Skerries () is a coastal town in
Fingal
Fingal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which ...
, in the north of
County Dublin
County Dublin ( or ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, and holds its capital city, Dublin. It is located on the island's east coast, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Until 1994, County Dubli ...
,
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 ...
. Skerries was historically a fishing port and later a centre of hand embroidery. These industries declined in the early 20th century, however, and it became both a
resort town
A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...
and 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 ...
for
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 ...
to the south. Offshore from the town are several islands, one of which is a nature reserve,
Rockabill.
Etymology
The name Skerries comes from the
Old Norse
Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...
word (), referring to a
skerry
A skerry ( ) is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low stack (geology), sea stack.
A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, ...
− a small rocky island or reef which may be covered during high tide.
In Irish this is pluralised as .
Geography
Skerries is on gently sloping land approaching the coast, which is partly overlooked by low bluffs. There are hills around, including Mill Hill, where a windmill has long been sited. The town itself is built around three long streets - Strand Street, Church Street and Balbriggan Road, and between the surrounding hills and beaches. Skerries South Strand is a long sandy beach (2.5 km; 1½ miles long). Red Island, Mill Hill, Hillside, the nearby Ardgillan Park and Demesne, Barnageeragh and to a lesser extent Baldungan Castle, provide vantages overlooking the town.
The town has five islands off its coast:
Shenick Island,
St Patrick's,
Colt and the island formation of
Rockabill, which comprises "The Cow" and "The Calf", separated by a narrow channel. There is also Red Island, which is a
tied island
A tied island or land-tied island is a landform consisting of an island that is connected to the mainland or another island only by a tombolo, which is a spit of beach materials connected to land at both ends. St Ninian's Isle in the Shetlan ...
.
Rockabill has the largest number of breeding
roseate terns in Europe. It is also the farthest set of islands from the town and has a
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Ligh ...
which is 4 miles from the nearest path on the mainland at Red Island.
The
Martello tower
Martello towers are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.
They stand up to high (with two floors) and typica ...
on Shenick Island is one of a number of defensive towers erected during the
Napoleonic Wars
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Napoleonic Wars
, partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars
, image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg
, caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
along the Irish coast by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
. The tower is situated 1 mile from the great windmill and a similar distance from both the Monument on Strand Street and the other Martello tower on Red Island. This forms an almost perfect arc through the major tall secular structures in the town with the Martello tower on Shenick at the centre. Shenick Island is accessible on foot at the lowest tides, but potentially problematic, due to turning tides. The other islands are harder to reach, but it is possible by boat. St Patrick's Island is so-called because
Saint Patrick
Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...
is reputed to have landed on the island.
History
Invasions and saints
Early writers tell how an island off Skerries was used as a landing place for an invasion, which happened in the second century C.E. This island was either Shenick or Red Island, which would have been a tidal island at the time. When the invaders landed, they formed ranks and at low tide marched to the mainland, where they were promptly defeated at the ancient settlement of Knocknagin, north of
Balbriggan
Balbriggan (; , ) is a suburban coastal town in Fingal, in the northern part of County Dublin, Ireland. It is approximately 34 km north of the city of Dublin, for which it is a commuter town. The 2022 census population was 24,322 for Bal ...
. The islands were previously known as the ''Islands of Cor'' possibly after the original inhabitants.

As noted, in AD 432, St. Patrick landed on Church Island, and according to the
Annals of Inisfallen
The ''Annals of Inisfallen'' () are a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland.
Overview
There are more than 2,500 entries spanning the years between 433 and 1450. The manuscript is thought to have been compiled in 1092, as the chronic ...
Saint Mochonna founded a monastery shortly afterwards.
In AD 797, the
Vikings
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
(or
Danes
Danes (, ), or Danish people, are an ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural.
History
Early history
Denmark ...
) carried out one of their earliest raids in Ireland when they plundered the
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
on Church Island.
