Goatstown () is a small
Southside suburb 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 ...
,
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 ...
. To the west is
Dundrum, to the east 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 tr ...
, to the south is
Sandyford, and to the north
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 lan ...
. It is mainly a residential area, with a primary school called Our Lady’s Grove, and two all-girls secondary schools, Mount Anville and Our Lady’s Grove Secondary School (Previously called Jesus and Mary). There are amenities such as restaurants, a pub, a post office and various shops.
Nature
Goatstown is primarily a residential area, with extensive housing developments from the middle decades of the 20th century onwards, with little local industry. It is roughly centred on a pub named the Goat Grill, at the intersection of Goatstown Road and Taney Road, where there has been a pub since the early 18th century.
Etymology
Goatstown got its name from the fact that formerly goats were bred there; in the 19th century it was popular to travel to Dundrum and nearby Goatstown as
goat's milk
Goat milk is the milk of domestic goats. Goats produce about 2% of the world's total annual milk supply. Some goats are bred specifically for milk. Goat milk naturally has small, well-emulsified fat globules, which means the cream will stay in ...
was considered to be excellent for those suffering from
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...
.
Transport
A number of roads pass through Goatstown. At the crossroads the
R112 passes from west (Taney Road) to east (Mount Anville Road), to the south is the
R825 (Goatstown Road) and to the north is the
R133 (Lower Kilmacud Road). A short distance from the crossroads is a T-junction where the
R826 terminates at the R112 on Taney Road.
The
Luas
Luas (pronounced ; Irish for "speed") is a tram/ light rail system in Dublin, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line which opened on 26 September 2004. Since then, both li ...
green line runs through the southwest corner of Goatstown and the
Dundrum Luas stop is nearby, with the vehicular entrance off Taney Road.
The bus routes of the 11, 11a and 75 run through Goatstown as well, linking Goatstown to the city centre, Dún Laoghaire and Tallaght.
Development
To the east of the Goatstown Road lies former allotment land, much of which was compulsorily purchased during the 1960s for the proposed Eastern Bypass / Saint Helen's link road. A portion of this land is currently being built on by
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Dhún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that s ...
, to provide social and affordable housing.
A Georgian house and remaining surrounding land, known as Trimbleston, was sold in the early 1990s to builders Sorohan Brothers. The house was subsequently damaged in two fires and the remaining ruins were demolished and replaced by a housing and apartment development, also called Trimbleston. Phase two of Trimbleston has recently commenced with the demolition of five two-storey houses on Goatstown Road and the construction of 202 dwelling units in their place and on land to the east owned by the Sorohans.
Notable people
*
William Dargan
William Dargan (28 February 1799 – 7 February 1867) was arguably the most important Irish engineer of the 19th century and certainly the most important figure in railway construction. Dargan designed and built Ireland's first railway li ...
lived for a time in Mount Anville House in Goatstown. The award-winning cable-stay
Luas
Luas (pronounced ; Irish for "speed") is a tram/ light rail system in Dublin, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line which opened on 26 September 2004. Since then, both li ...
bridge at Taney Junction was named
Dargan Bridge.
*
Barry Desmond, politician
*
David Kelly, Irish actor, resided in the town till his death in 2012
*
Paul Murphy, politician
*
Brian O'Driscoll, former Irish rugby player
*
Shane Ross, politician, born here
Notable events
Charlie Chawke, who took over the local pub in 1982 and changed the name from Traynor's to the Goat Grill, was shot in the leg in October 2003 in a robbery and had his right leg amputated five days later.
In another widely publicised case, on 5 March 2008, a jury found Brian Kearney guilty of the murder of his wife, Siobhán Kearney, at their home in Cnoc na Sí, Goatstown in February 2006.
Dragon Gates is a tourist attraction on an exterior wall of Harlech House in the cul-de-sac of Harlech Downs.
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
External
County Council Map for proposed Goatstown Local Area Plan
{{Dublin residential areas
Places in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown