Killiney () is an affluent
seaside resort and
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 ...
in
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 ...
,
Ireland. It lies south of neighbouring
Dalkey, east of
Ballybrack
Ballybrack () is a residential suburb of Dublin on its Southside, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is south of Killiney, northeast of Loughlinstown, east of Cabinteely and north of Shankill.
Population
The population of ...
and
Sallynoggin and north of
Shankill. The place grew around the 11th century
Killiney Church
Killiney Church is an ancient church in County Dublin, Ireland.
Location
Killiney Church lies west of the coast, and south of Killiney Hill. In the modern day, this site is in the middle of housing developments, near Marino Avenue West.
The ...
, and became a popular seaside resort in the 19th century. It is part of the
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
constituency of
Dún Laoghaire.
Amenities
Killiney Hill Park was opened in 1887 as Victoria Hill, in honour of
Queen Victoria's 50 years on the British throne. The park has views of
Dublin Bay, Killiney Bay, Bray Head and the mountain of
Great Sugar Loaf
Great Sugar Loaf () at , is the 404th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin scale, however, being below 600 m it does not rank on the Vandeleur-Lynam or Hewitt scales.Mountainviews, (September 2013), "A Guide to Ireland's Mountain Summits: ...
(506 m), stretching from the
Wicklow Mountains right across to
Howth Head. The Park's topography is steep, and its highest point, at the obelisk, is 170 metres above sea level.
Other attractions include Killiney Beach, Killiney Golf Club, a local
Martello Tower, and the ruins of
Cill Iníon Léinín, the church around which the original village was based.
The coastal areas of Killiney are often compared to the
Bay of Naples
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...
in
Italy.
This comparison is reflected in the names of surrounding roads, like Vico, Sorrento, Monte Alverno, San Elmo and Capri.
[ On clear days, the ]Mourne Mountains
The Mourne Mountains ( ; ga, Beanna Boirche), also called the Mournes or Mountains of Mourne, are a granite mountain range in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland. They include the highest mountains in Northern Ireland, the high ...
of County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
can be seen. Killiney Hill Park was once part of the estate of Killiney Castle, now a hotel. Since early 2010, a pod of bottlenose dolphins has been seen occasionally in Killiney Bay.
There is a small shopping centre in Killiney and the village contains a newsagent and a pub, the Druid's Chair. There is a hotel, Fitzpatrick's Castle Hotel.
History
The village of Killiney takes its name from the site of the Nuns' Abbey. Leinin, a local chieftain, and his seven daughters converted to Christianity, and together they went on to found a monastic community at what is now Marino Avenue West. Today the family are commemorated in the stained-glass windows of the Church of St Alphonsus and Columba in Ballybrack, just a couple of minutes' walk away. Although the establishment of the first church dates back to the sixth century, its current roofless ruin dates from the 11th century. This tiny chapel on Marino Avenue West marks the historical centre of Killiney village, and can still be viewed today.
For many centuries the major part of the district was the property of the Talbot de Malahide family, some of the original followers of the 1170 Norman invasion. The obelisk on top of Killiney Hill records the famine of 1741 and the relief works made for the poor which include the obelisk and the many walls which cover the top of the hill. By the 19th century, the areas to the north and east of the village were owned by Robert Warren, who developed many of the Victorian residential roads. The Warrens also sold the land required to extend the Dublin and Kingstown Railway to Killiney and ultimately Bray.
Killiney beach was a popular seaside destination for Dubliners, and John Rocque's 1757 map shows bath-houses near White Rock, on Killiney Beach. The coastline became even more popular once the railway opened, and the opening of Victoria Park in 1887 and of Vico Road in 1889 appear to have increased this popularity further. Victoria Castle (later renamed Ayesha Castle) was also built in honour of Queen Victoria, marking her accession to the throne. This is currently owned by County Donegal-born singer Enya who renamed it "Manderley," a reference to the stately house that featured in the 1938 Daphne du Maurier novel Rebecca
Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
.
