Foxrock () is an affluent

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 ...

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 within the county of

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown ( ga, Dún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three s ...

, in the postal district of Dublin 18 and in the Roman Catholic

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 Foxrock.

History

The suburb of Foxrock was developed by William and John Bentley and Edward and Anthony Fox, who, in 1859, leased the lands of the Foxrock Estate from the

Ecclesiastical Commissioners The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Chu ...

and

Richard Whately Richard Whately (1 February 1787 – 8 October 1863) was an English academic, rhetorician, logician, philosopher, economist, and theologian who also served as a reforming Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin. He was a leading Broad Churchman ...

, 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 ...

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...

, with the aim of creating an affluent

garden suburb The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and ...

. The development was facilitated by the existence of the

Harcourt Street railway line The Harcourt Street Railway Line ( ga, Seanlíne Iarnróid Shráid Fhearchair) was a railway line that ran from ''Harcourt Street'' in Dublin through the southern suburbs to Bray, County Wicklow, Bray. It was one of the Dublin and South Eastern ...

, built in 1854, that put Dublin city within commuting distance. The developers donated a site to the Dublin Wicklow and Wexford Railway Company for

Foxrock railway station Foxrock () is an affluent suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is within the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, in the postal district of Dublin 18 and in the Roman Catholic parish of Foxrock. History The suburb of Foxrock was developed by William ...

, which opened in 1861. In 1862, the following advertisement was placed in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'':

Beautiful building sites for mansions and pretty villas – Foxrock estate. The improvements recently made on this property, and still progressing, together with its natural attractions render these sites unrivalled for suburban residences. The scenery (green and mountain) from Brighton Road just finished, leading from the hotel at Foxrock station to Carrickmines, is magnificent. The land, being undulating, affords perfectly sheltered positions on Torquay Road, to the railway station at Stillorgan and Foxrock, as well as others elevated and more bracing. The rents required are exceedingly moderate: leases for 900 years are granted. Bricks, stones, lime and sand from the estate are sold at reduced prices to tenants. Stage coaches and omnibuses ply regularly between Foxrock station and Kingstown. Fare 3 pence and 4 pence. There is cheap and excellent shopping at Foxrock market. The railway subscription only £7 per annum. Apply to W.W. Bentley, Foxrock, or Bentley and Son, 110 College Green.

The racecourse,

Leopardstown Racecourse Leopardstown Racecourse is an Ireland, Irish horse-racing venue, located in Leopardstown, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, 8 km south of the Dublin city centre. Like the majority of Irish courses, it hosts both National Hunt and Flat racing. Th ...

, was completed in 1888, and is the only remaining horse track in the greater metropolitan area. The golf club opened in 1898.

Geography

The three main roads of the original development of Foxrock remain Brighton, Torquay and Westminster Roads. The boundaries of Foxrock as used by ''

An Post (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of postal services in Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provided include letter post, p ...

'' extend east to take in the lands to the west of Clonkeen Road,

Deansgrange Cemetery Deans Grange Cemetery (; also spelled ''Deansgrange'') is situated in the suburban area of Deansgrange in the Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown part of the former County Dublin, Ireland. Since it first opened in 1865, over 150,000 people have been burie ...

as far as Newtownpark Avenue. The N11 road runs through the area, as does a small stream. Foxrock borders the suburbs of

Carrickmines Carrickmines () is an outer suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The area, still semi-rural, was historically on the border of English control and featured a defensive construction, Carrickmines Castle, which became the subjec ...

Cornelscourt Cornelscourt () is a small suburban area within the traditional County Dublin, now in the jurisdiction of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. Situated between Cabinteely and Foxrock, it is a primarily residential area, but is perhaps best known for bein ...

Deansgrange Deansgrange () is a southern suburb of Dublin, centred on the crossroads of Clonkeen Road and Kill Lane. The area shares the name Clonkeen () with the area further east, known as Kill of the Grange (i.e. "Church of the Grange of ": referring to ...

and

Leopardstown Leopardstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, within the traditional County Dublin, Ireland. Located at the foot of the Dublin Mountains, it is a residential suburb with institutional lands and a large racecourse. It is ...

