Clonsilla
Clonsilla (Irish: Cluain Saileach, meaning "meadow of the willow or sally tree") is a suburb of Dublin in the district of Fingal, Ireland.
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[edit] Location and access
Originally a small village in its own right, Clonsilla is now a large residential suburban area, with Ongar and other localities developing their own subsidiary identities. It falls into the Dublin 15 postal district, the Dublin West Dáil constituency and is locally administered by Fingal County Council.
The townland of Clonsilla is in the civil parish of Clonsilla which is in turn in the Barony of Castleknock. The barony (an old administrative division) is one of seven and a half comprising County Dublin and stretches from Cabra to Blanchardstown (from east to west) and from Finglas to Chapelizod (from north to south).
[edit] Townlands in the civil parish
The Parish of Clonsilla in the seventeenth century is stated to have comprised the townlands of Ballstown, Barberstown, Blackstaheney, Barnageeth, Clonsillagh, Coolmine, Cusanstown, Hartstown, Huntstown, Ininstown, Killiestown, Luttrellstown, Pibblestown, Ringwellstown, and Little Stackheney.[1] The table below [2] represents the current lists of townlands in the parish.
| Irish | English |
|---|---|
| Baile an Bhearbóraigh | Barberstown |
| Baile an Bhlácaigh | Blakestown |
| Baile an Hartaigh | Hartstown |
| Baile an Huntaigh | Huntstown |
| Baile Fiobail nó Páirc Hans | Phibblestown or Hansfield |
| Baile Lotrail | Woodlands |
| Baile Uí Cheallaigh | Kellystown |
| Cluain Saileach | Clonsilla |
| Cnoc an Sciobóil | Barnhill |
| Cúil Mhín | Coolmine |
| Gort na Giolcaí | Broomfield |
| Móinteán na gCaorach | Sheepmoor |
| Steach Gob | Astagob |
| Teach Chainnigh | Castaheany |
[edit] Transport
Clonsilla straddles the Royal Canal in the Fingal area and is linked to the city centre by the Maynooth commuter rail line and the N3 national road. Clonsilla railway station opened on 1 September 1848 and was closed for goods traffic on 17 June 1963.[3] Clonsilla is served by several Dublin Bus routes including the 39, the 39a and the 239 from Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.
[edit] History
It was once home to horse studs including the famous Ongar stud formerly owned by Prince Aly Khan and his then wife Rita Hayworth.
[edit] Clonsilla today
[edit] Development
Clonsilla has seen significant residential housing development in recent times. Estates such as Mount Symon, Castlefield, Charnwood, Limelawn, Ravenswood, Manorfields, Portersgate, Lohunda, Aldemere, Lambourn and Hartstown were built during the past 15 years. As a result, the population of the area has risen dramatically over the same period. Clonsilla is roughly equidistant from Blanchardstown and Castleknock.[4]
[edit] Places of interest
- Luttrellstown Castle - dating from the early 15th century and once owned by members of the Guinness family, it is now a hotel, with associated golf course, and was thrown into the spotlight when David Beckham and Victoria Adams married there. American Rock music band R.E.M. also stayed here during the Monster World Tour in 1995.
- The Shackleton Gardens at Beech Park. Home to famous walled garden containing many rare flower species and formerly owned by the Shackleton family. Opposite Luttrellstown Castle.
- Beech Park, a public park opened in May 2009, maintained by Fingal County Council
- The Royal Canal. Many varied species of freshwater fish such as pike, perch and roach can be caught along the banks of the canal.
[edit] Education
Clonsilla has a number of national schools, including St. Mochta's, St. Philips, St. Ciarans (Hartstown), and Scoil Choilm Community National School (Porterstown). There are four secondary schools in the vicinity, Hartstown Community School, Castleknock Community College, Coolmine Community School, Luttrellstown Community College and Castleknock College.
[edit] Sport
The local GAA club is St. Peregrines GAA. The local Football Club is St.Mochta's FC, Porterstown Rd., Clonsilla.
[edit] People
- The Ipswich Town player Mark Kennedy (footballer) is from Clonsilla and started his career at St.Mochta's FC.
- WWE Superstar and 2 time WWE Champion Sheamus is a native of Clonsilla
- Sir Thomas Luttrell of Luttrellstown Castle ( died 1554 ) Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, was buried in Clonsilla and left a bequest to build a chapel in his memory.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ "A History of the County Dublin :: Parish of Clonsilla". Francis Elrington Ball. http://www.chaptersofdublin.com/books/ball1-6/Ball4/ball4.1.htm.
- ^ "Cluain Saileach/Clonsilla". Placenames Database of Ireland. http://www.logainm.ie/TextBrowser.aspx?parentID=839&typeID=BF.
- ^ "Clonsilla station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ "Campus & Student Life :: Life in Blanchardstown". Institute of Technology Blanchardstown. http://www.itb.ie/CampusStudentLife/blanchardstown.html.
