Donnybrook () is a district of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

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 ...

. It is situated on the

southside Southside or South Side may refer to: Places Australia * Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region Canada * South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of Newf ...

of the city, in the

Dublin 4 Dublin 4, also rendered as D4 and D04, is a historic postal district of Dublin, Ireland including Baggot Street Upper, the southernmost fringes of the Dublin Docklands, and the suburbs of Ballsbridge, Donnybrook, Irishtown, Merrion, Ringsend ...

postal district, and is home to the Irish public service broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It was once part of the Pembroke Township. Its neighbouring suburbs are Ballsbridge, Sandymount,

Ranelagh Ranelagh ( , ; ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of D06. History The district was originally a village known as Cullenswood just outside Dublin, surrounded by lande ...

and

Clonskeagh Clonskeagh or Clonskea (, meaning "meadow of the Whitethorn"; pronounced ), is a small southern suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district straddles the River Dodder. Location and access Clonskeagh is a townland in the civil parish of Donnybro ...

. Donnybrook 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 authorit ...

mainly situated in the old

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 ...

History

Donnybrook Fair Donnybrook Fair was a fair that was held in Donnybrook, Dublin, from the 13th century until the 1850s. It has given its name to an Irish jig, a chain of food stores, a broadsheet ballad, and is a slang term for a brawl or riot. History In the ...

dates from a charter of King

John of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Emp ...

in 1204 and was held annually until 1855. It began as a fair for livestock and agricultural produce but later declined, growing into more of a carnival and funfair. Drunkenness, fighting, and hasty marriages became commonplace and the people of Donnybrook were anxious that it should cease. Eventually, the fair's reputation for tumult was its undoing. From the 1790s on there were campaigns against the drunken brawl the fair had become. After a good deal of local fundraising, the patent was bought by a group of prominent residents and clergy, bringing about its demise. The Fair took place on lands now occupied by Donnybrook Rugby Ground and the Ever Ready Garage. The word ''donnybrook'' has since entered the English language to describe a rowdy brawl. Donnybrook Castle was an Elizabethan mansion and residence of the Ussher family.

James Ussher James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ident ...

was appointed Archbishop of Armagh in the Church of Ireland by Queen

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

. The mansion was replaced in 1795 by the existing Georgian house. It is now occupied by the

Religious Sisters of Charity The Religious Sisters of Charity or Irish Sisters of Charity is a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Mary Aikenhead in Ireland on 15 January 1815. Its motto is ('The love Christ urges us on'; ). The institute has its headquarters in Dub ...

. Donnybrook Graveyard dates back to the 8th century and was once the location of a church founded by St Broc. It was also the site of Catholic and

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 ...

churches, both called St Mary's. Those buried in it include Dr Bartholomew Mosse, the founder of the

Rotunda Hospital The Rotunda Hospital ( ga, Ospidéal an Rotunda; legally the Hospital for the Relief of Poor Lying-in Women, Dublin) is a maternity hospital on Parnell Street in Dublin, Ireland, now managed by RCSI Hospitals. The eponymous Rotunda in Parnell S ...

, Sir

Edward Lovett Pearce Sir Edward Lovett Pearce (1699 – 7 December 1733) was an Irish architect, and the chief exponent of Palladianism in Ireland. He is thought to have initially studied as an architect under his father's first cousin, Sir John Vanbrugh. He is be ...

, architect of the

Irish Houses of Parliament Parliament House ( ga, Tithe na Parlaiminte) in Dublin, Ireland, was home to the Parliament of Ireland, and since 1803 has housed the Bank of Ireland. It was the world's first purpose-built bicameral parliament house. It is located at Colleg ...

on College Green and Dr Richard Madden, biographer of the

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional refor ...

. It is possible that the wall on the south side of the cemetery is the oldest man-made structure still existing in Donnybrook. The brick chimney behind the cemetery was built on the site of a former marble works and later served as a

Magdalene laundry Magdalene asylums, also known as Magdalene laundries, were initially Protestant but later mostly Roman Catholic institutions that operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries, ostensibly to house " fallen women". The term referred to fema ...

. Two ancestors of

Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

, Mary McCue and Thomas Bird, an English soldier, were married at St Mary's Church of Ireland church, Donnybrook, in 1860.

