Whitechurch () is a small suburban area on the south side 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 ...

, in the

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

South Dublin South Dublin () is a county in Ireland, within the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. South Dublin Cou ...

, situated south of

Ballyboden Ballyboden () is a locality within the suburb of Rathfarnham, County Dublin, at the foot of the Dublin Mountains between Whitechurch, Ballyroan and Knocklyon. It is in the local government area of South Dublin, and is a townland in the civil p ...

, east of Edmondstown and west of Marlay Park. The greater part of the area lies north of the M50 semi-orbital motorway, with some remote parts merging into the mountainous districts of Tibradden and Kilmashogue south of the road, all at the foot of the

Dublin mountains The Wicklow Mountains (, archaic: '' Cualu'') form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into the counties of Dublin, Wexford and Carlow. Where the mountai ...

. Whitechurch is usually considered to lie within the greater

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside (Dublin), southside suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in County Dublin. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and Dublin 16, 16. It is between the Lo ...

area. Whitechurch is in a

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 ...

and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of the same name. The name of the area is derived its name from a small white church in Kilmashogue, built near an ancient cairn (which is a protected monument). Little remains of the church. The

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 ...

parish of Whitechurch includes most of Rathfarnham including

Tibradden Tibradden Mountain () is a mountain in County Dublin in the Republic of Ireland. Other former names for the mountain include "Garrycastle" and "Kilmainham Begg" (a reference to Kilmainham Priory which once owned the lands around the mountain). ...

Larch Hill Larch Hill International Scout and Guide Centre is the national campsite, and administrative and training headquarters, of Scouting Ireland. It was previously owned by Scouting Ireland (CSI), one of the two scout organisations which merged to for ...

and

Kilmashogue Kilmashogue or Kilmashoge () is a mountain in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown county in Ireland. It is high and forms part of the group of hills in the Dublin Mountains which comprises Two Rock, Three Rock, Kilmashogue and Tibradden Mountains. The f ...

. There is a Moravian cemetery in the area which was the burial ground for the Moravian community, a Protestant sect from what is now the Czech republic that arrived in Ireland in the 18th century. This community had a church in Kevin St but has now died out. The Catholic order, the

Augustinian Fathers Augustinians are members of several Religious order (Catholic), religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written about 400 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dat ...

, have had a presence in the area for many years. A Carnegie library was built in Whitechurch in 1911 and remains in operation. There are 3 schools located in Whitechurch. Firstly, there is St. Columba's College, a private mostly boarding secondary school. There are also two primary schools. Whitechurch National School is a Church of Ireland primary school connected with Whitechurch Parish and Scoil Mhuire National School is a Roman Catholic primary school linked to the Good Counsel Parish, Ballyboden.

References

{{Dublin residential areas Rathfarnham Towns and villages in South Dublin (county) Church of Ireland parishes in the Republic of Ireland Civil parishes of Rathdown, County Dublin Townlands of County Dublin

See also

References