Clonsilla () or "Clonsillagh" is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

and a

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

located in the south-western corner of the modern

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of Fingal,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The civil parish is part of the ancient barony of Castleknock. It is centred on the suburban village of

Clonsilla Clonsilla () is an outer suburb of Dublin in Fingal, Ireland. Clonsilla is also a civil parish in the barony of Castleknock in the historic County Dublin. Location and access Clonsilla used to be a small village in the inner western part of ...

. In geology, the parish rests on a substratum of limestone and comprises 2943 statute acres, the whole of which is

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for th ...

. It is roughly bounded to the north by the old "Navan Road" – the modern N3; to the east by the civil parish of Castleknock; to the south by the

River Liffey The River Liffey ( Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the Riv ...

; to the south-east by the civil parish of

Leixlip Leixlip ( or ; , IPA: �lʲeːmʲənˠˈwɾˠad̪ˠaːnʲ is a town in north-east County Kildare, Ireland. Its location on the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water has marked it as a frontier town historically: on the border betwee ...

, chiefly in County Kildare, and to the north-west by the civil parish of

Dunboyne Dunboyne () is a town in Meath, Ireland. It is a commuter town for Dublin. In the 20 years between the 1996 and 2016 censuses, the population of Dunboyne more than doubled from 3,080 to 7,272 inhabitants. Location Dunboyne is centred on the ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

History

In 1831, there were 943 inhabitants in the parish of whom 770 were Catholics. By 1837, according to Lewis' "Topography of Ireland", the parish contained 954 inhabitants. Lewis recorded that Luttrelestown demesne was the most notable seat in the parish. It was the residence of Col. Thomas White who was the second son of Luke White. Lewis observed that, "The demesne includes above 648 statute acres, exceedingly picturesque ; the mansion is a noble building, in the castellated style.". The parish formerly belonged to the priory of Malvern, in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

. In 1773, an Act of the Privy Council united the parish with the curacies of Castleknock and Mulhuddart. In 1837, the

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more ...

s amounted to £240.

Ecclesiastical parishes

Like all civil parishes, this civil parish is derived from, and co-extensive with a pre-existing ecclesiastical parish of the same name, as used in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

. In the Archdiocese of Dublin, the parish is today united with Castleknock and Mulhuddart in the "Grouped Parishes of Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla".Church of Ireland
- Grouped Parishes of Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla There are three extant church buildings that are still in use by the grouped parish: * St. Brigid's, Castleknock, situated in the centre of Castleknock. The building - a listed national monument - was constructed in 1870.Saint Brigid's Church of Ireland Church, Castleknock Road, CASTLEKNOCK (WITHOUT PHOENIX PARK), Castleknock, Fingal
- Register number 11362003 It features a three-stage tower to the west gable with a Gothic tympanum at the entrance and a stained glass window by

Harry Clarke Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau an ...

that is dedicated to

Saint Hubert Hubertus or Hubert ( 656 – 30 May 727 A.D.) was a Christian saint who became the first bishop of Liège in 708 A.D. He is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers. Known as the "Apostle of the Ardennes", he w ...

. * St. Thomas', Mulhuddart, situated on the Kilbride Road near Hollystown Golf Club. The building - a listed national monument - was constructed in 1870.Saint Thomas's Church of Ireland Church, Ratoath Road, HOLLYSTOWN, Fingal
- Register number 11346001 It features a polygonal bell tower in the south corner. * St. Mary's, Clonsilla, situated at the western end of the Clonsilla Road near

Clonsilla railway station Clonsilla railway station is a railway station that serves Clonsilla, in Fingal, Ireland. Description The station underwent an upgrade in 2000 that saw the platforms lengthened and a new station building being constructed. The ticket office ...

. The building - a listed national monument - was constructed in 1846.Saint Mary's Church of Ireland Church, CLONSILLA, Clonsilla, Fingal
- Register number 11353005 It features stained glass windows by

Evie Hone Eva Sydney Hone RHA (22 April 1894 – 13 March 1955), usually known as Evie, was an Irish painter and stained glass artist.Nicola Gordon Bowe (May 2009)Hone, Eva Sydney (1894–1955) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', online editio ...

. In the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the territory of the civil parish is part of the Archdiocese of Dublin. It is currently divided between the following ecclesiastical parishes : * "St. Mochta's", Porterstown. Parish of
St. Mochta, Porterstown-ClonsillaCatholic Church
- St Mochta's parish * "Mountview / Blakestown". The sole church building of the combined parishes is "St Philip, the Apostle", Mountview.Catholic Church
- St Philip, the Apostle parish The church of "Mary of the Servants", Blakestown
- Mary of the Servants parish was closed indefinitely on 7 January 2018. Parish of
Blakestown * "St. Ciarán's", Hartstown. Parish of
HartstownCatholic Church
- St Ciarán's parish

