Shankill, Dublin
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- For the district of Belfast, see Shankill, Belfast
Shankill (Seanchill in Irish, meaning "old church") is a suburb of Dublin on the southern boundary of County Dublin and County Wicklow. It has a population of 13242 as of 2006 (1).
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[edit] Geography
The townland of Shankill was originally located on lands further northwest at Puck’s Castle. Today, the area of Shankill is taken to include the lands of Rathmichael and Shankill, comprising a land area of around 1,600 acres. The townland encompasses an area roughly bordered by the points between Carrickgollogan hill (252m) to the west, Ballycorus leadmines to the northwest, Loughlinstown hospital to the north, stretching to the coast from Rathsallagh river to the southern boundary of Tyrell’s land.
The present village is a one-street affair, with many amenities such as shops, pubs and other services. The village is located on the road from Shankill church to Bray.
To the north of modern Shankill is Killiney hill, to the south, the large town of Bray, Co. Wicklow.
[edit] History
Shankill and Rathmichael were originally the property of Sir Charles Compton William Domvile (1822 – 1884). Domvile was known as an uncompromising and ruthless landlord, and sought to change the usage of land from the smallholdings that existed at the time of his inheritance of the estate
Domvile intended to build grand Georgian style housing developments, squares and streets, to gentrify the area, making it attractive for wealthy Dublin based professionals to live. It must be remembered that at this time Shankill was essentially a rural village. Several large houses of architectural merit are noted in the section below.
During Domvile’s time, new roads and streets were laid out, as well large water mains which feed a relief tank from Vartry reservoir, continuing on to Stillorgan reservoir.
However, Domvile was an impetuous person, and acted unreasonably with his tenants, as well as prospective buyers of estates on his holdings. His personal debts mounted as a result of his financing two large estates at Shankill and Santry, ultimately resulting in his bankruptcty.
The net outcome of Domvile’s actions was to halve to population of Shankill and Rathmichael during the 1860’s. He evicted over 100 tenants, during a period of grinding poverty, and many were forced to renegotiate their tenancies at usurious rates. Many of the evicted ended up in the local workhouse, the Rathdown Work Union, which is now the site of Louglinstown hospital.
A landowner with holdings adjacent to the Shankill townland, Benjamin Tilly, granted quarter-acre holdings to several evicted tenants in December 1682. Tilly’s land straddled the townland border into Shanganagh, and the new holdings along the Shanganagh road became known as Tillystown. In 1871, there were over 60 houses, and at the turn of the century, the village became known as Shankill proper.
In 1911, a large tract of land to the west of Shankill was developed as labourer’s cottages, known as New Vale.
[edit] Architectural Features / Local Antiquities
There are several antiquities in the area including ruined churches and standing stones. Several castles and defensive type structures remain, including Puck's Castle, Shankill Castle, Shanganagh Castle (ruins) and Martello Tower (ruins).
Some houses of architectural note include Clontra, a coastal Gothic mansion, Crinken Castle House, the Crinken House (formerly a hotel and prison), and Shanganagh House, an imposing mansion now surrounded by housing estates built during the 1960s. Clontra was built for Dublin solicitor James Lawson and designed by eminent 19th century architects Sir Thomas Newenham Deane and Benjamin Woodward in their trademark Italian medieval style. They are better known for their work on the Kildare Street Club and the Museum building at Trinity College. The local library is itself of note, formerly a courthouse it is built in an old Victorian style of granite and mock Tudor features. There are also some follies such as a mock round tower built of red brick in the Castle Farm Farmyard.
Traces of South Dublin's industrial heritage remain, such as the. Other features of note include the 'upside down' houses by the Harcourt Street Line bridge, which was the site of the original post office, and has its guest rooms downstairs, and its kitchen and living room upstairs. Shankill was accessible via the original Kingstown-Bray train line, which is now 5 metres from the sea in some places. A coastal wall was built from Killiney to Bray to try stop the erosion; traces of this can still be seen along the beach. The medieval village of Longnon was sited some 200 yards east of Quinn’s Road beach, but was completely obliterated by coastal erosion.
- Ballycorus Leadmines
Site of the longest continuous stone flue, and ancillary lead ore smelter, on Carrickgollogan hill. Granite flue is visible from all of south Dublin.
