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Blanchardstown

Coordinates:53°23′13″N6°22′48″W/ 53.387°N 6.380°W/53.387; -6.380
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Blanchardstown
Baile Bhlainséir
Suburb (village core)
Clockwise from top: Fingal County Council's Civic Offices; Millennium Park; businesses in Blanchardstown during the COVID-19 pandemic
Clockwise from top:Fingal County Council's Civic Offices; Millennium Park; businesses in Blanchardstown during theCOVID-19pandemic
Blanchardstown is located in Dublin
Blanchardstown
Blanchardstown
Location in Dublin
Blanchardstown is located in Ireland
Blanchardstown
Blanchardstown
Blanchardstown (Ireland)
Coordinates:53°23′13″N6°22′48″W/ 53.387°N 6.380°W/53.387; -6.380
CountryIreland
ProvinceLeinster
Traditional countyCounty Dublin
CountyFingal
Government
•Dáil ÉireannDublin West
Elevation
56 m (184 ft)
Time zoneUTC±0(WET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+1(IST)
Eircoderouting key
D15
Telephone area code+353(0)1
Irish Grid ReferenceO055383

Blanchardstown(Irish:Baile Bhlainséir)[1]is a large outersuburbofDublinin the moderncountyofFingal,Ireland. Located ten kilometres (6 mi) northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchardstown is the largest urban area in Fingal.[citation needed]

It is within the historicalbaronyofCastleknockin the traditionalCounty Dublin,as well as theDublin 15postal area and theDublin Westelectoral constituency.

One of Ireland's largest shopping and leisure complexes — theBlanchardstown Centreand adjacent facilities — is located in the area.

Etymology[edit]

The name Blanchardstown comes from the Blanchard family,[1]who were granted their estate sometime between 1250 and 1260. The name 'Blanchard' is thought to come from the old French word 'blanch' meaning white, in turn potentially referring to white or fair hair.[2]

Geography[edit]

Blanchardstown is just outside Dublin'sM50 motorwaysemi-ring road, slightly to the north of the tolled crossing of theRiver Liffey.The core of the suburb is thetownlandof the same name, containing the village and the Roselawn housing area.[3]It is bordered to the east by the suburb ofCastleknock,to the west by Coolmine, which includes some areas, including theBlanchardstown Centreand surrounding retail parks, central to the district, andClonsilla/Ongar,to the north byTyrellstownand Hollystown, and to the south and south-east by Porterstown and Diswellstown. The stretch of suburban housing from Castleknock Way north to the Old Navan Road and Talbot Court, including Laurel Lodge, has an ambiguous status - all of it is in the townland of Blanchardstown.[4]Thetownlandhas an area of over 454 acres and is within the historicalBarony of Castleknock.[5]

River Tolka by Connolly Memorial Hospital

TheRiver Tolka,the second river of Fingal, and Dublin, runs through the centre of the area, meandering to run just north of the village core, and then further north to pass the Connolly Memorial Hospital and thenAbbotstown.

TheRoyal Canaland theDublin-Sligo railway linepass along the southern edge of Blanchardstown proper from east to west.

History[edit]

Blanchardstown was a predominantly rural area, with a small village, in western County Dublin, alongside the neighbouring district of Castleknock. Both areas shared a common history until well into the 19th century, when their development diverged. InA Topographical Dictionary of Ireland,published in 1837, Blanchardstown is described as "a village [..] on the road to Navan, containing 57 houses and 342 inhabitants".[6]

In the late 1960s, the first housing estates began to be developed. During the 1970s and 1980s, the village and surrounding housing developments became subsumed into the suburban fabric of Dublin.

TheInstitute of Technology, Blanchardstown(ITB) was established in 1999 and, since amalgamation in 2019, is one of the three campuses of the newTechnological University Dublinalong with Grangegorman and Tallaght campuses.

During the late 1990s a criminal gang from Blanchardstown, known as "The Westies”,controlled the heroin trade in west Dublin. One of its leaders was shot in a pub in Blanchardstown in 2003,[7]while others were killed in Spain in 2004.[8]

Transport[edit]

Royal Canal Aqueduct
Castleknock Railway Station

Rail[edit]

There are threeIrish Railtrain stations in the wider Blanchardstown area:Castleknock,CoolmineandClonsilla.Trains on the Maynooth/Longford line connect the city centre, atDublin Connolly,Tara StreetandDublin Pearsestations, toMaynooth,LongfordandSligo.At Clonsilla station, theDublin–Navan railway lineconnectsDocklands railway stationtoHansfieldandDunboyne.[9]

Bus[edit]

Dublin BusandGo-Ahead Irelandroutes include 37, 38, 38A, 38B, 38D, 39, 39A, 40D, 70, 76A, 220, 236, 236A, 238, 270, L52, N4 and W4. Route 39A operates 24 hours a day 7 days a week.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]

Nitelink bus route 70N also operates on Friday and Saturday nights to Dunboyne.[25] Express bus routes include service from Aston Quay and from Coolmine Railway Station to Ballycoolin Industrial Estate.[26][27]

Ballycoolin Industrial Estate is served by a private bus company called AMC Ballycoolin, also known as Express Bus.

Bus Éireannservices pass through Blanchardstown on Routes 105,109 and 111.[28][29][30]

Amenities[edit]

Main entrance to Connolly Hospital

Connolly Hospital,one of Dublin's main hospitals, and a public university teaching hospital, is located in the area, as is the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown.

Local retail outlets includeBlanchardstown Centre(a large retail shopping centre with over 180 stores), andWestEnd Shopping Park(a retail park located beside the Blanchardstown Centre). The Crowne Plaza Hotel, northwest of the village, is located by the Blanchardstown Centre complex. There is aSuperValuoutlet on Main Street.

