How The Devil's Glen Gets Its Name

Devil's Glen Waterfall

D. Burns

In ancient times, the Devil’s Glen was a gentle sloping countryside. In the neighbourhood lived a chieftain who had a beautiful daughter, Flora. To the annoyance of many of the young princes in Co. Wicklow, Flora rejected their offers of marriage.

One day, a strange prince dressed in fine clothes and attended by many slaves came by with a team of horses laden with gold and precious jewels. Everybody thought she would not reject his offer of marriage, but he too was given a polite but decided refusal. As he jumped off his horse in rage, the people were terrified on seeing his cloven feet. But that was not all. In a mad rage, he tore up the soil and stones and flung them at either side of the entire region of the present glen, and from that day to this, the evidence of his anger may be seen in the rugged glen.

Extracted from Ashford and District Historical Journal No.1 July, 1991