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Swords
Sord[1]
Sord Cholmcille
Town
North Street, Swords
North Street, Swords
Motto(s): 
Your Swords, an Emerging City[2]
CountryIreland
ProvinceLeinster
RegionDublin
CountyFingal
EU ConstituencyDublin
Dáil ConstituenciesDublin North, Dublin West
Local Electoral AreaSwords
Founded560
County Town1994
CityTBA
Founded bySt Colmcille
Named forSt Colmcille's Well
County HallMain Street, Swords
Electoral Divisions
7
  • Swords-Lissenhall
  • Swords-Glasmore
  • Swords-Forrest
  • Swords Village
  • Swords-Seatown
  • Donabate
  • Kinsaley
Government
[3]
 • TypeLocal Authority
 • BodyFingal County Council
 • MayorCian O'Callaghan (Labour)
 • Deputy MayorPeggy Hamill
 • County ManagerDavid O'Connor
 • Deputy County ManagerMichael Lorigan
 • Director of PlanningGilbert Power
Area
[4]
 • Swords Local Electoral Area114.02 km2 (44.02 sq mi)
 • Urban
[5]
11.35 km2 (4.38 sq mi)
 • Metro
[6]
15.99 km2 (6.17 sq mi)
 • Rank1
 • Swords CT10.21 km2 (3.94 sq mi)
 • Kinsealy-Drinan CT1.14 km2 (0.44 sq mi)
 Source: CSO Sapmap Viewer
Dimensions
[7]
 • Length5.15 km (3.20 mi)
 • Width4.04 km (2.51 mi)
Highest elevation
[8]
60 m (200 ft)
Lowest elevation
[9]
0 m (0 ft)
Population
 (2011)[10]
 • Swords Local Electoral Area60,583
 • Rank1
 • Density531/km2 (1,380/sq mi)
  • Rank1
 • Urban
[11]
42,738
 • Urban density3,765/km2 (9,750/sq mi)
 • Swords CT
36,924
 • Swords CT density3,615/km2 (9,360/sq mi)
 • Kinsealy-Drinan CT
5,814
 • Kinsealy-Drinan CT density5,101/km2 (13,210/sq mi)
 Source: Census 2011
DemonymFingalian
Ethnic or Cultural Background
[12]
 • White Irish30946
 • White Other7089
 • Asian or Asian Irish1169
 • Black or Black Irish1142
 • White Irish Traveller96
Religion
[13]
 • Roman Catholic34021
 • Orthodox1335
 • Protestant944
 • Other Christian850
 • Muslim579
Time zoneUTC0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (WEST)
Postal Hub
DUBLIN
Postal Sorting Office
SWORDS
Dialling Code+353(0)1
GeocodeO184469
ISO 3166 codeIE-D
Vehicle registrationD
Irish Grid ReferenceO184469

Swords (from Irish Sord Cholmcille) is the county town of Fingal in Ireland. It is about 13 km north of Dublin city centre and is part of its commuter belt. The name "Swords" may be applied to the town, the townland[14], the civil parish or to the local electoral area. The census town had a population of 36,924 in 2011, which makes Swords the third largest town in Ireland. However, if the adjoining census town of Kinsealy-Drinan, which is considered by Fingal County Council to be a part of Swords[15], was included, then the total population of the town would be 42,738, which would make Swords the largest town in Ireland.[16]

Fingal County Council's Strategic Vision for Swords is to create a sustainable new city. They have referred to Swords as an "emerging city" and project that the population of Swords will rise towards 100,000 by the year 2035.[17]

Since the mid 1990s Swords has seen improvements in shop fronts, public buildings and footpaths and the restoration of Swords Castle. In 2003 the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) Survey scored Swords the worst litter blackspot in the country.[18] Following a huge improvement to litter in the town, in their 2011 survey Swords was declared the second cleanest town in Ireland.[19] In 2012, Swords was named the third best town in Ireland to live in. The survey conducted by Retail Excellence Ireland took into account safety, retail, dining, entertainment, events, car parking and overall attractiveness of the town.[20]

History

The town's origins date back to 560 AD when it was founded by Saint Colmcille (521-567).[21] Legend has it that the saint blessed a local well, giving the town its name, Sord, meaning "clear" or "pure". However, An Sord also means "the water source" and could indicate a large communal drinking well that existed in antiquity.[22] St. Colmcille's Well is located on Well Road off Swords Main Street. Sord may also refer to a "sward", an 'expanse of grass'.[23]

Swords Historical Society was founded in 1982, and it's dedicated volunteers have worked to record, promote and preserve all aspects of the heritage of the greater Swords area. The Society’s Museum and Heritage Centre at the Carnegie Library, North St., Swords is run by volunteers and is open weekdays from 1 p.m. to 4.30p.m. There is a fascinating collection of old photos and artefacts on display and their oral history project has produced the annual ‘Swords Voices’ publication. Now in its eighteenth year the publications have chronicled the memories of local people, thus creating a unique social history of the area.[24]

In 1994, Swords became the county seat of the new County Fingal after the breakup of the former County Dublin; in 2001, it also became the administrative centre for Fingal, upon the completion of the Fingal County Hall.

In June 2006, the R.N.L.I. Ireland officially opened its new All Ireland headquarters at Airside in greater Swords. The new Irish H.Q. was officially opened by Her Excellency President Mary McAleese. In attendance at this Presidential ceremony was Admiral Sir Jock Slater, R.N., a former British First Sea Lord who was serving as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the R.N.L.I..

