The Original Hollywood
Captivated by its legendary name,
visitors blessed to uncover the small, charming
village of Hollywood, Co. Wicklow
(Cillín Chaoímhín) are generally seen
snapping photos of the Oifig An Phoist
(Hollywood Post Office), and our Hollywood
sign on the green fields of Dragoon Hill,
surrounded by grazing sheep.
How funny, they must think; there’s a village
in the hills of Ireland named after Tinseltown,
but if only they knew the truth.
Hollywood, Co. Wicklow is the original
Hollywood. We boasted the name almost a
thousand years before our
Californian counterparts.
In fact, local emigrant Matthew Guirke
christened the Los Angeles suburb in honour
of his native village.
Matthew left home after the famine.
He made it big in business over there
and owned a race-track.
Amazingly, Matthew Guirke was the
great-granduncle of Jim Guirke,
Hollywood’s long-serving Post Master.
If only those clicking their cameras knew…