Clonsilla (Irish: Cluain Saileach, meaning "meadow of the willow or sally tree") is a suburb of Dublin in the district of Fingal, Ireland.
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Originally a small village in its own right, Clonsilla is now a large residential suburban area, with Ongar and other localities developing their own subsidiary identities. It falls into the Dublin 15 postal district, the Dublin West Dáil constituency and is locally administered by Fingal County Council.
The townland of Clonsilla is in the civil parish of Clonsilla which is in turn in the Barony of Castleknock. The barony (an old administrative division) is one of seven and a half comprising County Dublin and stretches from Cabra to Blanchardstown (from east to west) and from Finglas to Chapelizod (from north to south).
The Parish of Clonsilla in the seventeenth century is stated to have comprised the townlands of Ballstown, Barberstown, Blackstaheney, Barnageeth, Clonsillagh, Coolmine, Cusanstown, Hartstown, Huntstown, Ininstown, Killiestown, Luttrellstown, Pibblestown, Ringwellstown, and Little Stackheney.[1] The table below [2] represents the current lists of townlands in the parish.
| Irish | English |
|---|---|
| Baile an Bhearbóraigh | Barberstown |
| Baile an Bhlácaigh | Blakestown |
| Baile an Hartaigh | Hartstown |
| Baile an Huntaigh | Huntstown |
| Baile Fiobail nó Páirc Hans | Phibblestown or Hansfield |
| Baile Lotrail | Woodlands |
| Baile Uí Cheallaigh | Kellystown |
| Cluain Saileach | Clonsilla |
| Cnoc an Sciobóil | Barnhill |
| Cúil Mhín | Coolmine |
| Gort na Giolcaí | Broomfield |
| Móinteán na gCaorach | Sheepmoor |
| Steach Gob | Astagob |
| Teach Chainnigh | Castaheany |
Clonsilla straddles the Royal Canal in the Fingal area and is linked to the city centre by the Maynooth commuter rail line and the N3 national road. Clonsilla railway station opened on 1 September 1848 and was closed for goods traffic on 17 June 1963.[3] Clonsilla is served by several Dublin Bus routes including the 39, the 39a and the 239 from Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.
It was once home to horse studs including the famous Ongar stud formerly owned by Prince Aly Khan and his then wife Rita Hayworth.
Clonsilla has seen significant residential housing development in recent times. Estates such as Mount Symon, Castlefield, Charnwood, Limelawn, Ravenswood, Manorfields, Portersgate, Lohunda, Aldemere, Lambourn and Hartstown were built during the past 15 years. As a result, the population of the area has risen dramatically over the same period. Clonsilla is roughly equidistant from Blanchardstown and Castleknock.[4]
Clonsilla has a number of national schools, including St. Mochta's, St. Philips, St. Ciarans (Hartstown), and Scoil Choilm Community National School (Porterstown). There are four secondary schools in the vicinity, Hartstown Community School, Castleknock Community College, Coolmine Community School, Luttrellstown Community College and Castleknock College.
The local GAA club is St. Peregrines GAA. The local Football Club is St.Mochta's FC, Porterstown Rd., Clonsilla.