Geography

The

river Dodder The River Dodder ( ga, An Dothra) is one of the three main rivers in Dublin, Ireland, the others being the Liffey, of which the Dodder is the largest tributary, and the Tolka. Course and system The Dodder rises on the northern slopes of Ki ...

runs through Donnybrook and at one time there was a

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

here. It is subject to periodic serious flooding and in 1628 one of the Usshers of Donnybrook Castle drowned while trying to cross.

Civil parish

Donnybrook is a civil parish consisting of sixteen

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 ...

s.Placenames Database of Ireland
- Donnybrook civil parish All but four of these townlands are situated in the Barony of Dublin. Donnybrook is the single biggest parish in that barony. The most southerly townlands, Annefield, Simmonscourt and Priesthouse, belong to the barony of Rathdown. The smallest of these, Annefield, is itself an enclave of Simmonscourt which gives its name to a pavilion of the Royal Dublin Society. Today, the majority of Priesthouse is occupied by Elm Park Golf Club and the studios of RTÉ. The remaining townland of Sallymount - the parish's most westerly point - is in the barony of Uppercross.

Donnybrook today

The

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...

studios of the national broadcaster, RTÉ, are located in Priesthouse, Donnybrook. There is also a large

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. ...

garage located in the area.

Politics

Donnybrook is in the Dáil Éireann constituency of Dublin Bay South and the Pembroke

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ga, Toghlimistéir Áitiúil) is an electoral area for elections to local authorities in Ireland. All elections use the single transferable vote. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 166 LEAs, with an average p ...

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council was ...

Education

* Donnybrook is home to the all-girls

Muckross Park College , former_name = St. Mary's University College , logo = , motto = la, Veritas , motto_translation = Truth , type = Private secondary school , gender = Girls , established = , ...

. * St. Mary's mixed primary school is located on Belmont Avenue.

People

* Writers :*

Patrick Kavanagh Patrick Kavanagh (21 October 1904 – 30 November 1967) was an Irish poet and novelist. His best-known works include the novel ''Tarry Flynn'', and the poems "On Raglan Road" and "The Great Hunger". He is known for his accounts of Irish life th ...

:* Anthony Trollope :* Flann O'Brien ''aka'' Myles na gCopaleen ''aka''

Brian O'Nolan Brian O'Nolan ( ga, Brian Ó Nualláin; 5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966), better known by his pen name Flann O'Brien, was an Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth ce ...

, lived on Belmont Avenue :*

Benedict Kiely Benedict "Ben" Kiely (15 August 1919 – 9 February 2007) was an Irish writer and broadcaster from Omagh, County Tyrone. Early life Kiely was born near Dromore, County Tyrone and was a student at the Christian Brothers School in Omagh. In 1 ...

Padraic Colum Padraic Colum (8 December 1881 – 11 January 1972) was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the Irish Literary Revival. Early life Col ...

Brendan Behan Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English an ...

Denis Johnston (William) Denis Johnston (18 June 1901 – 8 August 1984) was an Irish writer. Born in Dublin, he wrote mostly plays, but also works of literary criticism, a book-length biographical essay of Jonathan Swift, a memoir and an eccentric work on co ...

and his wife, the actress/director

Shelah Richards Shelah Geraldine Richards (23 May 1903 – 19 January 1985), was an Irish actress, manager, director and producer. Early life Sheila Geraldine Richards was born on 23 May 1903 in Dublin, to John William Richards and Adelaide Roper. Her father ...

* Others :* Jack B. Yeats :*

Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of A ...

John Boyd Dunlop John Boyd Dunlop (5 February 1840 – 23 October 1921) was a Scottish-born inventor and veterinary surgeon who spent most of his career in Ireland. Familiar with making rubber devices, he invented the first practical pneumatic tyres for his c ...

(pneumatic tyre inventor) :* Guglielmo Marconi (wireless radio - lived in Montrose House, the family home of his mother's family the Jamesons of whiskey fame, now on the grounds of the national broadcaster RTÉ) :*

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (, ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was a prominent Irish statesman and political leader. He served several terms as head of govern ...

(President of Ireland) :* Pádraig Pearse (a leader of the

1916 Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the ...

) :* The O'Rahilly (also a senior figure in the

) :*

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

(Chairman of the Provisional Government and commander-in-chief of the National Army. killed during the Irish Civil War in 1922) :* George E. H. McElroy (WWI fighter ace RFC/RAF) :* Garret FitzGerald (former

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legislature) and the o ...

of Ireland) :*

Albert Reynolds Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1992 to 1994, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994, Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991, Minister for Indust ...

