Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as

Rathgar Rathgar (), is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It was originally a village which from 1862 was part of the township of Rathmines and Rathgar; it was absorbed by the growing city and became a suburb in 1930. It lies about three kilometres south of ...

to the south,

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 lande ...

to the east, and

Harold's Cross Harold's Cross () is an affluent urban village and inner suburb on the south side of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district D6W. The River Poddle runs through it, though largely in an underground culvert, and it holds a major cemetery, Mou ...

to the west. It is situated in the city's D06 postal district. Rathmines is a commercial and social hub and is well known across Ireland as "flatland"—an area that has provided rented accommodation to newly arrived junior civil servants and third-level students from outside the city since the 1930s. In more recent times, Rathmines has diversified its housing stock and many houses have been gentrified. Rathmines gained a reputation as a "Dublin

Belgravia Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the ...

" in the 19th Century.

Name

Rathmines is an

Anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

of the

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, meaning "ringfort of Maonas"/"fort of Maonas". The name Maonas is perhaps derived from Maoghnes or the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

name de Meones, after the

de Meones family The De Meones, or de Moenes family were an Anglo-Irish family who originated at East Meon in Hampshire. They moved to Ireland in the late thirteenth century, became substantial landowners in Dublin and Meath, and gave their name to the suburb of R ...

who settled in Dublin about 1280; Elrington Ball states that the earlier version of the name was ''Meonesrath'', which supports the theory that it was named after the family. Like many of the surrounding areas, it arose from a fortified structure which would have been the centre of civic and commercial activity from the

Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly sanc ...

in the 12th century.

, Baggotrath and

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Counci ...

are other areas of Dublin whose placenames derive from a similar root.

History

Origins

Rathmines has a history stretching back to the 14th century. At this time, Rathmines and surrounding hinterland were part of the ecclesiastical lands called ''Cuallu'' or ''Cuallan'', later the vast Parish of Cullenswood, which gave its name to a nearby area. Cuallu is mentioned in local surveys from 1326 as part of the

manor of St. Sepulchre The Manor of St. Sepulchre (also known as the Archbishop's Liberty) was one of several manors, or liberties, that existed in Dublin, Ireland since the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the 12th century. They were townlands united to the city, but ...

(the estate, or rather liberty, of the Archbishop of Dublin, whose seat as a Canon of St. Patrick's Cathedral takes its name from this). There is some evidence of an established settlement around a ''rath'' as far back as 1350. Rathmines is part of the Barony of Uppercross, one of the many baronies surrounding the old city of Dublin, bound as it was by walls, some of which are still visible. In more recent times, Rathmines was a popular suburb of Dublin, attracting the wealthy and powerful seeking refuge from the poor living conditions of the city from the middle of the 19th century. A substantial mansion, generally called Rathmines Old Castle, was built in the seventeenth century, probably at present-day Palmerstown Park, and rebuilt in the eighteenth; no trace of it survives today. Rathmines is arguably best known historically for a bloody battle that took place there in 1649, during the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland or Cromwellian war in Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell invaded Ireland wi ...

, leading to the death of perhaps up to 5,000 people. The

Battle of Rathmines The Battle of Rathmines was fought on 2 August 1649, near the modern Dublin suburb of Rathmines, during the Irish Confederate Wars, an associated conflict of 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It has been described as the 'decisive battl ...

took place on 2 August 1649 and led to the routing of Royalist forces in Ireland shortly after this time. Some have compared the Battle of Rathmines – or sometimes Baggotrath – as equal in political importance to England's

Battle of Naseby The Battle of Naseby took place on 14 June 1645 during the First English Civil War, near the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire. The Parliamentarian New Model Army, commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, destroyed the main ...

. The battle brought a swift end to the ongoing Royalist Siege of Dublin. In the early 1790s, the Grand Canal was constructed on the northern edge of Rathmines, connecting Rathmines with

Portobello Portobello, Porto Bello, Porto Belo, Portabello, or Portabella may refer to: Places Brazil * Porto Belo Ireland * Portobello, Dublin * Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin formerly ''Portobello Barracks'' New Zealand * Portobello, New Zealand, on Ot ...

via the La Touch Bridge (which through popular usage became better known as Portobello Bridge). For several hundred years Rathmines was the location of a "spa" – in fact a spring – the water of which was said to have health-giving properties. It attracted people with all manner of ailments to the area. In the 19th century it was called the "Grattan Spa", as it was located on property once belonging to

Henry Grattan Henry Grattan (3 July 1746 – 4 June 1820) was an Irish politician and lawyer who campaigned for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century from Britain. He was a Member of the Irish Parliament (MP) from 1775 to 18 ...

