Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown

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County of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Contae Dhún Laoghaire-Ráth an Dúin
Location
Statistics
Province:	Leinster
County Town:	Dún Laoghaire
Code:	D (DR proposed)
Area:	127.31 km²
Population (2006)	193,688
Website: www.dlrcoco.ie

Dun Laoghaire–Rathdown¹ (Irish: Dún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is an administrative county in the Republic of Ireland formed from part of the traditional county of Dublin. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown is located to the south-east of the City of Dublin, and has its administrative centre in the town of Dún Laoghaire. In 1994, the area of the Corporation of Dún Laoghaire, the Deansgrange Joint Burial Board and the south-east part of County Dublin were merged to create the county of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown.

The motto on the coat of arms of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown reads "Ó Chuan go Sliabh", meaning "From the Harbour to the Mountain". The crown in the shield is that of King Laoghaire, the High King of Ireland in the fifth century, who resided in the area.

Now the smallest county in Ireland, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown is also the county with the longest name. The reason for this is that the titles of the new Dublin county councils were never examined at committee stage in the Houses of the Oireachtas, and were last altered under the 1991 Local Government Act which was infamously rushed into effect. Both parliamentary debates and Dublin County Council’s own reorganisation report published in 1992 concluded that the name Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown was “unacceptable”. A one year proviso contained in the 1993 Local Government (Dublin) Act for changing the name of the county at local level was allowed to expire by the new council. The elected members of the council are still in a position to make representations for additional legislation altering the name of the county.

The six Local Electoral Areas (LEAs) or wards for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council divide up the election of its 28 councillors as follows: Ballybrack (6), Blackrock (4), Dundrum (6), Dún Laoghaire (6), Glencullen (3), Stillorgan (3).

The Dublin Area Rapid Transit system runs through the eastern coast of the county and connects to the centre to the north as well as other points north and south on the Iarnród Éireann railway system with connections to Intercity.The green Luas line runs through the centre of the county.

There is a medium sized ferry port at Dún Laoghaire which has ferry crossings to and from Holyhead in North Wales; this is a popular route for tourists travelling across the Irish Sea from Britain. With the advent of faster boats, day trips have become more popular using the Dún Laoghaire port.

Dún Laoghaire is becoming popular with young people because of the cinema and shops situated there, other important centres in the county include Goatstown, Dalkey, Dundrum, Glenageary, Killiney and Sandyford.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown is bordered by the Irish Sea and City of Dublin, as well as the counties of South Dublin and Wicklow. University College Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology are located in the county.

As of April 2005, the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown county boundary now appears on all Ordnance Survey Ireland "Discovery Series" (3rd edition) national maps. The county is considered part of the "Greater Dublin Area".

[edit] Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown towns and villages

• Ballinteer, Ballybrack, Blackrock, Booterstown
• Cabinteely, Carrickmines, Churchtown
• Dalkey, Dundrum
• Rathfarnham
• Foxrock
• Goatstown, Glasthule, Glenageary, Glencullen
• Killiney, Kiltiernan
• Leopardstown, Loughlinstown
• Monkstown
• Sandyford, Sandycove, Sallynoggin,Shankill
• Stepaside, Dublin

[edit] External links

• Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council

• Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board

[edit] Footnote

1. This is the official legal name of the county, in English, which is spelt without a síneadh fada on the "u" in "Dún Laoghaire". The current style within the council, however, is to use the síneadh fada on the name in both Irish and English. ([1])