Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer 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 ...

. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway, and the

N2 road This is a list of roads designated N2. Roads entries are sorted in alphabetical order by country. * N2 (Bangladesh), connects Dhaka and Tamabil via Sylhet * N2 road (Belgium), connects Brussels and Maastricht * National Road 2 (Democratic Repub ...

. Nearby suburbs include

Glasnevin Glasnevin (, also known as ''Glas Naedhe'', meaning "stream of O'Naeidhe" after a local stream and an ancient chieftain) is a neighbourhood of Dublin, Ireland, situated on the River Tolka. While primarily residential, Glasnevin is also home ...

and

Ballymun Ballymun () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was ...

;

Dublin Airport Dublin Airport ( Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south o ...

is to the north. Finglas lies mainly in the postal district of Dublin 11. Finglas is the core of a civil parish of the same name in the

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Castleknock Castleknock () is an affluent suburb located west of the centre of Dublin city, Ireland. It is centered on the village of the same name in Fingal. In addition to the suburb, the name "Castleknock" also refers to older units of land division: ...

Name

The name Finglas ( ga, Fionnghlas), meaning ''clear streamlet'', is derived from the Finglas River, which passed through the historic settlement.

Geography

The centre of Finglas lies on a rise overlooking the valley of the

River Tolka The River Tolka (; , "the flood"), also once spelled ''Tolga'', is one of Dublin's three main rivers, flowing from County Meath to Fingal within the old County Dublin, and through the north of Dublin city, Ireland (the other main rivers are th ...

, at an altitude of . The Tolka runs through western and southern Finglas, and forms part of the boundary between Finglas and Glasnevin. Flowing from the north is the stream, the Finglas River, for which the area is named, forming in turn from branches from the townlands of Grange and Kildonan to the north. After meeting a tributary, the St. Margaret's Road Stream, the Finglas flows through the village centre in culvert, and along the eastern side of Finglas Road, joining the Tolka at Finglas Bridge. To the west of the village centre rises the Finglaswood Stream, which joins the River Tolka via an

Integrated Constructed Wetland A constructed wetland is an artificial wetland to treat sewage, greywater, stormwater runoff or industrial wastewater. It may also be designed for land reclamation after mining, or as a mitigation step for natural areas lost to land development. ...

near a small civic golf course.

History

Early history

Finglas was originally the site of an

Early Christian Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewis ...

abbey, the origin of which has been associated, from early times, with the name of St. Cainnech, or Canice, the patron of

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, said to have founded it in 560 A.D. According to an ancient legend, the ground on which Finglas stands had been sanctified by

St. Patrick ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

, who is said to have uttered a

prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or p ...

that a great town would arise at the ford of hurdles in the vale beneath. The Nethercross from the first abbey can be seen today in the old graveyard. St. Canice is said to have been born at Glengiven near

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

. Several primary schools and churches in the area have been named after Canice, including the local

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 ...

church (built in 1843) and

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church (built in 1920 on the site of a much earlier mass house).

Early modern period

The Finglas or Finglass family, who were prominent in the legal profession and in politics in the sixteenth century, took their name from the district. In 1649, the Duke of Ormonde used Finglas as a staging post for his army before launching an unsuccessful Siege of Dublin. Following the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...

in 1690, Finglas was used as a camp for four days by William of Orange en route to Dublin city. While there he issued the Declaration of Finglas, offering a pardon for many of James II's defeated supporters.

20th century onwards

In 1932, Ireland's first commercial airport was set up at Kildonan in Finglas. It was the site for the first Irish commercial aircraft, a Desoutter Mark II aircraft "EI-AAD", and the first commercial air taxi service, the Iona National Air Taxis and Flying School. In the 1950s, Finglas was developed with extensive housing estates, to rehouse many north inner-city Dublin residents. Many of these housing estates particularly in Finglas West were named after prominent

Irish republicans Irish republicanism ( ga, poblachtánachas Éireannach) is the political movement for the unity and independence of Ireland under a republic. Irish republicans view British rule in any part of Ireland as inherently illegitimate. The developm ...

from early 20th-century Irish history including

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

, Casement,

Plunkett Plunkett is an Irish surname derived from the Gaelic Ó ''Pluingceid''. It is associated with Ireland, and possibly of Norse or Norman origin; it may be spelled O'Plunket, Plunket, Plunkit, Plunkitt, Plonkit, Plonkitt, Plonket, Plonkett, or Ó Pl ...

, Mellows, McKee, Clune and Clancy.