, close to Portobello Bridge. The "spa" gradually fell into a state of neglect as the century progressed, until disputes arose between those who wished to preserve it and those (mainly developers) who wished to get rid of it altogether. In 1872 a Dr. O'Leary, who held a high estimate of the water quality, reported that the "spa" was in "a most disgraceful state of repair", upon which the developer and alderman Frederick Stokes sent samples to the medical inspector, Dr. Cameron, for analysis. Dr. Cameron, a great lover of authority, reported: "It was, in all probability, merely the drainings of some ancient disused sewer, not a chalybeate spring." Access to the site was blocked up and the once popular "spa" faded from public memory. Dublin Rathmines was a parliamentary county constituency at Westminster from 1918 to 1922. It returned Unionist candidate

Maurice Dockrell Maurice Dockrell may refer to: * Maurice Dockrell (Unionist politician) Sir Maurice Edward Dockrell (21 December 1850 – 5 August 1929) was an Irish businessman and politician from Dublin. At the 1918 general election, he was elected ...

as its MP in 1918, elected on a majority. Dockrell was the only Unionist elected in a geographical constituency outside Ulster. Rathmines Road

Easter Rising, War of Independence & Civil War

On 25 April 1916, during the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

, Captain John Bowen-Colthurst, an officer of the 3rd battalion

Royal Irish Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County D ...

, went on a raiding party in Rathmines holding Francis Sheehy-Skeffington as hostage. At Rathmines Road he shot dead 19-year-old James Joseph Coade of 28 Mountpleasant Avenue. Coade had been attending a

Sodality In Christian theology, a sodality, also known as a syndiakonia, is a form of the "Universal Church" expressed in specialized, task-oriented form as opposed to the Christian church in its local, diocesan form (which is termed ''modality''). In Eng ...

meeting at the nearby Catholic Church of Our Lady of Refuge. Sheehy-Skeffington was later shot dead in Portobello Barracks. Rathmines Church was used as a weapons store during the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

. On 26 January 1920, a fire started at the electrical switchboard in the vestry. There were reports of several members of 'A' Company of the IRA Dublin Brigade entering the church during the fire to retrieve the weapons. The fire caused £30-35,000 worth of damage and completely destroyed the dome. 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 ...

on 20 December 1922 Séamus Dwyer, a pro-treaty Sinn Féin politician, was shot dead in his shop at 5 Rathmines Terrace and on 24 March 1923 Thomas O'Leary, a member of 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 ...

, was shot dead outside Tranquilla Convent (now Tranquilla Park). On 28 January 1928,

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or VIP, important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not ha ...

Timothy Coughlin Timothy Coughlan (1906-1928) was a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army, mainly known for his part in assassinating Kevin O'Higgins in 1927 and for the controversy surrounding the circumstances of his death in 1928. Early life The second-elde ...

was himself shot dead on the Dartry Road.

Rathmines Township

The Rathmines Township was created by Act of Parliament in 1847. The area was later renamed

Rathmines and Rathgar Rathmines and Rathgar is a former second-tier local government area within County Dublin. It was created as the Township of Rathmines in 1847. In 1862, its area was expanded and it became the Township of Rathmines and Rathgar. In 1899, it became ...

and expanded to take in the areas of Rathgar, Ranelagh, Sallymount and Milltown. The township was initially responsible only for sanitation, but its powers were extended over time to cover most functions of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

. It became an

urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...

under the

Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland similar to that already created for England, ...

, but was still usually called a "township". Initially, the council was made up of local businessmen and other eminent figures; the franchise was extended in 1899 and the membership changed accordingly. The former Town Hall is still one of Rathmines's most prominent buildings with its clock tower (because the clock is famously inaccurate and has four large apparently unsynchronised clock faces (i.e., they sometimes show different times), it is known locally as the "Four Faced Liar".), although apparently, this nickname has been applied to other four-faced clock towers with unsynchronised clocks, such as Cork’s Shandon Tower, another one in Barnstable, England and in Boston's Custom House Tower. It was designed by

Sir Thomas Drew Sir Thomas Drew (18 September 1838 – 13 March 1910) was an Anglo-Irish architect. Life Thomas Drew was born in Victoria Place, Belfast. He was the son of the Rev. Thomas Drew and Isabella (née Dalton) Drew. He was one of four sons and ei ...

and completed in 1899. It is now occupied by Rathmines College. The township was incorporated into the

City 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 cen ...

in 1930, and its functions were taken over by

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...

