Raheen, County Limerick
| Raheen An Ráithín | |
|---|---|
| Suburb | |
|
A view over the suburb from nearby Mungret | |
  Raheen Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 52°37′55″N 8°39′29″W / 52.632°N 8.658°WCoordinates: 52°37′55″N 8°39′29″W / 52.632°N 8.658°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| City | Limerick |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Suburb | 10,623 |
| • Urban | 8,592 |
| • Rural | 2,031 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | R550534 |
Raheen (Irish: An Ráithín, meaning "small ringfort") is a large suburb of Limerick, Ireland, located in the southernmost area of the city. It is a predominantly lower middle class district that has seen new development as an overspill area in recent years. Raheen houses the headquarters of the Mid-Western Region of the Health Service Executive so that a multitude of essential health services catering for the population of the region are dispensed from this suburban district.
Until recently, Raheen, as with many other large Limerick city suburbs, was outside the boundary of Limerick City Council. Local government was under the jurisdiction of Limerick County Council, itself a separate authority to the city council with responsibility towards County Limerick. June 2014 saw the merger of the Limerick authorities into one unified authority. The merger saw the expansion of the city boundaries to include Raheen. Limerick City Council made many attempts in the past to extend its control over these parts of the city but were unsuccessful as part of a boundary extension to the city council area.
History
Like most suburban areas of Limerick, Raheen is a relatively new community, which developed in the 1960s. The oldest homes in the area comprise Raheen Heights, a group of housing estates located immediately to the south of the Regional Hospital. It started as a small dwelling, and grew in population with new estates being built, including Gouldavoher and Oakfield. The Father Russell Road has also seen the development of new estates.
Raheen is a notably multicultural area, home to immigrant communities dating from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The original migrant communities that existed in the area came predominantly from China or from southern European countries such as Spain, and also from South Asia. During the Celtic Tiger, more immigrants arrived from these countries, as well as from Africa and Eastern Europe.
Industry
Raheen Industrial Estate is the home of many international companies, and multi-national concerns with premises there include Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Analog Devices, Dell, Banta, ON Semiconductor, Stryker Corp. (formerly Howmedica), RRD GTS, and Emutex.
The radio station Spin South West and training center FAS operate from the Raheen Industrial Estate.
The Industrial Estate Estate is divided into two sections, the old section entrance is on the Raheen Roundabout (R526 St Nessan Road and R510) the Second Entrance is on the New Section with its entrance on the M20
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