The cleanliness of Swords has hugely improved in recent years. In 2003 the Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) Survey scored Swords the worst litter blackspot in the country.[25] Following a huge improvement to litter in the town, in their 2011 survey Swords was declared the second cleanest town in Ireland.[26]

Geography

Swords Demesne is the name of the townland in the heart of the urban town of Swords.[27] It is one of 58 such geographic units in the civil parish of Swords. The parish is one of seven such parishes in the barony of Nethercross, although part of the parish lies in the neighbouring Barony of Coolock.[28] There are 10 townlands in the electoral division of Swords which is not co-terminous with the parish. The wider area of Swords had a population density in 2011 of 3765/km2, making it the most densely populated town in Ireland.[29]

Layout

The main retail area is located in the centre of the town, and includes the Main Street, with the Pavilions and Swords Central shopping centres, Swords Plaza and Swords Town Mall.

The west of the urban area is mainly residential, with the neighbourhoods of Applewood, Rathbeale and Brackenstown on the north side of the Ward River and Knocksedan, River Valley, Rathingle and Boriomhe on the south side of the Ward.

The main business/industry areas are located in the east of the town, along the R132 dual carriageway. These include Balheary Industrial Park, Swords Business Campus, Swords Business Park, Airside Business Park, Airside Retail Park, and Airside Motor Park. The neighbourhoods of Seatown, Holywell and Drynam are also in the east of Swords.

Landscape

Swords is situated roughly in the centre of the county of Fingal. The Ward River runs west to east to near the centre of the town, and then turns to run north, before flowing into the Broadmeadow River. The Broadmeadow River borders the north of the town. It runs from Dunshaughlin in the west and across the north of Swords, before receiving the Ward and flowing into the wide Broadmeadow Estuary, then into the Irish Sea past Malahide. The estuary is crossed by a railway embankment and bridge.

Swords is surrounded by a green belt. Dublin Airport has prevented the town from expanding further south and the large Broadmeadow Estuary and town of Malahide limit expansion further east. To the north and west of Swords there is not much apart from relatively flat farmland.

Climate

The climate of Swords is, like the rest of Ireland, classified as a maritime temperate climate (Cfb) according to the Köppen climate classification system. It is mild and changeable with abundant rainfall and a lack of temperature extremes. The hottest months of the year are June, July and August with temperatures of around 17 - 20 degrees. Swords gets rainfall all year round and the wettest months are October to January.

Climate data for Swords (Dublin Airport) (1981–2010 averages)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.5
(61.7) 		16.2
(61.2) 		17.2
(63.0) 		20.5
(68.9) 		23.5
(74.3) 		25.7
(78.3) 		27.6
(81.7) 		28.7
(83.7) 		24.6
(76.3) 		21.0
(69.8) 		18.0
(64.4) 		16.2
(61.2) 		28.7
(83.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 8.1
(46.6) 		8.3
(46.9) 		10.2
(50.4) 		12.1
(53.8) 		14.8
(58.6) 		17.6
(63.7) 		19.5
(67.1) 		19.2
(66.6) 		17.0
(62.6) 		13.6
(56.5) 		10.3
(50.5) 		8.3
(46.9) 		13.3
(55.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.3
(41.5) 		5.3
(41.5) 		6.8
(44.2) 		8.3
(46.9) 		10.9
(51.6) 		13.6
(56.5) 		15.6
(60.1) 		15.3
(59.5) 		13.4
(56.1) 		10.5
(50.9) 		7.4
(45.3) 		5.6
(42.1) 		9.8
(49.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 2.4
(36.3) 		2.3
(36.1) 		3.4
(38.1) 		4.6
(40.3) 		6.9
(44.4) 		9.6
(49.3) 		11.7
(53.1) 		11.5
(52.7) 		9.8
(49.6) 		7.3
(45.1) 		4.5
(40.1) 		2.8
(37.0) 		6.4
(43.5)
Record low °C (°F) −9.5
(14.9) 		−6.7
(19.9) 		−7.9
(17.8) 		−4.0
(24.8) 		−1.6
(29.1) 		2.1
(35.8) 		4.6
(40.3) 		2.4
(36.3) 		1.2
(34.2) 		−3.3
(26.1) 		−8.4
(16.9) 		−12.2
(10.0) 		−12.2
(10.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 62.6
(2.46) 		48.8
(1.92) 		52.7
(2.07) 		54.1
(2.13) 		59.5
(2.34) 		66.7
(2.63) 		56.2
(2.21) 		73.3
(2.89) 		59.5
(2.34) 		79.0
(3.11) 		72.9
(2.87) 		72.7
(2.86) 		758.0
(29.84)
Average rainy days 17 15 17 15 15 14 16 16 15 17 17 17 191
Average snowy days 4.6 4.2 2.8 1.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 2.9 16.6
Average relative humidity (%) 80.6 75.7 71.0 68.3 68.0 68.3 69.0 69.3 71.5 75.1 80.3 83.1 73.3
Mean daily sunshine hours 1.9 2.7 3.5 5.3 6.2 5.8 5.3 5.1 4.3 3.3 2.4 1.7 3.9
Source: Met Eireann[30]

Demographics

See also: Demographics of Swords
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1813—    
18211,727—    
18312,537+46.9%
18411,788−29.5%
18511,294−27.6%
18611,296+0.2%
18711,008−22.2%
18811,088+7.9%
1891983−9.7%
1901944−4.0%
1911907−3.9%
1926839−7.5%
1936838−0.1%
1946703−16.1%
19511,136+61.6%
19561,629+43.4%
19611,816+11.5%
19661,892+4.2%
19714,133+118.4%
198111,138+169.5%
198615,312+37.5%
199117,705+15.6%
199622,314+26.0%
200227,175+21.8%
200637,762+39.0%
201142,738+13.2%
Fingal County Hall.