History Gallery

File:St Bridgets Castleknock 2012.jpg, St. Bridget's church, Castleknock File:St Mary's Church Clonsilla - geograph.org.uk - 546391.jpg, St. Mary's church, Clonsilla File:St. Mochta's Church Porterstown Clonsilla Dublin 15 - geograph.org.uk - 546118.jpg, St. Mochta's parish church File:St. Ciaran's, Hartstown - geograph.org.uk - 613319.jpg, St. Ciaran's parish church at Hartstown

Location and composition

The whole parish is within the

Dublin 15 Dublin 15, also rendered as D15, is a postal district in the suburbs of Dublin in Fingal, Ireland. It is west of the GPO in Dublin city. Geography and political subdivisions Dublin 15 covers a large area, rising from the River Liffey to at ...

postal district and the territory of Fingal County Council. The core of the parish is centred on the townland and village of the same name. The townland at the northern extremity is Castaheany on the border with County Meath. The most easterly townland is

Coolmine Coolmine () is a primarily residential suburb of Dublin, Ireland, in the jurisdiction of Fingal. It is also a townland in the civil parish of Clonsilla. Location and access Coolmine is located between the suburban areas of Blanchardstown (to ...

which is the location of

Blanchardstown Shopping Centre The Blanchardstown Centre is one of Ireland's largest shopping centres, located in Blanchardstown, Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It opened in October 1996 and was extended in 2004 to create extra retail space. It lies in the administra ...

. The most southerly townlands are Broomfield and Astagob which run down to the

. The most westerly townland is Barnhill which borders the part of

that lies in Fingal.

Townlands

In the seventeenth century, the parish comprised the following townlands: Ballstown, Barberstown, Blackstaheney, Barnageeth, Clonsillagh, Coolmine, Cusanstown, Hartstown, Huntstown, Ininstown, Killiestown, Luttrellstown, Pibblestown, Ringwellstown, and Little Stackheney. The table below lists the thirteen townlands currently in the parish.

Features

The

, flowing from west to east, forms the southern boundary of the parish. To the north, the Royal Canal also bisects the parish from west to east between the 13th and 12th locks. Four bridges cross the canal: Pakenham Bridge near Barberstown level crossing; an

Irish Rail Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

bridge carrying the Hansfield branch line; Callaghan Bridge near Clonsilla level crossing; and Kirkpatrick Bridge at Coolmine level crossing. Kennan Bridge near Porterstown level crossing and the new L3036 bridge on Diswellstown Road, although located between the aforementioned bridges, lie outside the bounds of the parish. The church and graveyard of St. Mary in the Church of Ireland, is located near

Luttrellstown Castle Luttrellstown Castle Luttrellstown Castle, dating from the early 15th century (c. 1420), is located in Clonsilla on the outskirts of Dublin, Ireland. It has been owned variously by the eponymous and notorious Luttrell family, by the bookseller ...

– dating from the early 15th century and once owned by members of the Guinness family, it is now a hotel with associated golf course. The Luttrelstown stream, flowing through the demesne, falls into the Liffey near the gate lodge on the

Strawberry Beds Strawberry Beds or The Strawberry Beds () is a locality and small settlement 7 km to the west of Dublin City, Ireland, located on the northern banks of the River Liffey between Chapelizod and Lucan where the closest bridges span the river ...

road. St. Joseph's Centre, a care home of the Daughters of Charity, is located near the village. The following secondary schools are situated in the parish: Coláiste Pobail Setanta at Casteheany (multi denominational) Hartstown Community School (multi denominational),

Coolmine Community School Coolmine Community School ( ga, Scoil Pobail Chúil Mhín) is a co-educational secondary school in the Coolmine suburb of Dublin. It lies within Greater Blanchardstown in the administration of Fingal. History The school was one of the two ...

(inter denominational), and Hansfield Secondary School (

Educate Together Educate Together () is an educational charity in Ireland which is the patron body to "equality-based, co-educational, child centred, and democratically run" schools. It was founded in 1984 to act as the patron body for the new multidenomination ...

patronage).Hansfield Secondary School
/ref>

Features gallery

County Dublin - Packenham Bridge - 20190227081914.jpg, Packenham Bridge Callaghan Bridge 13th lock Royal Canal.jpg, Callaghan Bridge County Dublin - Kirkpatrick Bridge (Sheephill) - 20180916191228.jpg, Kirkpatrick Bridge Coolmine station level crossing.jpg, Coolmine railway station and level crossing Push-pull train at Clonsilla.jpg, Clonsila railway station Luttrellstown Castle by Rose Barton 1898.jpg, Luttrellstown Castle (1898) Luttrelstown stream 2.jpg, Luttrelstown stream entering the Liffey Hartstown Community School.png, Hartstown Community School Coolmine Community School main entrance.jpg, Coolmine Community School Blanchardstown Shopping Centre - geograph.org.uk - 624414.jpg, Blanchardstown Shopping Centre

References

From From official parish websites From From Other sources {{coord missing, County Dublin Civil parishes of the barony of Castleknock