As the origin of the name is Norse and many localities have Norse-based names,
it is assumed that the Vikings did settle and occupy the area. Sitric, who was a son of a Dane called Murchard, re-founded the monastery on Church Island in 1120.
He dedicated it to St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland. By this time, the
Hiberno-Norse who had settled in Ireland had become Christians.
In 1148,
Saint Malachy
Malachy (; ; Modern ; ) (11th century in Ireland, 1094 – 2 November 1148 in Ireland, 1148) is an Irish saint who was Archbishop of Armagh, to whom were attributed several miracles and an alleged vision of 112 popes later attributed to t ...
,
Archbishop of Armagh
The Archbishop of Armagh is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the Episcopal see, see city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic success ...
, arranged a
synod
A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...
on St. Patrick's island to settle differences between the Irish Christians and the
Pope
The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
. Fifteen
bishop
A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
s, two hundred priests, and other clergy, were present.
The Middle Ages
In 1320, the manor of Skerries was granted to Sir Michael le Veel; his descendants Anglicised their name to Calf.
The Prior of Holmpatrick received permission to build a pier in 1496 from
Henry VII,
Lord of Ireland
The Lordship of Ireland (), sometimes referred to retrospectively as Anglo-Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of Kingdom of England, England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Normans in Ireland, Anglo ...
. At this time, Skerries was the property of the monastery of Holmpatrick and was known as the Port of Holmpatrick.
Reformation era
In 1565, after the
Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
, the monastery and its lands became the property of Thomas Fitzpatrick.
In the autumn of 1583, while the
Catholic Church was illegal and underground, Archbishop
Dermot O'Hurley arranged for a sea captain to smuggle him into
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 ...
from the French port of
Le Croisic
Le Croisic (; ; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department, western France. It is part of the urban area of Saint-Nazaire.
History
In the autumn of 1583, while the Catholic Church in Ireland was illegal and underground, Archbishop Der ...
and drop him upon Holmpatrick Strand in Skerries.
Archbishop O'Hurley, who later became one of the 24
Irish Catholic Martyrs, was met at Skerries by a priest named Fr. John Dillon, who accompanied him to
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 ...
.
In 1605 the manor and lands of Holmpatrick were granted to
Donogh O'Brien, 4th Earl of Thomond. The last Earl,
Henry O'Brien, 8th Earl of Thomond, sold the manor and lands in 1721, including the town of Skerries, to the Hamilton family of Hacketstown. Comparisons between maps of Skerries drawn in 1703 and 1760 suggest that the Hamilton family was responsible for setting out the streets of the town as they are today.
Between 1863 and 1865 a monument to the memory of
James Hans Hamilton, the local landlord and MP, was erected in Skerries. In 1897,
Hamilton's son was granted the title of
Lord Holmpatrick.
Early 20th century
After the
1916 rising
The Easter Rising (), 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 aim of establishing an i ...
, a British destroyer landed troops at Skerries to help the Dublin garrisons suppress the rising. 200 men of the
North Staffordshire Regiment
The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battali ...
landed under the command of Captain Clay. To try to impede their progress to Dublin, local rebels blew up the bridge over the railway in
Donabate
Donabate () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, about north-northeast of Dublin, within the Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government area of Fingal. The town is on a peninsula on Ireland's east coast ...
. During the
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War (; 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 Kingdom but within the British Emp ...
in 1922, senior
Anti-Treaty IRA
The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...
leader
Harry Boland
Harry Boland (27 April 1887 – 1 August 1922) was an Irish republican politician who served as President of the Irish Republican Brotherhood from 1919 to 1920. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) from 1918 to 1922.
He was elected at the 191 ...
was mortally wounded, officially while
resisting arrest
An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be Interroga ...
, by two officers of the
National Army inside his lodgings at the Skerries Grand Hotel.
Holiday camps
The town's former school
holiday camp
A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation, primarily in the United Kingdom, that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term ...