Swords has developed into one of the largest towns in Ireland. The town's population boom began in the 1970s with the construction of the sprawling Rivervalley Estate, Ireland's largest private housing development, ahead of Kilnamanagh Estate in Tallaght North, and continued during the 1990s and 2000s, with many new residents moving to the area due to its proximity to work at Dublin Airport and various industrial estates.

At the 2011 census the total urban population of greater Swords was 42,738.

Fingal County Council have referred to Swords as an "Emerging City", and expect that the town's (or city's) population will reach 100,000 by 2035.

Formal status question

Unlike most large towns, Swords does not have a town council or any legal boundaries. Towns which do not have legal boundaries are classified as Census Towns for statistical reasons and are assigned boundaries by the Central Statistics Office, purely for statistical use. However, when the CSO assigned boundaries to the Swords "census town" they excluded the Drynam and Holywell housing estates, and considered them as a separate census town of "Kinsealy-Drinan". The "Swords" "census town" had a population of 36,924 (the third largest in Ireland), and the "Kinsealy-Drinan" "census town" had a population of 5,814. This contradicts their own guidelines which say that borders will be extended to include all occupied dwellings within 100 metres of an existing building.[31] According to the CSO's own SAPMAP viewer, there is definitely less than 100 meters between the two census towns, down to only 10 metres at one point.[32] The two census towns are part of the same urban area, and are both within the Swords development boundary, as defined by Fingal County Council.[33] When put together they have a total population of 42,738, well ahead of Irelands official largest town, Drogheda (38,578). The reason that two census towns were identified is probably because of an area of undeveloped land between them at Barryparks. This land has been left undeveloped because Fingal County Council has reserved it for commercial use to allow Swords develop its own "city centre." This problem can't be resolved until at least the next census in 2016, although it could also be resolved by applying legal boundaries to Swords, covering the entire developed urban area.

Transport

See also: Transport in Dublin

Roads

Swords has good road links due to its proximity to Dublin City, which is the main focus for the Irish road network. The M1 Dublin-Belfast motorway (currently being widened to six lanes) passes along the eastern edge of the town and is the main route to/from Dublin City, Drogheda, Dundalk and Northern Ireland. The M50 Dublin ring motorway passes to the south of the town and provides connections with all of the other main roads out of Dublin (N2, N3, N4, N7, N81 & M11). The R132 dual-carrigeway by-passes the centre of Swords, and runs south to Dublin Airport and north to Balbriggan. The proposed Swords Western Ring Road dual carrigeway will run from the M1 at Lissenhall, north of Swords, along the western edge of Swords to the M2 motorway at Cherryhound. It will improve access to the western side of Swords and will also create a full ring road. Other main roads from Swords include the R106 to Malahide and Portmarnock, R126 to Donabate and Portrane, R127 to Lusk and Skerries and R125 to Ashbourne and the M2 motorway.

M1 Motorway Junction List (Swords area)
Northbound exits (read up) Junction Southbound exits (read down)
M1 continues towards Drogheda, Dundalk and Belfast — M1 from Belfast, Dundalk and Drogheda
Balbriggan (R132) Lusk, Rush (R132)
Lusk services Lusk services
Skerries, Rush, Donabate (R132 (R126)) Swords (North), Malahide, Donabate (R132 (R126))
Swords (Centre) (R125) No exit
Dublin Airport, Swords (South) (R132) Dublin Airport, Swords (South) (R132)
Start of M1 motorway Malahide (N32), ALL OTHER ROUTES (M50 )
Motorway continues as M50 for Dublin and Dublin Port
R132 Dual Carriageway Junction List (Swords area)
Northbound (read up) Junction Southbound (read down)
R132 continues towards Balbriggan — R132 from Balbriggan
Services Turvey Roundabout Donabate, Turvey Avenue (L2136)
Bealinstown, Batter Lane Tesco Roundabout Tesco Ireland Distribution Centre
Belfast, Balbriggan (M1 ) Lissenhall Interchange Donabate (R126), Dublin (M1 )
Ennis Lane, Emmaus Retreat Centre — Estuary Centre
Town Centre, Applewood, Ashbourne (R125) Estuary Roundabout Fingallians GAA, Swords Wastewater Treatment Plant (L1241)
No right turn — Seatown Road
Town Centre, Swords Castle, Rathbeale Road Seatown Roundabout Seatown, Broadmeadow Estuary, Swords Recycling Centre
No right turn — Swords Business Park
Town Centre, Pavilions Shopping Centre Malahide Road Roundabout Malahide (R106), Kinsealy, Drynam (L2065)
Pavilions Shopping Centre — No right turn
Town Centre, Highfields Pinnock Hill Roundabout Airside Retail Park, Holywell, Dublin (R125 (M1 ))
Boroimhe, River Valley (L2300) Nevinstown Cross Airside Retail Park, Holywell (L2203)
No right turn — Kettles Lane, Kingdom Hall (L2060)
Naul, St. Margarets (L2020) Cloghran Roundabout Baskin, National Show Centre
No right turn — Stockhole Lane
Dublin Airport Terminals 1 & 2 Airport Roundabout Dublin, Belfast (M1 )
Dublin Airport Terminals 1,2 & Cargo Corballis Cross Red Long Term Parking, ALSAA
Ballymun, Blue Long Term Parking (L2015) Collinstown Cross Dardistown Cemetery
R132 from Santry — R132 continues towards Santry