, now known as

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council wa ...

. Kimmage–Rathmines is a

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ga, Toghlimistéir Áitiúil) is an electoral area for elections to local authorities in Ireland. All elections use the single transferable vote. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 166 LEAs, with an average po ...

of Dublin City Council, electing six councillors; the boundaries of the electoral areas in Rathmines have varied over the years.

Places of interest

Cathal Brugha Barracks (known in the past as Portobello Barracks) is a large army barracks which is home to many units of the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

including, the 2 Brigade and the 7th Infantry Battallion. Rathmines Library was opened on 24 October 1913 following a grant of £8,500 from

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

, to a design by architect, Frederick Hicks.

Churches

The neoclassical Church of Mary Immaculate with Georgian townhouses

The green copper oxide dome of

Mary Immaculate, Refuge of Sinners Church Mary Immaculate, Refuge of Sinners is a Roman Catholic Church (building), church in Rathmines, Dublin built in 1854 in the Ancient Greek architecture, "Greek style". The church was originally designed by Patrick Byrne (architect), Patrick Byrne a ...

is a prominent landmark. The original dome was destroyed in a fire in 1920 and replaced by the current one when reopened in 1922. The dome was to be used in St Petersburg but the political and social upheaval in that city caused it to be diverted to Dublin. The Holy Trinity Church (Church of Ireland) was designed by John Semple (1801–1882) in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style and consecrated on 1 June 1828. Constructed of Black Calp, a local limestone that turns black in the rain, the Church was one of two in Dublin to be known as the 'Black Church,' (the other also being designed by Semple and in St. Mary's Place). Rathmines is also the location of Grosvenor Road Baptist Church.

Education

There are primary and secondary schools, St Mary's College (C.S.Sp.) and St Louis Primary and secondary school. Kildare Place National School, situated on the grounds of the former

Church of Ireland College of Education The Church of Ireland College of Education or C.I.C.E. as it was more commonly known ( ga, Coláiste Oideachais Eaglais na hÉireann) was one of five Irish Colleges of Education which provided a Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) degree, the qualific ...

is a Church of Ireland sponsored primary school on Upper Rathmines Road.

Rathmines College of Further Education Rathmines College is an educational institution in Rathmines, Dublin. The college offers several Further Education courses in areas not limited to accounting, business, computing, media studies, and office administration. Campus locations It has ...

is located in the Town Hall.

Retail

On 14 September 2014, the old Swan cinema was upgraded, refurbished, and enhanced, at a cost of nearly €8 million. From the original seating capacity of 258, it was expanded to 1,519, over a total of eight movie screens. This has multiple screens, it shows up-to-date movies and features

3D movies 3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. They have existed in some form since 1915, but had been largely relegated to a niche in the motion pict ...

. In October 2017, the Stella Cinema, a vintage cinema popular in the 1980s was refurbished and reopened, offering classic films and blockbusters.

Transport

From the 1850s horse-drawn omnibuses provided transport from Rathmines to the city centre. Portobello Bridge, which had a steep incline, was often a problem for the horses, which led to the fatal accident of 1861. On 6 October 1871 work was commenced on the Dublin tram system on Rathmines Road, just before Portobello Bridge, and a horse-drawn tram service was in place the following year. The following year also the long-awaited (since the 1861 accident) improvements to Portobello Bridge were carried out, the Tramway Company paying one third of the total cost of £300. Ranelagh and Rathmines railway station opened on 16 July 1896 and finally closed on 1 January 1959. Rathmines is served by 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 lin ...

light rail system:

on the Green Line is the most convenient for access to the main street, while the Charlemont and Beechwood stops are also within walking distance of the area.

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. ...

routes 14, 15, 15A, 15B, 18, 65, 65B, 83, 140 and 142 serve Rathmines. The area is also served by the Dublin Bus ''Nitelink'' routes 15N and 49N on Friday and Saturday nights and on public holidays.

