Dunshaughlin (
or locally ) is a town in
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 ...
,
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 ...
. A
commuter town
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many ...
for nearby
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 ...
, Dunshaughlin more than tripled in population (from 1,275 to 4,035 inhabitants) between the 1991 and 2016 censuses.
History
Foundation
Dunshaughlin is named for
Saint Seachnall, who established
a church there in the 5th century. The oldest reference to the place name is an entry in the ''
Annála Uladh'' from the year 801, where the name takes the form "Domnaig Sechnaill". The word "Domnach", used in this way, can be attributed to churches which originate from the beginnings of Christianity in Ireland.
Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill was an ancestor from which the principal family of
Brega
Brega , also known as ''Mersa Brega'' or ''Marsa al-Brega'' ( ar, مرسى البريقة , i.e. "Brega Seaport"), is a complex of several smaller towns, industry installations and education establishments situated in Libya on the Gulf of Sidra ...
, Ó Maoilsheachlainn, is descended. Dunshaughlin (or more specifically, the townland of
Lagore) is famous for an ancient
crannóg or settlement from the 7th century where a number of Irish
antiquities were discovered.
Workhouse
Approximately from the village is a preserved
workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...
from the
Great Famine. This
workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...
was erected in 1840–41 on , south of Dunshaughlin. Designed to accommodate 400 inmates, it cost about £6,000 to build, all told. It was declared fit for habitation on 12 May 1841 and received its first admissions on 17 May. During the famine period, in the mid-1840s, elements of the workhouse were converted to accommodate additional inmates, and a burial ground was located to the rear. Occupancy declined after the famine. During the First World War, the building was used to house Belgian refugees, some of whom died there and were buried in the paupers' graveyard. In 1920–21, the building was taken over by the
Black and Tans, who used it as a barracks during the
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...
. After the workhouse system was abolished in 1922, following the conclusion of the war and the establishment of Irish Free State, the facility served as a school, courthouse, and factory (among other things). As of 2002, parts of the building were being used as a guest residence.
Demographics
Dunshaughlin is 29 km from
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 ...
on the
R147, and is a growing
satellite town of that city. Between the 1991 and 2011 census, the town's population had more than tripled from 1,275 inhabitants to 3,903 people.
By the time of the 2016 census, this had increased to 4,035.
Amenities
Several housing estates centre on the main street, with multiple retail units consisting of newsagents, pubs, takeaway food outlets, clothing stores, and banks. There is also a business park on the outskirts of the town.
Dunshaughlin houses a number of public amenities, including a library, a health centre, and the Meath County Council civic offices. A community and sports centre was opened on the grounds of Dunshaughlin Community College in 2000. The centre is operated by a voluntary board of management.
Education
Dunshaughlin has two primary schools, Gaelscoil na Ríthe and St. Seachnall's, and one secondary school, Dunshaughlin Community College.
St. Seachnall's was founded in 1835. As of 2019, it had 552 students, both boys and girls. Gaelscoil na Ríthe (an
Irish medium school) was established in 1985 by a group of parents from the Dunshaughlin, Drumree, and Culmullen areas. A new building was constructed in 1996 and, as of 2019, the school had an enrollment of 226 pupils. Dunshaughlin Community College (DCC), established in 1933, is a co-educational school which is part of the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board. Construction was completed on an extension at the school in 2013, and was officially opened on 29 November 2014.
Transport
Dunshaughlin is located at a junction between the
R147 and
R125 regional roads, and approximately 1 km from the
M3 motorway. It is served by
Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidi ...
commuter bus services to Dublin, including route 109, which generally runs at a frequency of every half-hour.
Sport
The town is represented in sport by men's and ladies
Gaelic football
Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...
teams. The
Dunshaughlin GAA
Dunshaughlin ( Irish: ''Domhnach Seachnaill'') is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the town of Dunshaughlin, in County Meath, Ireland. The club competes at intermediate level in the Football championship. Formed in 1886, it is one of ...
men's team were
Meath Senior Football Championship 3 years in a row between 2000 and 2003. The local soccer club is Dunshaughlin Youths, which fields teams in the North Dublin Schoolboys League.
The local basketball club, Dunshaughlin Rockets, compete in both the North East Basketball League and the Dublin Ladies Basketball League. Dunshaughlin community college has won both a girl's u16 All-Ireland title, a second-year girl's All-Ireland a boy's u19 All-Ireland title.
Dunshaughlin Athletic Club is traditionally considered a long-distance running club. However, club members have also entered juvenile sprinting competitions. The town's golf course is the "Black Bush Golf Club". Around outside the village a new golfing resort designed by Jack Nicklaus has been created at Killeen Castle. The course hosted the 2011
Solheim Cup
The Solheim Cup is a biennial golf tournament for professional women golfers contested by teams representing Europe and the United States. It is named after the Norwegian-American golf club manufacturer Karsten Solheim, who was a driving force ...
.
The town also has a strong association with horse racing, in particular
National Hunt racing. The leading flat race sprinter
Sole Power
Sole Power (foaled 18 March 2007) is a British-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse. A specialist sprinter, he won twelve of his sixty-five races and competed in five different countries in a nine-year racing career. He is unique in being a ...
, dual winner of both the
Nunthorpe Stakes and the
King's Stand Stakes, is trained near the town by Edward Lynam.
Events
The Dunshaughlin Harvest Festival is a three-day culture festival, usually taking place towards the end of September. It is a non-profit event, organized and run by local volunteers.
Gallery
File:Entrance to Saint Seachnall's Church of Ireland, Dunshaughlin, Ireland.jpg, Entrance to Saint Seachnall's 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 sec ...
, site of the village's original ecclesiastical foundation in the fifth century AD
File:CroppygraveDomhnachSeachnaill (4).JPG, Waterfall next to the old mill on the Killeen Road
File:1798 Croppy Commemoration, Dunshaughlin.jpg, 1798 Croppy Commemoration, Croppy Lane, Trim Road
File:Seachnall's church.JPG, Remains of the monastic site of Saint Seachnall, ''Domhnach Seachnaill'', from which the town's name derives
File:G-DUNS.JPG, A hot-air balloon over north-west Dunshaughlin
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
External links
Meath County Council - Dunshaughlin Local Area Plan 2009-2015
{{Authority control
Towns and villages in County Meath