- Dorney Court House
Large estate with stand of Sequoia and Scot’s Pine trees.
- Carnegie Library
Tudor-style Carnegie, former local courthouse.
- Clontra House
Gothic Mansion designed by Deane and Woodward, on 15 acres of parkland on coast.
- Ferndale House
Large estate on several acres, seat of the Lord Plunkets.
- Mullinastill House
Former millhouse, listed structure, set for several film scenes.
- Old Harcourt Street Line
Defunct trainline, spur at Tyrell’s land to main Dublin-Bray line. Closed in 1860’s
- Puck’s Castle
Castle, in ruins, 15th century. Said to be a refuge for James II fleeing the Battle of the Boyne.
- Rathmichael Church
Built under Charles Domvile, designed by Deane and Woodward.
- Rosedale House
Victorian country house, built by Guinness master brewer Penny.
- Shanganagh Castle
Large mansion on extensive lands on border of Shankill and Co. Wicklow.
- Shanganagh Park House
Georgian-era mansion, beset on all sides by 1960’s housing developments.
- Shankill Castle
In existence since 1229, first built by Archibishop Luke, site of the ancient Shankill church.
[edit] Development
Shankill initially comprised large agricultural tracts broken into small holdings for tenant farmers, and larger, grander estates with fine country houses, many which still exist today. Large housing estates have been built on many of these estates, of varying size and quality. Recently, tracts of land such as the caravan park and young offenders prison have been sold to developers, who have built higher density housing out of character with the larger plot housing estates constructed in the 1970s.
There are a large number of local authority housing developments, notably Rathsallagh and Shanganagh Cliffs estates, located near Shankill DART station, stretching to the coast line. Smaller developments are also found on Quinn’s Road.
In recent times, several property developers have purchased adjacent large houses with the intention of developing apartment/flat complexes.
[edit] Amenities
There are three pubs in Shankill; Brady's, Mickey Byrnes, and The Crowbar Tavern, and the village is well served by grocery and convenience stores. The local Credit Union has a substantial office on the main street. There is also a public library, several schools and, until recently, one of Dublin's few remaining campgrounds - the site of which has been developed into a flat complex.
Shankill has three schools – Saint Anne's National School, Rathmichael School and Scoil Mhuire. It is also home to a large Nionra, an Irish language school. The village has a Catholic church; the church in nearby Rathmichael is Church of Ireland. Like its namesake, the Shankill district of Belfast, Dublin's Shankill also has its own Falls Road. Occasionally the primary schools and community groups in both Shankills hold football or other sporting events to promote better North-South relationships. Shankill man Charlie Martin received an Honorary MBE in April 2006 for his work in this field. Sporting facilities in the area include two soccer teams, Vale View Shankill FC which caters for senior and schoolboy football and RSFC who cater for junior football. There is also a Bowling Club and Tennis Club in the village.
[edit] Famous Residents
- Ian McMahon
Local poet Ian McMahon has released several volumes of introspective poetry to great acclaim over the past 10 years. Nominated for the Swedish poetry award “The Golden Wreath” in 1998. Famous for his 1992 volume “Everyone hates me, but I’m not to blame”
- Jimmy “The Blade” Quinn
A notorious gangster who controlled gangland operations in the 1950’s and 60’s was a former resident of Shankill.
- Padraig Harrington
International golfer Harrington has a residency in Shankill.
- Des Cahill
2fm sports commentator and pundit Cahill has a large estate in rural Shankill.
- Chris Horn
Chris Horn is the founder of multinational technology company Iona.
[edit] Transport Network
There is also a Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) station in Shankill. It is the third last stop on the south side of the line. The old Harcourt Street railway line also connected close to the village centre. The Dublin Transportation Office's Platform for Change strategy envisages reopening this as a metro connection, connecting with the existing Luas red line. The N11 national route used to run through the village, until the M11 bypass was built nearby. The newly completed south east motorway section of the M50 connects to the M11 at Rathmichael, a neighbouring townland.
[edit] Future Development
DLR LAP
Local Authority Housing
Shankill is administered by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.
1. http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/2006PreliminaryReport.pdf
