[1] Glenmalure is an important base for climbing in the Wicklow mountains, and particularly accessing the massif of Lugnaquilla, and contains one of the earliest An Óige youth hostels in Ireland.

The An Óige Glenmalure Youth Hostel, situated at the intersection with the Fraughan Rock Glen, is open during the summer months (no running water or electricity), and dates from 1903 when it was a hunting lodge; several notable figures have stayed in the premises, including Constance Markievicz, Maud Gonne, her son Seán MacBride, Éamon de Valera, and W. B.

At Glenmalure in 1274 the O'Byrnes massacred a punitive force sent from Dublin, which was led by the Prior of Kilmainham, William fitz Roger, one of the few survivors, who was taken prisoner.

It was the worst defeat suffered by an English army in Ireland; they were completely routed with losses of between 500 and 1,000 officers and men, including Sir Peter Carew the younger.

South of this junction on the road to Rathdangan and Aughrim lies the ruin of Glenmalure Barracks, built by the British army in an attempt to capture rebels after the 1798 rebellion.