Bus

Swords's Main Street is served by over 600 buses daily, including Dublin Bus routes 33, 33a, 33b, 33n, 41, 41a, 41b, 41c, 41n, 41x, 43, and 102, Bus Eireann route 101, Swords Express and Urbus route 001. Buses operate between Swords and Dublin city centre appoximately every 5 minutes throughout the day, through a combination of Dublin Bus routes 33, 41, 41b, 41c, 41n, 41x & 43,[34] with a journey time of about an hour. The Swords Road Quality Bus Corridor is the busiest in the country, with buses operating on average every 58 seconds during peak times.[35] Swords Express[36] operate express services through the Dublin Port Tunnel which take about 35 minutes. Other buses to/from Swords include Dublin Bus route 102 to Malahide, Portmarnock & Sutton, route 33b to Donabate & Portrane, routes 33 & 33a to Lusk, Rush, Skerries, & Balbriggan and Bus Eireann route 101 to Balbriggan, Julianstown & Drogheda.

There are a large range of long distance bus services from Dublin Airport[37] to various locations throughout the country operated by Bus Eireann[38] and other private companies, including 50 daily services to Belfast (route 1/X2 & Aircoach[39]), 12 to Derry (route 33 & John Mc Ginley[40]), 11 to Letterkenny (route 32 & John Mc Ginley), 9 to Donegal (route 30), 3 to Sligo (route 23), 1 to Ballina (route 22), 52 to Galway (route 20, Citylink[41] & gobus[42]), 14 to Limerick (route 12 & JJ Kavanagh[43]), 24 to Cork (GoBé & Aircoach), 6 to Clonmel (JJ Kavanagh), 21 to Waterford (route 4/X4 & JJ Kavanagh) and 31 to Wexford (route 2, Ardcavan[44] & Wexford Bus[45]).

Rail

Swords currently has no railway services. The nearest railway stations are Malahide Station and Donabate Station. Malahide is served by the frequent Dublin area rapid transit service to Bray, through the city centre. Both Malahide and Donabate are served by Dublin - Drogheda commuter services.

Metro

The Dublin - Swords route is currently the busiest bus corridor in the country, and there are plans for a new light rapid transit line along the route. The future Metro North line is proposed to run from St Stephen's Green in Dublin City Centre to Swords via the Mater Hospital, Drumcondra Railway Station, Dublin City University, Ballymun and Dublin Airport. Due to the current financial situation, the €2.5 billion project has been deferred, to be reconsidered should funding become available. 2011 was originally set as the completion date but it is now not expected to even start construction until 2015 at the earliest. It was planned to carry over 34 million passengers a year and have capacity for 20,000 passengers an hour in each direction. Trains would run up to every 2 minutes during peak times.

Four stops are proposed for the Swords area:

  • Estuary - at the edge of Balheary Park, will serve passengers for north Swords and Applewood / Balheary areas
  • Swords - in the median of the R132 adjacent to the Pavilions Shopping Centre and Barrysparks future development lands, will serve passengers for the town centre and Brackenstown / Swords Manor areas
  • Fosterstown - adjacent to Airside Retail Park, will serve passengers in River Valley / Boroimhe / Holywell areas - will also include a 300 space park and ride facillity
  • Airport - between Terminals 1 & 2 in Dublin airport, will serve air passengers and employees

A further three stops were originally proposed but were refused planning permission. The reasons were mainly because of a lack of development in the area, so these stops could possibly be built in the future following development in the areas.

  • Bealinstown - originally proposed as a 3000 space park and ride off the M1 for passengers travelling from places north of Swords
  • Lissenhall - north of Estuary stop
  • Seatown - between Estuary and Swords stops, refused becaused Estuary and Swords stops were considered close enough for passengers

Bealinstown was originally proposed as the location for the metro depot, which would have created a lot of jobs for the Swords area. But planning permission was refused for all of the line north of the Estuary Stop, including the depot. It is now proposed to locate the depot in Dardistown, south of Dublin Airport.

Dublin Airport

Dublin Airport, the main airport in Ireland, is located just to the south of Swords. The airport has flights to Britain, Europe, North America, North Africa and the Middle East. Aer Lingus and Ryanair are the largest operaters from the airport. In 2011, 18.7 million passengers passed through the airport, making it the busiest of the islands airports by total passenger traffic. There are approximately 50 daily departures from Dublin to all six London airports (Stansted, Luton, Gatwick, Heathrow, London City and Southend). The Dublin - London air route is the busiest city pair in Europe. There are over 40 daily departures to other UK Airports.

Knocksedan Heliport

Knocksedan Heliport is a private heliport on the western side of Swords run by Celtic Helicopters. Celtic Helicopters were founded in 1985 and their helicopters have carried Nelson Mandela and have flown alongside Air Force One. Their heliport in Knocksedan has four hangers and they provide a helicopter wash facility and Jet A1 Fuel.[46] Irish Helicopters also use the heliport. They provide Aerial Crane, Aerial Filming, Aerial Survey, Helicopter Charter, Helicopter Maintenance, Power Line Survey, Spraying and Special Project services.[47]

Features and historical attractions

Historical attractions promoted by Swords Historical Society[48] include:

Swords Castle

The castle in 1792
The castle in 1820

Swords Castle was built as the manorial residence of the 1st Archbishop of Dublin, John Comyn, around 1200 or a little later in Swords, just north of Dublin. It was never strong in the military sense, but covers a large pentagonal walled area of nearly 1.5 acres (6,000 m²) with a tower on the north, probably the Constable's residence, and an impressive gateway complex on the south. The warder may have occupied the quarters to the left of the gate, while to the right was the janitor's room with the priest's room overhead. The adjoining chapel, built in the late thirteenth century, was probably used as the Archbishop's private oratory.