Killiney remained a near-rural area from 1900 until the late 1940s, despite its proximity to Dublin city. From the early 1960s, the economy began to expand, causing Dublin's outer suburbs to extend as far as Killiney.
20th-century development
In the first half of the twentieth century, the Electoral Division of North Killiney still consisted of a small village at its centre and a number of suburban roads lined with large houses. A few modest cottages were occupied by working-class locals and bohemian residents such as George Bernard Shaw, whose house, Torca Cottage, is close to the boundary with Dalkey.
South Killiney consisted of farmland, uncultivated hillside and woodland, a few large country houses (Ballinclea House, in particular, owned by the Talbot de Malahide family destroyed by fire in the early 1970s, and Rochestown House, near to the contemporary Killiney Shopping Centre), the convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, and Killiney Golf Club, a nine-hole course founded in 1903.
Killiney's population grew substantially in the decades following the Emergency as the urbanisation of Ireland and the suburbanisation of Dublin progressed. The main sub-districts most locals will identify are Killiney Hill Park, Roche's Hill (locally called Mullins' Hill), Killiney village itself, North Killiney (Cluny Grove, Killiney Road, Ballinclea), Killiney Hill Road, and Vico Road. The last six of these areas are developed, most frequently with two-storey housing, at average densities of 10 to 30 houses per hectare. North Killiney mainly consists of two-bedroom, two-storey housing at 10 to 30 houses per hectare.
The population, as recorded by the Census of Ireland, peaked in 1996 at approximately 10,800 and has dropped by about 12% since then, as falling average family sizes have outpaced residential construction.
Transport
Bus
The area is served by the 59 bus route operated by Go-Ahead Ireland which runs hourly from Killiney Village to Marine Road, Dún Laoghaire. The journey takes 25 minutes.
An Aircoach service starting at Fitzpatrick's Castle Hotel links Killiney with Dublin Airport every hour, 24 hours a day.
Rail
Killiney railway station
Killiney railway station ( ga, Stáisiún Chill Iníon Léinín) serves Killiney in County Dublin, Ireland.
The station lies on the DART line. The entrance to the station is via Station Road. It is located about two minutes walk to Killiney Bea ...
, served by the DART
Dart or DART may refer to:
* Dart, the equipment in the game of darts
Arts, entertainment and media
* Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero
* Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe''
* Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character
* Dar ...
, is located on Station Road.
Notable people
Killiney is one of Dublin's most exclusive residential areas. Its notable residents include U2 members Bono
Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2.
Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...
and the Edge. Former racing driver Eddie Irvine is also occasionally seen in Killiney. Actor Allen Leech was born in Killiney, as was radio presenter Paddy O'Byrne
Paddy O'Byrne (8 December 1929 – 4 December 2013) was an Irish radio broadcaster and actor who became one of the best-known radio personalities in South Africa.
Early life
O'Byrne was born in Killiney, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. He attend ...
. Singer Enya lives in Manderley Castle
Manderley Castle ( ga, Caisleán Mhanderley), formerly "Victoria Castle" and "Ayesha Castle", is a large castellated Irish mansion built in Victorian style, in Killiney, County Dublin, Ireland. It is currently owned by the singer Enya.
Fea ...
in Killiney. Gardener Alice Lawrenson lived in Killiney in the 1800s.
The 1960s rock band Mellow Candle, originated in Killiney, was formed by students from the Holy Child Convent.
See also
* List of towns and villages in Ireland
Sources
The History of Killiney Hill Park
Dunlaoghaire-Rathdown County Council
(Waybackmachine archive link)
*Pearson, Peter (1998). ''Between the Mountains and the Sea: Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County'', Dublin: The O'Brien Press. .
References
External links
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council
Killiney railway station
Census 2002 of Ireland Population Classified by Religion
Census 2006 Preliminary Report
Fitzpatrick Castle hotel in Killiney
{{Authority control
Places in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown
Beaches of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown
Civil parishes of Rathdown, County Dublin