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Sandymount

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For the hill in New Zealand, see Sandymount, New Zealand.

Template:Infobox Place Ireland

Sandymount (Irish: Dumhach Thrá) is a coastal suburb in Dublin 4 on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It is in the Dublin South East Dáil constituency and the East Pembroke Ward. It was once part of Pembroke Township, which took its name from the fact that this area was part of the estate of the Earl of Pembroke.

An early name for the area was Scal'd Hill or Scald Hill.[1] During the 18th Century, there was a village called Brickfield Town on the site of Sandymount Green.[1] This took its' name from Lord Merrions Brickfields which stretched from here to Merrion at the time.[1]

Sandymount Strand looking across Dublin Bay to Howth Head

Location and access

Sandymount is located between 4 and 5 km south east of Dublin City, with a promenade along which the coast road runs from Sandymount Strand down to Merrion Gates. It lies a little south of the Great South Wall in Dublin Bay. Neighbouring suburbs are Ballsbridge, Merrion, Donnybrook and Irishtown.

The area is served by the (DART) commuter rail system and two stops are located in the area, Sandymount and Sydney Parade. It is served by Dublin Bus routes 2, 3 and 18. It was once served by route 52 which ceased operation in 1998. Both the Greystones and Dalkey Aircoach services to Dublin Airport have two stops in Sandymount.

Sandymount railway station on the electrified (DART) suburban railway system was originally opened in January 1835.[2]

Amenities

Sandymount is an affluent suburb with many large houses, mostly dating from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Sandymount Green is a triangular park in the centre of Sandymount, located right next to the village. Some rather fine houses (part of the former Sandymount Castle) and some cafés and shops surround the green, and there is a bust of William Butler Yeats in the green.

The Strand

Sandymount Strand is situated adjacent to the village and suburb of Sandymount in Dublin. The large strand, which is part of the South Bull, (a mirror to the North Bull sandbank, which grew into North Bull Island) is a major component of the south side of Dublin Bay. The strand runs from this point to Merrion Gates.

Sandymount Strand is a popular place for locals to take a walk. It is not ideal for swimming as the gradual slope of the beach makes the water too shallow to allow swimming near the shoreline. People and cars have been occasionally trapped by the incoming tide. A large inlet of water that remains even at low tide is known locally as "Cockle Lake". Flying kites is also a popular amusement on the beach.


The baths

The Merrion Promenade Pier and Baths Co. built Sandymount swimming baths in 1883. The baths measured approximately 40 by 40 metres, with a 75-metre pier added in 1884. The pier featured a bandstand half way along it and summer concerts were regularly held there for many years. By 1920, the pier had deteriorated so much that it had to be demolished. The concrete baths section, which resembles a small harbour, remains.

Sandymount Martello Tower

About half way along the strand is a Martello tower, part of a system of defences built to warn of an invasion by Napoleon. The Tower was a popular cafe back in the 1960s. An attempt to turn the tower into a restaurant led to the installation of a large window with roller blinds on the seaward side of the tower. The restaurant never opened, leaving the tower with the modified window.

Education

Scoil Mhuire Girls' Primary School is on Gilford Road and Star of the Sea Boys' School is on Leahy's Terrace. Marian College is located nearby in Ballsbridge, and the former Sandymount High School and Roslyn Park are within walking distance of the village.

Sport

There are many sports clubs in the vicinity of Sandymount. Rugby, tennis, cricket, soccer and hockey are popular in the area. A well known fitness company also has a gymnasium and sports ground in Sandymount.

Religion

The Church of Ireland Church of St John of the Evangelist is located at the top of St John's Road. The Catholic church in Sandymount is dedicated to Our Lady Star of the Sea and is near the north end of Sandymount Road. Christ Church, on Sandymount Green, is a united Methodist and Presbyterian church, which appoints a minister from either denomination alternately and Mount Tabor nursing home shares the grounds of the church.

The area is also home to a house of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa.

People

The following people were born in Sandymount:

The following live or have lived in Sandymount:

Literary references

Sandymount Strand is the most famous beach in Irish fiction, James Joyce based two episodes of his epic novel Ulysses here:
On the morning of Bloomsday, in the Proteus episode, Stephen Dedalus wanders "into eternity" on the strand; later the same day, Leopold Bloom sits on a rock and watches while young Gertie lifts her skirt as Bloom pleasures himself. It was this incident in the Nausicaa episode which led to the banning of the book in the USA for alleged obscenity.

In long lassoes from the Cock lake the water flowed full, covering greengoldenly lagoons of sand, rising, flowing

- Ulysses, James Joyce.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c The Poolbeg Lighthouse and the South Wall Extension, Irishtown, Sandymount, Beggardbush and Baggotrath, Chapter II from Weston St. John Joyces' 1920 work The Neighbourhood of Dublin
  2. ^ "Sandymount Halt" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
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