Other buildings, recorded for an inquisition in 1326, have now vanished, including the great hall on the east side of the enclosure. The Archbishop abandoned Swords once a new palace was built at Tallaght in 1324 - a move no doubt encouraged by damage sustained during Bruce's campaign of 1317. The stepped battlements suggest some form of occupancy during the fifteenth century, but by 1583, when briefly occupied by Dutch Protestants, it was described as "the quite spoiled old castle". It was used as a garden in the nineteenth century and sold after the Church of Ireland was disestablished.

Swords Castle is undergoing a significant redevelopment and is intended to become a tourist attraction. The body of Brian Boru was said to have been brought there after the Battle of Clontarf, though recent evidence would suggest that the destination was Swords Abbey, which lies slightly to the west of the Main Street.

The newly renovated castle was used as a film location for the production of TV series The Tudors in spring 2010.[49] Swords Castle and Courtyard is open to the public from Monday to Friday by appointment only by calling 01 890 5600.[50]

St. Colmcille’s Well

On Well Road, Swords; also known as St. Columb's Well. Reputed to be where Swords got its name when St. Colmcille blessed the well of clear water, ‘Sord’ being the Irish for ‘clear or pure’.

St. Columba’s Church, Belfry & Round Tower

Round Tower surviving remainder of St Colmcille’s monastic settlement. Medieval Tower c. 1300 AD, also Sexton’s Lodge of architectural interest, built 1870. The only remaining relic of the medieval church is its belfry which is open to the public in summertime, when fine days afford the visitor a view of four counties from the tower’s height. The original church is said to have fallen into ruin sometime in the seventeenth century. The new church of early Gothic style was built in 1811 on the foundations of the old.[51]

Old Vicarage

Dating from around 1730, now apartments with part of original building retained.

St. Colmcille’s RC Church

Chapel Lane. Pre Catholic Emancipation church – built in 1827 on site donated by James Taylor of Swords House. Graveyard contained many interesting headstones including stone to Andrew Kettle who was known as ‘Parnell’s Righthand Man’.

The Courthouse

North Street, built 1845 in Classical style, design by Alexander Tate.

Teachers’ Residences

North Street - built in 1890.

Carnegie Library

North Street, built in 1909. Redbrick building typical early 20th century. Now houses Swords Museum/Fingal Genealogy Centre.

Old Borough School

Main Street, now a public house. It was built in 1809 with fund awarded after the Act of Union from the Borough of Swords was disenfranchised. Designed by noted architect of the time, Francis Johnston. The story of the school is well documented.

Fingal County Hall

The award-winning modern Fingal County Hall by Bucholz McEvoy architects dominates the northern end of Main Street. It is built on the site of Swords House, the home of the Norman family of Taylors of Swords. Records show the family came there in the 13th century and built a ‘Mansion House’ in 1403.

Shops

Swords has a wide range of shops, banks, pubs and other businesses, including a large modern shopping centre, the The Pavilions Swords, off the R132, the recent extension of which has a multi-screen cinema and Penneys, and it has a Dunnes Stores branch.

Parks

Ward River Valley Park

The Ward River Valley Park is a linear park on the banks of the Ward River approaching town. It covers an area of 89 ha. (220 acres) between Swords town centre and Knocksedan Bridge. Features of interest include some 12th century fortifications, woodland habitats, wetlands and rolling grassland. There are viewing points, picnic sites, sports pitches and tennis courts.[52]

Swords Town Park (with Swords Castle)

Swords Town Park is a small park situated in the centre of the town of Swords, along the Ward River.[53] It has tennis courts and a playground. Swords Castle lies within the park. It is the former residence of the Archbishop of Dublin and it is the only fortified residence of the Archbishop to survive in a reasonable state today (see above).

Balheary Park

Balheary Park is north of the town centre near the confluence of the Broadmeadow River and the Ward River, which flow, respectively, on the northern and southern edges of the park. It meets Swords Business Campus / Balheary Business Park on three sides, and has some playing pitches which are used by St. Colmcille's GAA club. In mid-2006, Fingal County Council built a skatepark and adjoining basketball courts/football court in Balheary Park. The park contains a bowl, a vertwall, a spine, some quarterpipes, and a section of boxes in the middle of the park.

Broadmeadow River Linear Park

The Broadmeadow Linear Park is a small park north of Applewood along the Broadmeadow River. Fingal County Council plan to extend the park eastwards to Balheary Park and westwards into the proposed Swords Regional Park.[54]

Proposed Swords Regional Park

A 65 ha. new regional park for Swords is to be formed north-east of Swords, stretching from the Rathbeale Road to the Broadmeadow River. The park will be immediately west of Oldtown and adjoining and ultimately extending into the Broadmeadow River Valley Linear Park. The Park will serve Swords and its hinterland, and will comprise active recreational and passive activities, commensurate with the Council’s vision for the emerging city of Swords.[55]

Events

Fingal Horticultural Show

The Fingal Horticultural Society holds their annual flower show in Swords every August.[56] It includes competition classes in Cut Flowers, Hanging Baskets, Pot Plants, Flower Arranging, Fruit, Vegetables, Cookery, Wine Making, Photography, Painting and Handcrafts, as well as special classes for children. The Fingal Horticultural Society also hold an annual Garden Competition, Allotment Competition and Pub Frontage Competition in Swords.