Gallery

File:Townhouses on Leinster Road, Rathmines.jpg, Townhouses on Leinster Road, Rathmines File:Rathmines 2.jpg, Georgian doorways in Rathmines File:Rathmines Library, Rathmines.jpg, Rathmines Library, Rathmines File:Leinster Road, Rathmines.jpg, Houses on Leinster Road, Rathmines

Notable people

Cathal Brugha Cathal Brugha (; born Charles William St John Burgess; 18 July 1874 – 7 July 1922) was an Irish republican politician who served as Minister for Defence from 1919 to 1922, Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann in January 1919, the first presiden ...

, Irish nationalist, lived on Rathmines Road * Brian o Driscoll, Irish rugby player, lives in Rathmines *

johnny Sexton Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton (born 11 July 1985) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Leinster Rugby and Ireland, and he also captains both teams. He represented the British & Irish Lions in both 2013 and 2017 and has scored o ...

, Irish rugby player, lives in Rathmines * Mamie Cadden, midwife, backstreet abortionist and convicted murderer, operated a maternity nursing home, St Maelruin's, at 183 Lower Rathmines Road *

Martin Cahill Martin "The General" Cahill (23 May 1949 – 18 August 1994) was an Irish crime boss from Dublin. He masterminded a series of burglaries and armed robberies, and was shot and killed while out on bail for kidnapping charges. The Provisional Iris ...

(1949-1994) aka ''The General'', career criminal, lived in Cowper Downs prior to his murder in 1994 *

Michael Cleary (priest) Michael Cleary (17 May 1934 – 31 December 1993) was an Irish Roman Catholic priest, who also became a radio and TV personality. Described in some sources as a "powerful and charismatic figure" in the Catholic Church in Ireland, he presented a la ...

was living on Leinster Road, Rathmines when the controversy about his child was first reported *

Nora Connolly O'Brien Nora Connolly O'Brien (14 November 1893 – 17 June 1981) was an Irish politician, activist and writer. She was a member of Seanad Éireann from 1957 to 1969. Early life Nora Connolly was the daughter of Irish republican and socialist leader J ...

, second daughter of

James Connolly James Connolly ( ga, Séamas Ó Conghaile; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. Born to Irish parents in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, Connolly left school for working life at the a ...

, was an activist and writer; she was also a member of the Irish Senate, and lived on

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces fo ...

Matt Cooper (Irish journalist) Matt Cooper (born 21 July 1966) is an Irish journalist, author, television presenter and radio presenter of '' The Last Word'' on Today FM. He is also a former editor of the ''Sunday Tribune''. Early life Cooper was born in Cork in 1966 and was ...

, resident *

Frederick William Cumberland :''See also Cumberland (disambiguation), Cumberland (surname).'' Frederick William Cumberland (10 April 1821 – 5 August 1881) was a Canadian engineer, architect and politician. He represented the riding of Algoma in the 1st and 2nd Ontar ...

(1820–1881), architect, railway manager and politician, grew up in Rathmines; his father Thomas was employed at Dublin Castle * Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, British admiral of the Second World War *

Vincent Dowling Vincent Gerard Dowling (7 September 1929 – 9 May 2013) was an Irish actor and director. Ireland Dowling was born in Dublin and educated at St Mary's College and Rathmines College of Commerce. He came to prominence in the 1950s for his role ...

, Director of the Arts, was born in Rathmines * Séamus Dwyer, Sinn Féin TD in the 2nd Dáil, Pro-Treaty candidate in 1922 General Election, shot dead in his shop at 5 Rathmines Terrace on 20 December 1922 *

Paddy Finucane Wing Commander Brendan Eamonn Fergus Finucane, (16 October 1920 – 15 July 1942), known as Paddy Finucane amongst his colleagues, was an Irish Second World War Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot and flying ace—defined as an aviator c ...

, Second World War fighter pilot, was born in Rathmines *

Madeleine ffrench-Mullen Madeleine ffrench-Mullen (30 December 1880 – 26 May 1944) was an Irish revolutionary and labour activist who took part in the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916. Ffrench-Mullen was a member of the radical nationalist women's organisation . In 1 ...