, Gentours Children's Holiday Camp, was initially a "boys only" camp. Later it became Gentours Children's Holiday Camp.
In the late 1940s, a family holiday camp was built on Red Island by the Quinn family, founders of the
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 ...
chain of supermarkets.
["Holiday Camp, Red Island, Skerries, Co. Dublin"](_blank)
''Arciseek.com''. Retrieved 10 Oct 2018. The camp had 250 bedrooms all under one roof, along with dining and entertainment areas. In this respect, the accommodation at Red Island differed from more typical chalet facilities at other camps, such as
Butlin's
Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom, incorporated as Butlins Skyline Limited. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families.
Between 1936 and 1 ...
. The holiday business closed in the early 1970s. The ballroom continued in use as a concert venue, until all the buildings were demolished in the 1980s. Much of the Red Island site is now laid out as a public park.
Late 20th century
With a restoration starting in the late 20th century, the Skerries Mills consists of two restored and working windmills, a watermill, a museum and coffee shop. Now operated as a local amenity and tourist attraction, the sails on one of the windmills were damaged during storms in January 2007, but subsequently repaired.
In common with much of Dublin's hinterland, Skerries saw growth in residential property and associated prices during the late 1990s and early 21st century.
Education
The town has one second-level institution, Skerries Community College, originating from a merger in 1982 of the De La Salle College, Skerries Vocational School, and the local Holy Faith convent school. It is a
co-educational
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...
school, unlike the institutions from which it formed. There are five primary schools in the town: Réalt na Mara National School, St. Patrick's National School, Holmpatrick National School, Milverton National School and
Educate Together
Educate Together () is an educational charity in Republic of Ireland, Ireland which is the patron body to "equality-based, co-educational, child centred, and democratically run" schools. It was founded in 1984 to act as the patron body for the ...
Skerries National School.
Transport
The town is served by
Skerries railway station, with most services terminating at
Connolly and
Pearse stations,
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 ...
, and
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 ...
. The 33 and 33A bus routes (operated by
Dublin Bus
Dublin Bus () is an Irish State-owned enterprise, state-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 145 million passengers in 2023. It is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann ...
and
Go-Ahead Ireland
Go-Ahead Transport Services (Dublin) Limited, trading 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 t ...
respectively) pass through Skerries. 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 ...
is the nearest major road to the town.
Martello towers
The two
Martello towers
Martello towers are small defensive forts that were built across the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the French Revolutionary Wars onwards. Most were coastal forts.
They stand up to high (with two floors) and typica ...
in Skerries, at Red Island and Shenick Island, are part of a chain of 29
Martello towers in the Greater Dublin Area constructed in the early 19th century. They were built by the British, along the Irish and English coasts. They were to serve as protection from
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
ic French armies (in the scenario of an invasion) and as an early warning system against an attack. The tower on Red Island was used as part of the Red Island Holiday Camp. Since that was demolished in the 1980s, the tower has stood alone.
Arts
Literary references
In
Flann O'Brien
Brian O'Nolan (; 5 October 19111 April 1966), his pen name being Flann O'Brien, was an Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland, Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth- ...
's book ''
The Dalkey Archive'', Skerries is the location of the narrator's meeting with
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta 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 influentia ...
. The narrator has heard a rumour that Joyce has returned from the continent and is working in a small country pub. He tracks him down to a place on the outskirts of Skerries, but Joyce denies all knowledge of "that filthy book" ''
Ulysses''.
Casey, one of Reegan's subordinate officers in
John McGahern
John McGahern (12 November 1934 – 30 March 2006) was an Irish writer and novelist.
Known for the detailed dissection of Irish life found in works such as '' The Barracks'', '' The Dark'' and '' Amongst Women'', he was hailed by ''The Ob ...
