounding area, meeting every Friday during school terms at the Annamoe Centre.
If you've been part of the group since it began, we'd love to hear your memories and see your photos. Email roundwood17thscouts@gmail.com.
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