Amenities

In the village centre are a range of shops, including one of the first-established

Superquinn Superquinn was an Irish supermarket chain, founded in 1960 and entirely privately owned by the Quinn family. Select Retail Holdings, a property buying consortium, purchased the company from the Quinn family in 2005. A receiver was appointed to the ...

stores (since rebranded as SuperValu), banking facilities, pubs and restaurants. To the north are several light industrial estates. Charlestown Shopping Centre and Clearwater Shopping Centre, are located outside the village core, to the north and south of Finglas respectively. Finglas is home to one of Dublin's four

Road Safety Authority The Road Safety Authority (RSA; ga, Údarás Um Shábháilteacht Ar Bhóithre) is a state agency formed by the Irish Government to promote road safety within the Republic of Ireland. The agency has devolved control of much of the work of the ...

Driving Testing Centres, which is located in Jamestown Business Park. The Finglas Maypole Arts Festival was launched in 2019. In its first year, the festival committee was part of a steering group that got the first blue plaque in Finglas – to honour the uileann piper

Séamus Ennis Séamus Ennis ( ga, Séamas Mac Aonghusa; 5 May 1919 – 5 October 1982) was an Irish musician, singer and Irish music collector. He was most noted for his uilleann pipe playing and was partly responsible for the revival of the instrument duri ...

Education

There are 13 primary and national schools in the Finglas area, and 6

secondary schools A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

. Coláiste Íde College of Further Education is located in Finglas West and offers third level courses.

Sports

The

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

club

Unidare RFC Unidare Rugby Football Club, commonly known as Unidare RFC, is a Rugby union club founded in 1958. Unidare currently play at Balcurris park, Ballymun in Dublin city, Ireland.

and the GAA club Erins Isle are based in the area. Soccer clubs include Tolka Rovers F.C., Valley Park United, WFTA Football Club, Willows FC and Finglas Celtic FC, Rivermount Football Club and Beneavin F.C.

Transport

Finglas is served by a number of bus routes operated by

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. ...

and

Go-Ahead Ireland Go-Ahead Transport Services (Dublin) Limited, known as Go-Ahead Ireland is a bus operator in Dublin that commenced trading in September 2018. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. History With the aim of improving efficiency, in 2015 the ...

. These include the 9, 17A, 40, 40B, 40D, 40E, 83, 83A,140 & 220. The main route serving the area is the number 40 which runs between Charlestown Shopping Centre and Liffey Valley via Dublin city centre. A new route, the 40E, was also introduced from Tyrellstown to provide a direct link to the extended Luas Green Line in Broombridge. Other routes serving the area include the 17A which runs between

Kilbarrack Kilbarrack ( - ''Church of St. Berach'' or ''of young Barra'') is a residential suburb of Dublin, Ireland, running inwards from the coast, about from the city's centre. It is also a civil parish in the ancient barony of Coolock. Modern-day K ...

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchardstown is the largest u ...

, the 140 which runs to

Rathmines 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 to t ...

via the city centre and the 83 which runs to

Kimmage Kimmage ( or ''Camaigh uisce'', meaning "crooked water-meadow", possibly referring to the meandering course of the River Poddle), is a suburb on the south side of the city of Dublin in Ireland. Location Kimmage is to the south of Dublin city ...

via

and the city centre. It is also served by the 88N Nitelink service. Two

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 ...

routes also serve Finglas, passing along the main Finglas Road, including the 103 from Duleek/Kilmoon Cross/Ashbourne to the city centre.

Representation and governance

Finglas is in the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council, and for local elections it is part of the Finglas-Ballymun

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 p ...

. Finglas is part of the Dublin North-West constituency for elections to

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 rea ...

. The civil parish of Finglas is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

in the

Notable people

Finglas has been the home of a number of public figures including: *

Dermot Bolger Dermot Bolger (born 1959) is an Irish novelist, playwright, poet and editor from Dublin, Ireland. Born in the Finglas suburb of Dublin in 1959, his older sister is the writer June Considine. Bolger's novels include ''Night Shift'' (1982), '' ...

, writer and poet, whose novels ''The Woman's Daughter'' and ''Night Shift'' are set in Finglas * Paul "Bono" Hewson, lead singer of U2 *

Charles Bowden Charles Clyde Bowden (July 20, 1945 – August 30, 2014) was an American non-fiction author, journalist and essayist based in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Background He attended the University of Arizona and then the University of Wisconsin, where h ...

, Irish criminal * Gerard Byrne (born 1958), Irish artist * Declan Cassidy filmmaker, television producer and author * Patrick Clarke (filmmaker) The opening scene from ''

Beyond the Pale (film) ''Beyond the Pale'' is a 1999 immigrant drama set in mid-1980s New York, directed by George Bazala and starring Patrick Clarke, Malachy McCourt and Roger Davis. Plot Two Irish men, Patrick Shaw ( Patrick Clarke) and Seamus O'Sullivan (Conn Horg ...