Education

Foxrock has a number of primary schools, and one secondary school for girls only, Loreto Convent, Foxrock. Hollypark Boys and Girls primary schools also service the area.

Transport

Rail

Foxrock was formerly served by the

Harcourt Street line The Harcourt Street Railway Line ( ga, Seanlíne Iarnróid Shráid Fhearchair) was a railway line that ran from ''Harcourt Street'' in Dublin through the southern suburbs to Bray. It was one of the Dublin and South Eastern Railway's two northe ...

from central Dublin's

Harcourt Street Harcourt Street is a street located in Dublin City, Ireland. Location It is a little over in length with its northerly start at the south-east corner of St Stephen's Green and terminates in the south at the point where Adelaide road become ...

to Bray. A temporary platform opened in 1859 followed by a more permanent station in August 1861, finally closing in January 1959. Foxrock is bypassed by the

Luas Green Line The Green Line () is one of the two lines of Dublin's Luas light rail system. The Green Line was formerly entirely in the south side of Dublin city. It mostly follows the route of the old Harcourt Street railway line, which was reserved for pos ...

light rail system which deviates from the old railway line. The nearest Luas stop to Foxrock (not counting the unused stop at Leopardstown Racecourse) is

, which is where the Green Line rejoins the old railway route.

Bus

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. ...

high-frequency services 46A and 145 link Foxrock Church with the City Centre. The

Aircoach Aircoach is an Ireland-based subsidiary company of FirstGroup. It provides airport express coach services from Cork, Belfast, Galway, Greystones, Bray, Southside Dublin and Dublin to Dublin Airport. It also operates contracted bus services for ...

Greystones service to

Dublin Airport Dublin Airport (Irish language, Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (Irish company), DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinsto ...

stops at Foxrock’s Roman Catholic church en route to the airport. Go-Ahead route 63A serves Foxrock village once a day in each direction on weekdays.

People

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

, writer, was born in 1906 in ''Cooldrinagh'', on Kerrymount Ave. *

Joe Dolan Joseph Francis Robert Dolan (16 October 1939 – 26 December 2007) was an Irish entertainer, recording artist, and pop singer. Chiefly known in Ireland for his association with showbands and for his innovative style and high pitched singing ...

, singer, had a house in Tresillian estate in Foxrock. *

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

, American singer, songwriter, and pianist lived on Westminster Road in 1993. *

Miriam O'Callaghan Miriam O'Callaghan (born 6 January 1960) is an Irish television current affairs presenter with RTÉ. O'Callaghan has presented '' Prime Time'' since 1996, and her own summer talk show, ''Saturday Night with Miriam'', from 2005 onwards. In th ...

, broadcaster, grew up in Foxrock. *

Horace Plunkett Sir Horace Curzon Plunkett (24 October 1854 – 26 March 1932), was an Anglo-Irish agricultural reformer, pioneer of agricultural cooperatives, Unionist MP, supporter of Home Rule, Irish Senator and author. Plunkett, a younger brother of Jo ...

, agricultural reformer and senator, whose house Kilteragh was burnt down in 1923 by the

Anti-Treaty IRA The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty ( ga , An Conradh Angla-Éireannach), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the ...

during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War ( ga, Cogadh Cathartha na hÉireann; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United ...

. *

Christopher Wolstenholme Christopher Tony Wolstenholme (born 2 December 1978) is an English musician. He is the bassist and backing vocalist for the rock band Muse. Early life Chris Wolstenholme grew up in the English town of Rotherham before moving to Teignmouth, ...

, musician, lived in Foxrock with his family.

References

External links

Foxrock Village Official WebsiteFoxrock Local History ClubFoxrock ChurchFoxrock Golf Club
{{Authority control Places in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown 1859 establishments in Ireland