(30 December 1880 – 26 May 1944) was an Irish revolutionary and labour activist who took part in the Easter Rising in Dublin in 1916 * Richard Henry Geoghegan lived at 41 Upper Rathmines Road; he was the first Esperantist in the English-speaking world, designed the original official

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

flag, and was a friend of Irish Nationalist leader

Joseph Mary Plunkett Joseph Mary Plunkett (Irish: ''Seosamh Máire Pluincéid''; 21 November 1887 – 4 May 1916) was an Irish nationalist, republican, poet, journalist, revolutionary and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising. Joseph Mary Plunkett married Grace Giff ...

Grace Gifford Grace Evelyn Gifford Plunkett (4 March 1888 – 13 December 1955) was an Irish artist and cartoonist who was active in the Republican movement, who married her fiancé Joseph Plunkett in Kilmainham Gaol only a few hours before he was executed ...

, an artist and cartoonist who was active in the Republican movement, was born in Rathmines; she married Joseph Plunkett in 1916 only a few hours before he was executed *

Stephen Gwynn Stephen Lucius Gwynn (13 February 1864 – 11 June 1950) was an Irish journalist, biographer, author, poet and Protestant Nationalist politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party he represented Galway city as its Member of Parliame ...

Protestant Nationalist MP, writer, poet and journalist lived at Palmerstown Road * Lafcadio Hearn, ghost-story writer who settled in Japan, was brought up in Rathmines *

Sean Hogan Sean Hogan is a Canadian country music singer-songwriter. Biography Born in Sarnia, Ontario, Hogan attended Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, studying music. In 2003 he won the Roots Artist of the Year at the Canadian Country Music Awards a ...

married Christina Butler at Our lady Refuge of Sinners Church in Rathmines, 24 February 1925 * Rosamund Jacob, suffragist, republican and writer lived at

and Charleville Road *

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

was born at 41 Brighton Square and spent some of his childhood at 23 Castlewood Avenue *Thomas Goodwin Keohler (1873-1942), poet, journalist and friend of

lived at 12 Charleville Road *

Aine Lawlor Aine may refer to: * Áine, Irish goddess of summer, wealth and sovereignty * Áine (given name), an Irish female given name * Aine, Dahanu Aine is a village in the Palghar district of Maharashtra, India. It is located in the Dahanu taluka. ...

, RTÉ journalist *The

Earl of Longford Earl of Longford is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. History The title was first bestowed upon Francis Aungier, 3rd Baron Aungier of Longford, in 1677, with remainder to his younger brother Ambrose. He had previ ...

had a large house in the Grosvenor park area of the Leinster road between Rathmines and

, that was demolished and replaced with a modern housing estate in recent decades *

Kathleen Lynn Kathleen Florence Lynn (28 January 1874 – 14 September 1955) was an Irish Sinn Féin politician, activist and medical doctor. Lynn was so greatly affected by the poverty and disease among the poor in the west of Ireland that, at 16, she decid ...

, 1874–1955,

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gri ...

politician, activist and medical doctor lived and practiced on Belgrave Road, Rathmines *

Éamonn MacThomáis Eamonn or Éamon or Eamon may refer to: * Eamonn (given name), an Irish male given name * Eamon (singer) (born 1983), American R&B singer-songwriter and harmonicist * ''Eamon'' (video game), a 1980 computer role-playing game for the Apple II *"Éam ...

, 1927–2002, born in Rathmines, was an author, broadcaster, historian, Republican, advocate of the Irish language and lecturer, noted for numerous

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

documentaries on his native Dublin *

Constance Markievicz Constance Georgine Markievicz ( pl, Markiewicz ; ' Gore-Booth; 4 February 1868 – 15 July 1927), also known as Countess Markievicz and Madame Markievicz, was an Irish politician, revolutionary, nationalist, suffragist, socialist, and the firs ...