'' was shot in Erin's Isle GAA Club * Christy Dignam, Joe Jewell, and Alan Downey,

Aslan Aslan () is a major character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. Unlike any other character, he appears in all seven chronicles of the series. Aslan is depicted as a talking lion, and is described as the King of Beasts, the ...

musicians *

Martin Doherty Martin Clifford Doherty (born 24 December 1982) is a Scottish musician, singer and record producer. He is a member of Glasgow-based pop band Chvrches, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Prior to forming Chvrches, Doherty was a tour ...

, volunteer for the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...

* Regina Doherty,

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil É ...

Senator and former Minister for Social Protection * Eamon "The Don" Dunne, Irish

crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...

* Dessie Ellis, Sinn Féin TD *

Uilleann The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...

piper *

Mairead Farrell Mairead, Máiréad or Mairéad, is a feminine name and the Irish variation of the given name Margaret, which is believed to mean "pearl". Another spelling variation is Maighread, which is the dominant Scottish Gaelic spelling of the name. It may r ...

, radio and television personality *

Pat Fenlon Patrick Fenlon (born 15 March 1969) is an Irish football coach and former player. Fenlon played as a midfielder for St Patrick's Athletic, Bohemians, Linfield, Shamrock Rovers and Shelbourne. As a manager he won five League of Ireland title ...

, Football manager * Tony Fenton, Today FM DJ * Patrick Finglas (died 1537),

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...

* John Fogarty CSSp, Superior General of the

Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...

* Niamh Kavanagh, Eurovision Song Contest 1993 winner, and Irish representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 *

Dick McKee Richard "Dick" McKee (Irish name Risteárd Mac Aoidh; 4 April 1893 – 21 November 1920) was a prominent member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He was also friend to some senior members in the republican movement, including Éamon de Valera, ...

, volunteer for the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

Colm Meaney Colm J. Meaney (; ga, Colm Ó Maonaigh; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor known for playing Miles O'Brien in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He has guest-starred on many TV ...

, actor * Brendan O'Carroll, comedian and actor *

Stephen O'Rahilly Sir Stephen Patrick O'Rahilly (born 1 April 1958) is an Irish-British physician and scientist known for his research into the molecular pathogenesis of human obesity, insulin resistance and related metabolic and endocrine disorders. Education ...

, Chair of Clinical Biochemistry and Medicine at the University of Cambridge. Endocrinologist and scientist researching

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...

and

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

Spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:Big Brother'' contestant, who wrote, performed and released a song about Finglas And in sport: * Irish international footballers:

Ronnie Whelan Ronald Andrew Whelan (; born 25 September 1961) is an Irish former professional footballer player who played as a midfielder and sometimes as a defender. He played an integral role in the dominant Liverpool side that won a wealth of titles in ...

Frank Stapleton Francis Anthony Stapleton (born 10 July 1956) is an Irish former professional football player and manager. He is best remembered for his time at Arsenal, Manchester United and as a pivotal player for the Republic of Ireland national team. H ...

, David O'Leary,

Mark Kinsella Mark Anthony Kinsella (born 12 August 1972) is an Irish football manager and former player, currently a coach at Drogheda United after previously being both the manager and assistant manager. He played as a central midfielder for most of his ca ...

, Stephen Kelly,

Alan Moore Alan Moore (born 18 November 1953) is an English author known primarily for his work in comic books including '' Watchmen'', ''V for Vendetta'', '' The Ballad of Halo Jones'', ''Swamp Thing'', ''Batman:'' ''The Killing Joke'', and '' From He ...

, and footballers

John Keogh John Keogh (1740 – 13 November 1817) was an Irish merchant and political activist. He was a leading campaigner for Catholic Emancipation and reform of the Irish Parliament, active in Dublin on the Catholic Committee and, with some ...

Cliff Byrne Clifford "Cliff" Byrne (born 26 April 1982) is an Irish former footballer, who is currently Assistant Manager at Peterborough United. Byrne previously played for Sunderland. He took part in a UEFA 'B' coaching course in summer 2005. Followi ...

, and Derek Brazil. *

All Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

winning

Dublin GAA The Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Contae Átha Cliath) or Dublin GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in the Dublin Regi ...

players:

Barney Rock Barney Rock (born 10 January 1961) is a former Gaelic footballer and manager at club and inter-county level (he managed Westmeath in the mid-1990s). Biography Born in Ballymun, but growing up in Glasnevin, Dublin, Rock attended St Kevins Colle ...

Jason Sherlock Jason Sherlock (born 10 January 1976 in Dublin) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Dublin county team between 1995 and 2010. He played most of his club football for Na Fianna in Glasnevin in the northern su ...

, James McCarthy and

Charlie Redmond Charles Redmond is a Dublin-born former Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Dublin county team and current manager of Trinity Gaels seniors. His notoriety within the game was secured during the 1995 All-Ireland Senior Footbal ...

References

{{Dublin residential areas Towns and villages in Dublin (city)