Clonsilla () is an outer

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 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 ...

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 ...

is also 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 authority ...

in the

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Castleknock in the historic

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

Location and access

Clonsilla used to be a small village in the inner western part of County Dublin, but it is now a large residential suburban area, with Ongar and other localities developing their own subsidiary identities. It falls into 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, the Dublin West Dáil constituency and is locally administered by

Fingal County Council Fingal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Fhine Gall) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Fingal, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that comprised the former Dublin County Council before its abolit ...

. Clonsilla is roughly equidistant from Blanchardstown and Castleknock.

History

Clonsilla used to be home to horse studs including the famous Ongar stud owned by

Prince Aly Khan Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960), known as Aly Khan, was a Pakistani diplomat of Iranian and Italian descent. He was the son of the Aga Khan III, and the father of Aga Khan IV. A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, ...

and his then-wife

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

. In the late 20th and early 21st century, there was significant residential housing development in Clonsilla. Estates such as Mount Symon, Castlefield, Charnwood, Limelawn, Ravenswood, Manorfields, Portersgate, Aldemere and Windermere, were built during the past 20–30 years. As a result, the population of the area rose over the same period.

Places of interest

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 Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

family, is now a hotel and golf course. It was thrown into the spotlight when

David Beckham David Robert Joseph Beckham (; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami CF and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability and bending fr ...

and Victoria Adams married there. American band

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

also stayed here during the Monster World Tour in 1995. Beech Park is a public park which was opened in May 2009 and is maintained by Fingal County Council. The Shackleton Gardens within Beech Park is home to a walled garden containing rare flower species. It was formerly owned by the Shackleton family. The Royal Canal is home to several species of freshwater fish such as

pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Per ...

and

roach Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * California roach ...

Education

Clonsilla has a number of national schools, including St. Mochta's, St. Patrick's, St. Philip's, St. Ciaran's (Hartstown), and Scoil Choilm Community National School (Porterstown). There are five secondary schools in the vicinity: Hartstown Community School, Castleknock Community College,

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 ...

, Luttrellstown Community College and

Castleknock College Castleknock College ( ga, Coláiste Caisleán Cnucha) is a voluntary Vincentian secondary school for boys, situated in the residential suburb of Castleknock, west of Dublin city centre, Ireland. Founded in 1835 by Philip Dowley, it is one ...

. There is also an

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 ...

primary and second level school located in Hansfield, Clonsilla.

Religion

Porterstown-Clonsilla is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

in the Blanchardstown deanery of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin The Archdiocese of Dublin ( ga, Ard-Deoise Bhaile Átha Cliath) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the eastern part of Ireland. Its archepiscopal ...

. The church of St. Mochta's, located in Porterstown, serves the village proper. There are other parishes in the wider suburb. 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 second ...

, the parish is part of "Castleknock and Mulhuddart with Clonsilla". There is also a Latter-day Saint meeting house in Clonsilla.

Transport

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 ...

is an exchange station for commuter services going between

and

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...

and M3 Parkway lines. Passengers travel to Maynooth to transfer to Dublin to

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

intercity service. Residents of Ongar and Hansfield can use

Hansfield railway station Hansfield railway station is a railway station in Fingal, Ireland. It lies on the Docklands to M3 Parkway Commuter service and serves the housing estates of Ongar and Barnwell in the townland of Hansfield. Services at Hansfield station Th ...

. Clonsilla is near the N3/M3 national road between Cavan and Dublin city centre. Clonsilla is served by several

Dublin Bus Dublin Bus ( ga, Bus Átha Cliath) is a State-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 138 million passengers in 2019. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. ...

routes including the 39, the 39a and the L52 from

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 ...

. Clonsilla straddles the Royal Canal.

Sport

The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

clubs are St. Peregrines GAA, Castleknock Hurling and Football Club, and Westmanstown Gaels GAA club. A soccer club, St. Mochta’s F.C., plays at Porterstown Road. A karate club meets in the Clonsilla hall.

People

Glen Crowe Glen Crowe (born 25 December 1977) is an Irish professional football forward who plays for Malahide United in the Leinster Senior League. He was a prolific goalscorer in the League of Ireland Premier Division and has represented the Repub ...

is an Irish professional football forward. He played for Wolves, Bohemians, Shelbourne and Sporting Fingal, and represented the Republic of Ireland national football team on two occasions. Crowe was born and raised in the Clonsilla area. * Mark Kennedy, the

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

footballer, is from Clonsilla and started his career at St.Mochta's FC. * Thomas Luttrell of

( died 1554 ) Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, was buried in Clonsilla and left a bequest to build a chapel in his memory. *

Emma Ledden Emma Ledden (born 1977) is an Irish author, television presenter, model and writer. She began her television career on Raidió Teilifís Éireann's children's strand ''The Den'', before joining MTV Europe as its first Irish presenter. Born in C ...

, TV and radio presenter, is from Clonsilla.

References

{{Authority control Towns and villages in Fingal Townlands of the barony of Castleknock