Lusk, County Dublin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lusk (Irish: Lusca ) is a large village in Ireland located 23 km (14 mi) north of Dublin city centre. The name Lusk dates back to the time of Saint Maccullin, who founded a church there in the 450s. He is reputed to have either lived or been buried in a cave, hence the name Lusk from the Gaelic word Lusca meaning a cave or underground chamber.

Lusk is now caught up in the development of greater Dublin and has a growing population. The Central Statistical Office estimates that 62% of all private dwellings in Lusk were built in the five years up to 2006. Educational facilities include an Educate Together primary school. There is a railway station shared with the coastal settlement of Rush.

[edit] History

View from 1791

St Macculin founded a monastery at Lusk about AD 450 and the site is also associated with St Maurus. It was plundered and burned several times in the succeeding centuries and has the only remnant of an Early Christian foundation is the Round Tower. It stands about 27m high and retains its original conical cap. There are nine storeys including the basement. The flat-headed doorway is now less than 1m above ground level. The Round Tower is attached to a square tower built in the 15th or 16th century with three matching round towers at its corners. The large tower houses several medieval tombs including that of James Bermingham (1527) and the double-effigy tomb of Christopher Barnewell and his wife Marion Sharl (1589).