Dooradoyle ( Irish: ''Tuar an Daill'') is a large suburb of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. It is one of Limerick's newer suburbs, and is home to the campus of

University Hospital Limerick University Hospital Limerick ( ga, Ospidéal na hOllscoile, Luimneach) is a hospital located in Dooradoyle, Limerick, Ireland. It is managed by UL Hospitals Group. History The hospital, which was designed by Patrick Sheahan, was officially ope ...

and the

Crescent Shopping Centre The Crescent Shopping Centre is a major shopping centre serving Limerick, Ireland. It is located in Dooradoyle, on the southern outskirts of the city. The complex in its original form was opened in 1973, making it one of the earlier shopping cen ...

Etymology

The name Dooradoyle ( ga, Tuar an Daill) means "paddock of the blind man", where "tuar" means paddock or field, and "dall" refers to a blind person. Other sources translate "tuar" as a bleach-green — a stretch of grass set aside for the drying and bleaching of

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

Description

It is part of the

Ecclesiastical 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 ...

of St Paul in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Limerick The Diocese of Limerick ( Irish: ''Deoise Luimnigh'') is a Roman Catholic diocese in mid-western Ireland, one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Cashel and Emly. The cathedral church of the diocese is St John's Cathe ...

. St Paul's was created in 1971, partitioned from the parish of Mungret - Raheen -

Crecora Crecora (; ) is a village in County Limerick, Ireland, located approximately from Limerick city. The small village has a school, stone yard, garden centre, GAA pitch (of Crecora/Manister GAA), post office and a Roman Catholic church. This ...

, though some parts of Dooradoyle remain in that parish. Until June 2014, Dooradoyle was the site of the administrative offices of Limerick County Council. Since the merger of Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council these offices have become civic offices for the merged Limerick City and County Council. Several attempts were made by

Limerick City Council Limerick City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Luimnigh) was the authority responsible for local government in the city of Limerick in Ireland. The council had 17 elected members. The head of the council had the title of Mayor. Limerick City ...

to expand its area of control to include Castletroy, Raheen, and Dooradoyle: all until recently administered by Limerick County Council. Since the merger of the authorities the district has become part of the Limerick Metropolitan district which enlarged the city area to include the large suburban districts such as Dooradoyle. Dooradoyle is located in the south west area of Limerick City on the R526 road (formerly the main N20 route), also called St Nessan's Road. The suburb is now bypassed by the M20 motorway to the south. The earliest developments in the area began in the 1960s, and Dooradoyle has experienced rapid growth since.

Services

The Civic Offices of Limerick City and County Council are in Dooradoyle, along with the county's motor tax office and the county library headquarters. The

, Ireland's largest shopping centre outside of Dublin, is located in Dooradoyle. The Omniplex, Limerick's largest cinema with twelve screens, is on the site of the Crescent Shopping Centre. There are also smaller, local shops, bars and restaurants, along with a leisure centre and gym. Dooradoyle is the location of the campus of

, the biggest hospital in the mid west of Ireland.

Religion

St Paul's is the area's

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church. Dooradoyle is also home to the Limerick

Mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

and a meeting hall of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

Mungret Abbey Mungret Abbey is a medieval friary and National Monument located near Mungret in County Limerick, Ireland. Location Mungret Abbey is located immediately west of Dooradoyle and northeast of Mungret College, southwest of Limerick city centre, to ...

, an ancient monastery, is located just outside Dooradoyle.

Education

The main primary school serving the area is St Paul's NS, though students in some estates in Dooradoyle are zoned to St Nessan's NS in nearby Mungret. The area is also home to St Gabriel's School, a special needs school, and Gaelscoil an Ráithín, an Irish-medium school. Dooradoyle is home to Crescent College, a comprehensive secondary school. However, many students from the area attend secondary schools in Limerick City.

Sports

Regional United is an amateur

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

club based in Dooradoyle. The home ground of Garryowen is located in Dooradoyle, while

Old Crescent Old Crescent is a senior rugby club in Limerick, playing in Division 2A of the All-Ireland League. History Early years Old Crescent grew out of the Crescent College Munster School's cup team of 1947. Fr Gerry Guinane, who trained rugby in ...

and Young Munster are both based in the neighbouring townland of Rosbrien. The local GAA club is Mungret St. Pauls which covers the Dooradoyle, Raheen, Mungret and Ballycummin areas.

References

{{Reflist Towns and villages in County Limerick