Flavours of Fingal Agricultural Show

The first Flavours of Fingal Show took place on the 21 and 22 July 2012 in Newbridge House near Donabate. The Flavours of Fingal Show combined the sights and sounds of an agricultural show with an unforgettable food and family fun experience. The farm section of the two day show featured a program of livestock and sheep competitions, equestrian contests and other agricultural displays. Meanwhile the historic walled garden of Newbridge House hosted the food producers section of the show and features an array of favourite local delights, cooking demos and all things food in Fingal. Also on offer over the course of the weekend were family and musical entertainment and a programme of walks, talks and festival antics.[57]

Dog shows

The National Show Centre is a modern exhibition and conference venue right next to Dublin Airport. Situated in the Fingal area of Dublin and within easy reach of three stately homes, Malahide Castle, Newbridge House and Ardgillan Castle. Its proximity to Dublin's Airport and the many hotels in the area makes this venue a strategic and convenient location for both delegates and exhibitors.[58]

It is owned by the Irish Kennel Club, who use it as their main venue for dog shows in Ireland. In 2012 over 80 dog shows were held in the National Show Centre.[59] The Celtic Winners Dog Show, held on St. Patrick's Day, is the most prestigious dog show in the country.

Fingal 10k Road Race

The first ever Fingal 10k Road Race took place on 22 July 2012 around the streets of Swords. It was part of the Dublin Race Series and over 4200 people entered. Michael MacDiarmada was the winner in a time of 00:31:31 and Siobhan O' Doherty was the first woman over the line in a time of 00:35:30. The event went well and the organisers hope to run it again in 2013.[60]

Accommodation

Hotels

  • Roganstown Hotel and Country Club ****[61]
  • Carnegie Court Hotel ***[62]
  • Kettle's Country House Hotel ***[63]
  • Travelodge Dublin Airport North ***[64]
  • Forty Four Main Street **[65]

Economy

Ingersoll Rand has its corporate headquarters in the Airside Business Park in Swords.[66] Swords is the home to a large retail and business park called Airside Retail and Business Park, on the southern fringe of the town, hosting many employers, including the European Headquarters of Kellogg's. East of the town, running parallel to Swords bypass, lies the large Swords Business Park. The Hertz Corporation have a Shared Services Centre in Swords Business Park.

Aviation

Swords is the closest town to Dublin Airport and the airport has provided a lot of employment to the area. In 2011 the airport handled over 18.7 million passengers and served over 171 routes with 62 airlines.[67] The airport serves as an operating base for Aer Lingus, Aer Lingus Regional, Air Contractors, CityJet, Orbest Orizonia Airlines, Ryanair & Thomson Airways and as a maintenance base for Aer Lingus, CityJet, Dublin Aerospace[68], Eirtech Aviation[69], Etihad Airways[70] & Ryanair. The Irish Aviation Authority[71] operate the Dublin Air Traffic Control Centre on the airport.

The headquarters of the Dublin Airport Authority and Ireland's four largest airlines are located in Swords. The Dublin Airport Authority, who manage Dublin, Cork and Shannon Airports, employ over 3,000 people and have their headquarters on the airport campus.[72] Aer Lingus,[73] Ireland's flag carrier, and Ryanair,[74] Europe's largest low-cost airline, have their headquarters on the Dublin Airport campus. CityJet, part of the Air France-KLM group, has its headquarters in Swords Business Campus[75] and Air Contractors, part of the ASL Aviation group, has its head office on the Malahide Road in Swords.[76]

Logistics

In 2007 Tesco Ireland opened their new €70 million distribution centre in Lanestown, between Swords and Donabate. With a building footprint of over 68,000 m² and a total volume of 1.55 million m³ the Tesco Ireland distribution centre is the largest building on the island of Ireland and the 8th largest building in the world. The building is over half a kilometre long and could fit 16 jumbo jets. It employs over 600 people and can process 1.5 million cases a week. It has 106 loading bays and supplies 106 stores up to 6 times a day.[77]

Pharmaceutical

Swords is the home to several international chemical producers and pharmaceutical giants, including Opec. Merck Sharp & Dohme (formally Organnon) employ over 500 people in their facility in Drynam, which manufactures women's health, anaesthesiology and mental health products.[78] Bristol Myers Squibb employ over 400 people in their Swords Laboratories bulk pharmaceutical plant on Watery Lane.[79] The Lonza Group employ 45 people in their European manufacturing facility for personal care and industrial biocides, also on Watery Lane.[80]

Food and Horticulture

Swords is located in the heart of Fingal, sometimes promoted as "the Food County," and is surrounded by farms growing various crops, including potatoes, wheat and barley. However unlike the rest of Fingal, a lot of the food distributed from Swords has been imported from abroad.

FoodCentral, marketed as "Ireland's national food park," is currently being developed south-west of Swords.[81] When complete it will cover an area of 113 hectares.