, Irish revolutionary. In 1903 after a visit to the Ukraine, she and her husband Casimir Markievicz returned to live in a house provided by Constance's mother in Rathmines to bring up her daughter Maeve and stepson Stanislaus *

John Mitchel John Mitchel ( ga, Seán Mistéal; 3 November 1815 – 20 March 1875) was an Irish nationalist activist, author, and political journalist. In the Great Famine (Ireland), Famine years of the 1840s he was a leading writer for The Nation (Irish n ...

was living with his family at 8 Ontario Terrace when he was arrested in 1848 *

Conor Cruise O'Brien Donal Conor David Dermot Donat Cruise O'Brien (3 November 1917 – 18 December 2008), often nicknamed "The Cruiser", was an Irish diplomat, politician, writer, historian and academic, who served as Minister for Posts and Telegraphs from 1973 ...

was born in 1917 in Rathmines, the only child of Francis Cruise O'Brien, a journalist who worked for the Freeman's Journal, and Kathleen Sheehy *

Walter Osborne Walter Frederick Osborne (17 June 1859 – 24 April 1903) was an Irish impressionist and Post-Impressionism landscape and portrait painter, best known for his documentary depictions of late 19th century working class life. Most of his painti ...

, a famous Irish impressionist painter, was born at 5 Castlewood Avenue * Seumas O'Sullivan, writer, was born on Charleston Avenue and the family pharmacy operated from 30 Rathmines Road * Edward Pakenham, 6th Earl of Longford Irish Nationalist, Senator and writer *

Arthur Alcock Rambaut Arthur Alcock Rambaut (21 September 1859 – 14 October 1923) was an Irish astronomer. Life Rambaut was born in County Waterford, Ireland, the third son of Rev. Edmund F. Rambaut, vicar of Christ Church, Blackrock, County Dublin. He was educate ...

, astronomer, was educated at Rathmines School *

George William Russell George William Russell (10 April 1867 – 17 July 1935), who wrote with the pseudonym Æ (often written AE or A.E.), was an Irish writer, editor, critic, poet, painter and Irish nationalist. He was also a writer on mysticism, and a centra ...

Irish nationalist Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cu ...

and mystic, was educated at Rathmines School * Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, suffragist, pacifist and writer, lived in 11 Grosvenor Place Rathmines *

Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington Johanna Mary Sheehy Skeffington (née Sheehy; 24 May 1877 – 20 April 1946) was a suffragette and Irish nationalist. Along with her husband Francis Sheehy Skeffington, Margaret Cousins and James Cousins, she founded the Irish Women's Franchis ...

, suffragette and Irish nationalist, lived in 11 Grosvenor Place Rathmines *

Owen Sheehy-Skeffington Owen Lancelot Sheehy-Skeffington (19 May 1909 – 7 June 1970) was an Irish university lecturer and senator. The son of pacifists, feminists and socialists Francis and Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, he was politically likeminded and as a member of t ...

, university lecturer and senator, spent early childhood in 11 Grosvenor Place Rathmines *

Dora Sigerson Shorter Dora Maria Sigerson Shorter (16 August 1866 – 6 January 1918) was an Irish poet and sculptor, who after her marriage in 1895 wrote under the name Dora Sigerson Shorter. Life She was born in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of George Sigerson, ...

, poet, spent some of her childhood at Richmond Hill *

Annie M. P. Smithson Annie Mary Patricia Smithson (26 September 1873 – 21 February 1948) was an Irish novelist, poet and Nationalist. Smithson was born into a Protestant family in Sandymount, Dublin. She was christened Margaret Anne Jane, but took the names Anne M ...

, novelist, nurse and Nationalist, lived at 12 Richmond Hill until her death *

John Millington Synge Edmund John Millington Synge (; 16 April 1871 – 24 March 1909) was an Irish playwright, poet, writer, collector of folklore, and a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival. His best known play ''The Playboy of the Western World'' was poorly r ...

, dramatist, lived here from February to April in 1908 *

George William Torrance George William Torrance (25 July 1835 – 20 August 1907) was an Irish composer, mainly of church music, who was resident in Australia for many years. Early life Torrance was born in Rathmines, Dublin and became a choirboy at Christ Church Cat ...

, composer of church music * Elizabeth Mary Troy (1914–2011), obstetrician *

Maev-Ann Wren Maev-Ann Wren is an Irish economist, journalist, author, and former special advisor to the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Roisin Shortall.

, journalist, economist, author, grew up in Rathmines *Robert Wynne, 1760–1838, built Rathmines Castle c. 1820 *

Ella Young Ella Young (26 December 1867 – 23 July 1956) was an Irish poet and Celtic mythologist active in the Gaelic and Celtic Revival literary movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Born in Ireland, Young was an author of poetry and c ...

, poet and Celtic mythologist lived in Grosvenor Square.

References

Notes

{{Authority control Towns and villages in Dublin (city) Uppercross