Blackrock, County Louth
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Blackrock () is a seaside village just to the south of
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
,
County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...
,
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. The village is in the
townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
of Haggardstown, in the Barony of Upper Dundalk, and part of the Dundalk metropolitan area. The population of the village is approximately 3,000.


History

In the 1950s and 1960s, Blackrock was a holiday destination for people in the landlocked counties of
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
and
Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...
. The beach, which is pictured in colourised postcards of that era, was created with sand imported from beaches further down the coast, as sand is continually washed away contributing to the buildup of silt in
Dundalk Bay Dundalk Bay () is a large (33 km2), exposed estuary on the east coast of Ireland. The inner bay is shallow, sandy and intertidal, though it slopes into a deeper area 2 km from the transitional water boundary. Since the late 1960s, Blackrock has expanded significantly and has become a dormitory village of Dundalk, and is considered part of Dundalk for census purposes. With the opening of the
M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...
to
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, there has been another wave of expansion and it is also becoming a
commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
with access to north Dublin. Blackrock beach and its promenade (incorporating Blackrock's Millennium project - a
sundial A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...
which is claimed to be the largest in a public area in Ireland) is still a focal point of the village and the site of Christmas Day fundraising events, an annual raft race, annual movie festival and pumpkin festival. The promenade area has a number of restaurants and public houses.


Geography

In common with a number of east coast locations, the beach has a gentle gradient and the sea retreats about 5 km at low tide. The exposed seabed is a mixture of sand and mud flats. It is a habitat for a variety of wader birds, including brent geese and
dunlin The dunlin (''Calidris alpina'') is a small wader in the genus '' Calidris''. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from ''dun'', "dull brown", with the suffix ''-ling'', meaning a person or ...
s. The River Fane (to the south of Blackrock) enters the sea as a channel crossing from south to north in front of the promenade. Even at high tide, the water level is only about 1m out to the channel, and the front has become a sailboarding venue. There are views looking north over Dundalk Bay from the promenade toward the
Cooley Mountains The Cooley Mountains () are on the Cooley Peninsula in northeast County Louth in Ireland. They consist of two ridges running northwest to southeast, separated by the valley of Glenmore with the Big River running through it. Slieve Foy, at ...
.


Sport


Greyhound racing

Blackrock Greyhound Stadium was a
greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...
stadium in Sandy Lane and the racing was organised by the Blackrock Greyhound Racing Company Ltd. The first racing in Blackrock took place at 'The Field' which is now modern day Beech Park housing in 1929 but moved a very short distance to Sandy Lane during the 1930s. Olympian Pete McArdle was a greyhound trainer at the track in the early 1950s. The site closed during the 1960s and the Blackrock Community Council took over Sandy Lane in 1971.


Association football

After the closure of the greyhound track Sandy Lane became a venue for the Juveniles and then Rock Celtic Football Club.


Other sports

Kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, snow, sand, or other surface. It combines the aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snow ...
is also popular in the area.


Transport

The village is served by public transport links seven days per week. Halpenny Travel's route 169 provides services to
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
. Additionally,
Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...
routes 100 and 100X serving
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...
,
Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
,
Dublin Airport Dublin Airport () 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 of the town of Swords. In 2024, over 34 ...
and
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
can be accessed on the Dublin Road in Haggardstown, approximately one mile from the village.


Notable people

* Henry Baker (–1689), Governor of Londonderry, retired to Blackrock * Paul Vincent Carroll (1899–1968), playwright, born Blackrock


See also

* List of towns and villages in Ireland


Footnotes


References

{{County Louth Towns and villages in County Louth