The Keeling's Group, who employ over 1700 people, have their headquarters in FoodCentral and use a lot of land around Swords.[82] The Keeling's Farms division annually grow 2,500 tonnes of soft fruits/berries from 5 hectares of glasshouse, tunnel and field crops in Swords. They grow Bramley apples in 139 acres of orchards and lettuce in 8 acres of glasshouses. Inside FoodCentral they have the only pepper growing facility in Ireland. Their 5 hectare high technology glasshouse produces 1,500 tonnes of red, orange, yellow and green peppers annually.[83] The Keeling's Multiples Division have a 12,500 square metre refrigerated facility in FoodCentral. They operate a large banana ripening facility for Chiquita which ripens over 3 million bananas each week. They also have separate ripening rooms for "Ready to eat" lines, such as peaches, pears, plums and avacados.[84][85]

Total Produce,[86] Ireland's largest Agribusiness[87] have two large facilities in Swords. Their facility in Swords Business Park includes a distribution and ripening centre for Fyffes[88] Cape, Outspan, Green Ace and TOP Fruit products. Their "Uniplumo" facility on the Rathbeale Road,[89] has 46,000 square metres of glasshouses for growing plants, flowers and tomatoes.

Education

Primary

The town is served by twelve primary schools:

  • Gaelscoil Bhrian Boroimhe, Glen Ellan Road[90]
  • Swords Educate Together National School, Glen Ellan Road[91]
  • Thornleigh Educate Together National School, Applewood[92]
  • St. Cronan's Junior National School, Brackenstown Road[93]
  • St. Cronan's Senior National School, Brackenstown Road[94]
  • Church of Ireland Old Borough National School, Church Road
  • St. Colmcille's Boys' National School, Chapel Lane[95]
  • St. Colmcille's Girls' National School, Chapel Lane[96]
  • Holy Family Junior National School, River Valley[97]
  • Holy Family Senior National School, River Valley[98]
  • Holywell Educate Together National School, Holywell Road[99]
  • Scoil an Duinnigh, Drynam[100]

Secondary

There are four secondary schools serving the town:

  • Loreto College (all-girls school), River Valley[101]
  • Coláiste Choilm C.B.S. (all-boys school), Dublin Road[102]
  • Fingal Community College, Seatown Road[103]
  • St. Finian's Community College, Castlefarm[104]

Other

There is also a Youthreach facility, a FÁS training centre, the Fingal Adult Literacy and Education Centre, a beauty college registered with ITEC & CIBTAC called Lenagh's College and an Institute of Business and Technology. Land has also been reserved for a potential future university campus in Lissenhall in north Swords.[105]

Museums and culture

  • Swords Museum, North Street
  • Swords Historical Society, North Street

Religion

Roman Catholic

Swords has six Roman Catholic churches. St. Colmcille's, the Church of the Visitation and Our Lady Queen of Heaven are all within Swords parish. St. Cronan's and St. Finian's each belong to distinct parishes, while the Church of the Immacuate Conception lies within Donabate parish.

  • St. Colmcille's Church, Chapel Lane[106]
  • St. Cronan's Church, Brackenstown[107]
  • St. Finian's Church, River Valley[108]
  • Church of the Visitation, Drynam[109]
  • Church of the Immacuate Conception, Balheary[110]
  • Our Lady Queen of Heaven Chapel, Dublin Airport[111]

Protestant

  • St. Columba's Church of Ireland, Church Road[112]
  • Swords Baptist Church, Drynam (under construction - currently meeting in St. Finian's Community College)[113]
  • Lighthouse Baptist Church, Seatown West[114]
  • Other Protestant and evangelical
  • Apostolic Faith Church (meets in St. Columba's Parish Centre)[115]
  • Churchtown Trust (planning granted for prayer room on Rathbeale Road)[116]

Non Chalcedonian

Non Trinitarian

Multi-Faith

  • Multi-Faith prayer room, Terminal 2, Dublin Airport[119]

Retreat centre

  • Emmaus Retreat and Conference Centre, Lissenhall (includes private chapel and 2 prayer rooms)[120]

Sports

GAA

There are three GAA clubs located in Swords:

Golf

There are several golf courses close to the town, namely Swords Open Golf Course, Forest Little Golf Club, Roganstown Golf and Country Club and Balheary Par 3 Golf Course. There are also several Driving Ranges in the area with the Drynam Golf Centre being the first Driving Range in the country with automated tees. Also, the Grange Driving range is rated as a 5 star Driving Range

Boxing

Swords Boxing Club is located off Main Street. The club was established over 50 years ago and hosts many tournaments.

Fingal Boxing Academy is affiliated with the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, was the first boxing club in Ireland to train female boxers and has trained several national champions. The club is located in Rivervalley, Swords.

Orienteering

Fingal Orienteers have mapped the Ward River Valley park, and the surrounding estates of Swords Manor, Brackenstown, River Valley and Knocksedan, and regularly hold orienteering events in the area.[123] They are also currently working on a new International Sprint Standard Orienteering map of the Applewood and Glen Ellan areas.