(former

of Ireland) :*

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGow ...

(singer/lyricist for the

Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse". ...

) :*

Méav Ní Mhaolchatha Méav Ní Mhaolchatha ( , ), mononymously known as Méav, is an Irish singer, songwriter and recording artist specialising in the traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary ...

(Singer, former Celtic Woman) :*

Frederick May (composer) Frederick May (9 June 1911 – 8 September 1985) was an Irish composer and arranger. His musical career was seriously hindered by a lifelong hearing problem and he produced relatively few compositions. Early years Frederick May was born into a D ...

William Downes, 1st Baron Downes William Downes, 1st Baron Downes PC (1751 – 3 March 1826) was one of the leading Irish judges of his time, who held office as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. Family Downes was the second son of Robert Downes (1708-1754) of Donnybrook Castl ...

(eminent nineteenth-century judge) :*

Richard Gibson Richard Gibson (born 1 January 1954) is an English actor, best known for his role as the archetypal Gestapo Officer Herr Otto Flick in the BBC hit sitcom series, Allo 'Allo!''. Career Gibson was born in Kampala, Uganda, before the country ...

- Actor - Played part of Herr Otto Flick in sitcom series

'Allo 'Allo! ''Allo 'Allo!'' is a British sitcom television series, created by David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd, starring Gorden Kaye, Carmen Silvera, Guy Siner and Richard Gibson. Originally broadcast on BBC1, the series focuses on the life of a Fre ...

Beatrice Doran Beatrice M. Doran is an Irish historian, author, and former chief librarian at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI). Background Doran was born in Donnybrook, Dublin, where she is still a resident. She attended Muckross Park College ...

, librarian, historian, and author

Sport

Donnybrook is the traditional home of

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

. The headquarters of the Irish Rugby Football Union Leinster Branch is located opposite

Donnybrook Stadium Donnybrook Stadium, known for sponsorship reasons as Energia Park, is a rugby union stadium in Donnybrook, Dublin 4, Ireland. The stadium has a capacity of 6,000, including a 2,500 seat covered grandstand which was completed in early 2008. Hi ...

, where the professional

team played their home games until recently. Most games are hosted in

. Some

Junior Cup Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

ties are also hosted on the grounds. Rugby clubs

Bective Rangers Bective Rangers Football Club is a rugby union club in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1881. The Club is affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union and play in Division 1A of the Leinster League. The club plays its games a ...

and

Old Wesley Old Wesley Rugby Football Club was founded in 1891 from the past pupils of Wesley College, Dublin. Since then it has become one of Leinster's most famous clubs. It plays in Division 1B of the All-Ireland League. The club won the Leinster Seni ...

have their home ground in Donnybrook Stadium. During the school year secondary schools such as

St Conleth's College St. Conleth's College is a private co-educational Catholic school founded on 4 September 1939 by Bernard Sheppard. History The school was named after Conleth, a sixth-century Irish monk who was a moulder of precious metals and whose feast day is ...

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with trill ...

, Belvedere College, Wesley College, Clongowes, St. Michaels and many more play rugby in Donnybrook Stadium. There are several tennis clubs in Donnybrook, Donnybrook Lawn Tennis Club (LTC), St.Marys LTC and Bective LTC. Belmont Football Club has its home ground in Herbert Park. Merrion Cricket Club is located in Donnybrook, off

Anglesea Road Anglesea Road is a road joining Donnybrook with Ballsbridge, in Dublin, Ireland. It forms part of the R108 regional route in Southeast Dublin. The River Dodder flows nearby Anglesea Road. A number of sports clubs and sports venues are located ...

and backing onto the Dodder.

References

Dictionary.com/Word of the Day Archive/donnybrook
— ''etymology of the noun'' * Dublins Famous People and Where They Lived by John Cowell * A Literary Guide To Dublin by Vivien Igoe

External links

Donnybrook Parish (Sacred Heart Church) Web Site

Friends of Donnybrook (Community Forum) Web SiteDonnybrook Tidy Towns Web Site
{{Authority control Towns and villages in Dublin (city) Civil parishes of Rathdown, County Dublin Dublin (barony) Civil parishes of Uppercross