Blanchardstown has a large public library and is also home to the Draíocht Arts Centre.[31]

There is a largeGarda stationon Blanchardstown's main street.[32]

Education[edit]

Scoil Bhríde Cailíní

There are a number of primary schools (national schools) in Blanchardstown, including Scoil Bhríde (Cailiní) and Scoil Bhríde (Buacaillí) on Church Avenue,[33][34]Sacred Heart of Jesus Primary School (Huntstown),[35]Scoile Olilibheir (Coolmine), St Ciaran's Primary School (Hartstown), Mary Mother of Hope Primary School (Clonee), and St Phillip the Apostle Primary School (Mountview).

Second-level schools (secondary schools) serving the area include Blakestown Community School, Rath Dara Community College,Hartstown Community School,and Coolmine Community School.

Technological University Dublin- Blanchardstown campus

TheInstitute of Technology, Blanchardstown(part ofTU Dublin) is a third-level institution with a campus on Blanchardstown Road.

Sport[edit]

TheNational Sports Campusis located in Blanchardstown and includes theNational Aquatic Centre,a major indoor aquatics facility with a 50m swimming pool, diving pool, leisure pool and aquapark, and fitness centre.[36]The centre hosted the2003 Special Olympics World Summer Gamesand a number of international swimming events since then.[citation needed]

There are severalGAAclubs in the Blanchardstown area, includingSt. Brigids, CastleknockandSt. Peregrines, Clonsilla.There are also a number ofassociation football(soccer) clubs in the area, includingSt. Mochta’s.

Religion[edit]

St Brigid's Church, Blanchardstown
The former Carmelite Convent (now a business premises) in Blanchardstown

St Brigid's Roman Catholic Church is situated behind Main Street at Church Avenue. The foundation stone for the church was laid on 13 October 1835 and the first Mass was celebrated there on 29 October 1837. The construction of the Church and its unusual Flemish spire was finally completed in 1863.[37]

In the 19th century, theRoman Catholicparishof Blanchardstown encompassed much of the area now within theDublin 15postal district; some of the component areas were quite distinct from Blanchardstown but Catholic parishes had been merged duringPenal Lawstimes. Following the relaxation of the Penal Laws, it became possible for Catholic adherents to consider the construction of additional churches and to repair the existing stock of religious buildings. Church authorities used the opportunity to implement the Tridentine reform which saw the parish as the basic unit of ecclesiastical organisation and the parish priest as the central figure within the parish.[38]

The new parish priest of Blanchardstown in 1839, Fr Michael Dungan, oversaw the construction of a number of new churches, which today serve independent parishes, and invited a number of religious communities to provide for the education of Catholic children. St Brigid's Church, Blanchardstown – not to be confused with a church of theChurch of Irelandin nearby Castleknock – was constructed in 1837 upon the foundation of a church that had been built prior to 1731. It is themother churchof 12 other churches constituted out of the parish over the following 156 years.[39]

  • Chapelizod- "Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary" (separated from Blanchardstown Parish 1883)
    • Navan Road - "Our Lady Help of Christians" (separated from Chapelizod 1953)[40]
  • Castleknock - "Our Lady Mother of the Church" (separated from Blanchardstown 1976)[41]
  • Porterstown - "St Mochta's" (separated from Castleknock 1986. The present church was constructed in 1890 as aChapel of easefor Blanchardstown.)[43]
  • Corduff- "St Patrick's Church" (separated from Blanchardstown 1976)
    • Mountview - "St Philip, the Apostle" (separated from Corduff 1979)[44]
    • Blakestown - "Church of Mary of the Servants" (separated from Corduff 1979)[45]
      • Huntstown- "Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus" (separated from Blakestown 1981)
        • Littlepace - "Chapel of Ease, Mary, Mother of Hope" (in the process of development since 2002)[46]
  • Hartstown - "St Ciarán' Church" (separated Blanchardstown 1979)[47]
  • Mulhuddart/ Lady's Well - "St Luke, the Evangelist" (separated from Blanchardstown 1993)

Representation[edit]

Fingal County Council civic offices, Blanchardstown

For the purposes of elections toDáil Éireann,Blanchardstown is part of theDublin Westconstituency, which returns fourTDs.

For elections toFingal County Council,the suburb is split between the twolocal electoral areas(LEAs) of Castleknock (which returns 4 councillors),[48]and Mulhuddart (which returns 5 councillors).[49]

Notable people[edit]

Gallery[edit]

  • Blanchardstown Centre
    Blanchardstown Centre
  • Draíocht Arts Centre
    Draíocht Arts Centre
  • Blanchardstown Garda Station
    Blanchardstown Garda Station
  • Shop on Blanchardstown's main street
    Shop on Blanchardstown's main street

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Baile Bhlainséir / Blanchardstown (population centre)".logainm.ie.Placenames Database of Ireland.Archivedfrom the original on 26 September 2021.Retrieved2 January2021.
  2. ^"Blanchardstown Through Time - Early History - Blanchardstown Records".askaboutireland.ie.Ask About Ireland.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2012.Retrieved5 December2012.
  3. ^"Baile Bhlainséir / Blanchardstown (townland)".logainm.ie.Placenames Database of Ireland.Archivedfrom the original on 26 September 2021.Retrieved2 January2021.
  4. ^"Ordnance Survey Ireland Mapviewer - Geohive - Townlands view".Ordnance Survey Ireland (Government of Ireland).Archivedfrom the original on 6 July 2020.Retrieved25 May2020.
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