See also

References

  1. ^ logainm.ie Oficial Placenames Database of Ireland
  2. ^ Fingal County Council Swords Strategic Vision 2035
  3. ^ Fingal County Council
  4. ^ Swords Total Area - Swords Local Electoral Area Central Statistics Office
  5. ^ Swords Urban Area - Swords and Kinsealy-Drinan Census Towns Central Statistics Office
  6. ^ Swords Metro Area - Swords Development Boundary Fingal County Council
  7. ^ Swords Dimensions Ordnance Survey Ireland
  8. ^ Swords Max Elevation Ordnance Survey Ireland
  9. ^ Swords Min Elevation Ordnance Survey Ireland
  10. ^ Swords Total Population - Swords Local Electoral Area Census 2011
  11. ^ Swords Urban Population - Swords and Kinsealy Drinan Census Towns Census 2011
  12. ^ Swords Ethnic or Cultural Background Census 2011
  13. ^ Swords Religion Census 2011
  14. ^ Placenames Database of Ireland Swords Demesne
  15. ^ Fingal County Development Plan - Map 8 (dashed red line indicates Swords development boundary)
  16. ^ Census 2011 - Towns ordered by county and size Central Statistics Office
  17. ^ Your Swords, an Emerging City, Strategic Vision 2035 Fingal County Council
  18. ^ Irish Business Against Litter Survey 2003
  19. ^ Irish Business Against Litter Survey 2011
  20. ^ Retail Excellence Ireland Survey 2012
  21. ^ Sidwell, Keith (1995), Reading Medieval Latin, Cambridge University Press, p. 70, ISBN 0-521-44747-X {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |city= ignored (|location= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ http://swordsdublin.net/_dublin_history.html
  23. ^ Hickey, Raymond, 2005: Dublin English: evolution and change
  24. ^ Swords Historical Society
  25. ^ Irish Business Against Litter Survey 2003
  26. ^ Irish Business Against Litter Survey 2011
  27. ^ P{lacenames Database of Ireland Swords Demesne
  28. ^ Placenames Database of Ireland Nethercross
  29. ^ Census 2011 Population Density
  30. ^ Met Eireann
  31. ^ Appendix 2
  32. ^ Boundary layer: settlements
  33. ^ Dashed red line
  34. ^ Dublin Bus timetables
  35. ^ Canal Cordon Traffic Count Dublin City Council (page 20)
  36. ^ Swords Express timetables
  37. ^ Buses from Dublin Airport
  38. ^ Bus Eireann timetables
  39. ^ Aircoach timetables
  40. ^ John McGinley timetables
  41. ^ Citylink timetables
  42. ^ gobus timetables
  43. ^ JJ Kavanagh timetables
  44. ^ Ardcavan timetables
  45. ^ Wexford Bus timetables
  46. ^ Celtic Helicopters Knocksedan Heliport
  47. ^ Irish Helicopters Knocksedan Heliport
  48. ^ Swords Historical Society
  49. ^ Swords Castle - The Tudors Evening Herald
  50. ^ Swords Castle - Visiting Information Fingal Tourism
  51. ^ St. Columba's Round Tower Fingal Tourism
  52. ^ Ward River Valley Park
  53. ^ Swords Castle and Town Park
  54. ^ Broadmeadow Linear Park (Section 3.1.2)
  55. ^ Swords Regional Park (Section 3.1.3)
  56. ^ www.fingalhorticulturalsociety.co.cc Fingal Horticultural Society
  57. ^ Flavours of Fingal
  58. ^ National Show Centre
  59. ^ Irish Kennel Club Show Dates search Cloghran
  60. ^ Fingal 10k
  61. ^ Roganstown Hotel and Country Club
  62. ^ Carnegie Court Hotel
  63. ^ Kettle's Country House Hotel
  64. ^ Travelodge Dublin Airport North
  65. ^ Forty Four Main Street
  66. ^ "Contact Us." Ingersoll Rand. Retrieved on 18 January 2011. "Global Headquarters 170/175 Lakeview Drive Airside Business Park Swords, Co. Dublin Ireland."
  67. ^ Dublin Airport - Airlines and Destinations
  68. ^ Dublin Aerospace
  69. ^ Eirtech Aviation
  70. ^ Etihad Airways
  71. ^ Irish Aviation Authority
  72. ^ Dublin Airport Authority
  73. ^ Aer Lingus
  74. ^ Ryanair
  75. ^ CityJet
  76. ^ Air Contractors
  77. ^ Tesco Ireland Distribution Centre
  78. ^ MSD Ireland
  79. ^ Bristol-Myers Squibb Ireland
  80. ^ Lonza Swords
  81. ^ FoodCentral
  82. ^ Keeling's Group
  83. ^ Keeling's Farms
  84. ^ Keeling's Multiples
  85. ^ Chiquita Bananas
  86. ^ Total Produce
  87. ^ Total Produce - Top Irish Agribusiness Companies
  88. ^ Fyffes Swords
  89. ^ Uniplumo (Ireland)
  90. ^ Gaelscoil Bhrian Boroimhe
  91. ^ Swords Educate Together National School
  92. ^ Thornleigh Educate Together National School
  93. ^ St. Cronan's Junior National School
  94. ^ St. Cronan's Senior National School
  95. ^ St. Colmcille's Boys' National School
  96. ^ St. Colmcille's Girls' National School
  97. ^ Holy Family Junior National School
  98. ^ Holy Family Senior National School
  99. ^ Holywell Educate Together National School
  100. ^ Scoil an Duinnigh
  101. ^ Loreto College Swords
  102. ^ Coláiste Choilm C.B.S. Swords
  103. ^ Fingal Community College
  104. ^ St. Finian's Community College
  105. ^ Swords Strategic Vision page 80
  106. ^ St. Colmcille's Church
  107. ^ St. Cronan's Church
  108. ^ St. Finian's Church
  109. ^ Church of the Visitation
  110. ^ Church of the Immacuate Conception
  111. ^ Our Lady Queen of Heaven Chapel
  112. ^ St. Columba's Church of Ireland
  113. ^ Swords Baptist Church
  114. ^ Lighthouse Baptist Church
  115. ^ Apostolic Faith Church
  116. ^ Churchtown Trust planning granted for prayer room on Rathbeale Road
  117. ^ St. Ignatius Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Congregation
  118. ^ Kingdom Hall, Kettles Lane
  119. ^ Dublin Airport Multi-Faith prayer room
  120. ^ Emmaus Retreat and Conference Centre
  121. ^ Fingallians GAA Club
  122. ^ St. Finian's GAA Club
  123. ^ Fingal Orienteers
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