's first novel, ''
The Barracks'', is described as having previously been stationed in Skerries where he also met his wife, Teresa. In conversation with Elizabeth Reegan, the novel's protagonist, Casey describes his "great life there, near the city; the market gardening, places you couldn't throw a stone without breaking glass", while Teresa recalls the evening she met her husband: "You could still hear the music from the pavilion and it was comin' across from Red Island too, Mick Delahunty playing there that night. There was a big moon over the masts of the fishin' fleet. I knew he was mad for a court".
Music
Musicians from Skerries range from ''Tony Keeling and the Graduates'' in the
showband
The Irish showband () was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the 1950s to the 1980s, with its peak in the 1960s. These bands typically had seven to ten members, including a rhythm section and a brass section with various combinations o ...
days, through to extreme metal band
Primordial which was formed in Skerries in the 1980s. Singer-songwriter
Ryan O'Shaughnessy originates from Skerries, and represented Ireland in the
2018 Eurovision Song Contest.
Awards
Skerries has received several awards for its scenery, culture, and community activities. For example, Skerries came second in the 2014 ''Best Place to Live in Ireland'' awards. The town is also the only place to have won an award as an entire community at RTÉ & Rehab's People of the Year Awards in 2011. In 2016, Skerries was named Ireland's
Tidiest Town by the Supervalu National Tidy Towns competition. Skerries was rated as one of Europe's ten most beautiful cities by the Eating Europe Food Tours blog.
Sport
Local sports clubs include
Skerries Harps GAA (the local
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
club), Skerries Town Football Club (an
association football (soccer) team), and
Skerries RFC (the area's
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
club).
Other clubs include Skerries Sailing Club, which is located by the harbour and is the home to a dinghy and cruiser fleet.
The
Measle dinghy was designed locally and introduced in Skerries in 1960.
BirdWatch Ireland, Fingal branch, gives presentations and arranges outdoor events.
The town also hosts the annual
Skerries 100
The Skerries 100 is a multi-race event for motorcycles held annually on countryside roads local to the town of Skerries, County Dublin, Ireland, on the first Saturday in July.
History
The inaugural Skerries 100 race was on Saturday 6 July, 1 ...
and Killalane motorcycle races.
Religion
Skerries is a
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
in the
Fingal North deanery of the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin
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 Roman civilization
* Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter ...
. Skerries is served by Holmpatrick St Patrick,
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
, and Skerries Methodist Church.
Folklore
According to local legend, while living on
St Patrick's Island near Skerries, Saint Patrick only had a goat as company. On one occasion, while travelling from the island to convert those on the mainland, the goat was reputedly stolen and eaten. The legend then tells that Patrick took away the people of Skerries' ability to speak, reducing them to shrieking and bleating like goats and it was only when they admitted their crime that their voices returned. The goat is sometimes used as a symbol for Skerries.
Notable people
*
Steven Beattie, association footballer
*
Bobby Beggs, Gaelic footballer
*
Bryan Cullen, Gaelic footballer
*
Lyndsey Davey, Gaelic footballer
*
David Drumm, former CEO of Anglo Irish Bank
*
Fontaines D.C. lead singer, Grian Chatten
*
Ciarán Frawley, rugby player
*
Jim Glennon, former rugby player and politician
*
Thomas Hand, Irish revolutionary killed in the
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
. Hand Street bears his name and there is a commemorative plaque outside his former house on Baltrasna Lane.
*
Killian Keane, rugby player
*
Caitlín Rebekah Kiernan, author and paleontologist
*
D. P. Moran, Irish nationalist writer
*
Alan O'Connor, rugby player
See also
*
List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Dublin)
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
*
The Skerries, Isle of Anglesey
The Skerries () (), coming from the Old Norse word , are a group of sparsely vegetated rocky islets ( skerries), with a total area of about lying offshore from Carmel Head at the northwest corner of Anglesey, Wales. The islands are important ...
, a group of rocky islets
References
External links
Skerries homepageSkerries Community AssociationSkerries Historical Society
{{Authority control
Towns and villages in Fingal
Balrothery East