Dunshaughlin

Dunshaughlin Dún Seachlainn/Domhnach Seachnaill
Town
The Drumree Road in Dunshaughlin
Dunshaughlin Location in Ireland
Coordinates:53°30′42″N6°32′22″W
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Meath
Elevation	105 m (344 ft)
Population (2022 census)	6,644
Time zone	UTC+0(WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1(IST(WEST))
Irish Grid Reference	N965526

Dunshaughlin(Irish:Dún Seachlainn,meaning 'the fort of Seachlainn'or locallyIrish:Domhnach Seachnaill,meaning 'St Seachnall's Church')is a town inCounty Meath,Ireland.Acommuter townfor nearbyDublin,Dunshaughlin more than tripled in population (from 2,139 to 6,644 inhabitants) between the 1996 and 2022 censuses.The town is in atownlandandcivil parishof the same name.

History

Foundation

See also:St. Seachnall's Church

Dunshaughlin is named forSaint Seachnall,who establisheda churchthere in the 5th century, where he is said to be buried.The oldest reference to the place name is an entry in theAnnála Uladhfrom the year 801, where the name takes the form "Domnaig Sechnaill". The word "Domnach", used in this way, can be attributed to churches which originate from the beginnings of Christianity in Ireland.

Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaillwas an ancestor from which the principal family ofBrega,Ó Maoilsheachlainn, is descended. Dunshaughlin (or more specifically, the townland ofLagore) is famous for an ancientcrannógor settlement from the 7th century where a number of Irishantiquitieswere discovered.

Workhouse

Approximately 2 km (1.2 mi) from the village is a preservedworkhousefrom theGreat Famine.Thisworkhousewas erected in 1840–41 on 2 hectares (4.9 acres), south of Dunshaughlin. Designed to accommodate 400 inmates, it cost about £6,000 to build, all told. It was declared fit for habitation on 12 May 1841 and received its first admissions on 17 May. During the famine period, in the mid-1840s, elements of the workhouse were converted to accommodate additional inmates, and a burial ground was located to the rear. Occupancy declined after the famine. During the First World War, the building was used to house Belgian refugees, some of whom died there and were buried in the paupers' graveyard. In 1920–21, the building was taken over by theBlack and Tans,who used it as a barracks during theIrish War of Independence.After the workhouse system was abolished in 1922, following the conclusion of the war and the establishment of Irish Free State, the facility served as a school, courthouse, and factory (among other things). As of 2002, parts of the building were being used as a guest residence.

Demographics

Dunshaughlin is 29 km fromDublinon theR147,and is a growingsatellite townof that city.In the 20 years between the 1991 and 2011 census, the town's population had more than tripled from 1,275 inhabitants to 3,903 people.By the time of the2022 census,this had further increased to 6,644.

Amenities

Several housing estates centre on the main street, with multiple retail units consisting of newsagents, pubs, takeaway food outlets, clothing stores, and banks. There is also a business park on the outskirts of the town.

Dunshaughlin houses a number of public amenities, including a library, a health centre, and the Meath County Council civic offices. A community and sports centre was opened on the grounds of Dunshaughlin Community College in 2000. The centre is operated by a voluntary board of management.

Education

Dunshaughlin has three primary schools, Gaelscoil na Ríthe, St. Seachnall's and Dunshaughlin Community National School. It has two secondary schools, Dunshaughlin Community College and Coláiste Ríoga. St. Seachnall's was founded in 1835. As of 2019, it had 552 students, both boys and girls.Gaelscoil na Ríthe (anIrish medium school) was established in 1985 by a group of parents from the Dunshaughlin, Drumree, and Culmullen areas. A new building was constructed in 1996 and, as of 2019, the school had an enrollment of 226 pupils.Dunshaughlin Community College (DCC), established in 1933, is a co-educational school which is part of the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board. Construction was completed on an extension at the school in 2013, and was officially opened on 29 November 2014.

Transport

Dunshaughlin is located at a junction between theR147andR125 regional roads,and approximately 1 km from theM3 motorway.It is served byBus Éireanncommuter bus services to Dublin, including route 109, which generally runs at a frequency of every half-hour.

Sport

Dunshaughlin GAA grounds

The town is represented in sport by men's and ladiesGaelic footballteams. TheDunshaughlin GAAmen's team wereMeath Senior Football Championship3 years in a row between 2000 and 2003. The local soccer club is Dunshaughlin Youths,which fields teams in the North Dublin Schoolboys League.

The local basketball club, Dunshaughlin Rockets, compete in both the North East Basketball League and the Dublin Ladies Basketball League. Dunshaughlin community college has won both a girl's u16 All-Ireland title, a second-year girl's All-Ireland a boy's u19 All-Ireland title.

Dunshaughlin Athletic Club is traditionally considered a long-distance running club. However, club members have also entered juvenile sprinting competitions.The town's golf course is the "Black Bush Golf Club". Around 3 km (1.9 mi) outside the village a new golfing resort designed by Jack Nicklaus has been created at Killeen Castle. The course hosted the 2011Solheim Cup.

The town also has a strong association with horse racing,in particularNational Hunt racing.The leading flat race sprinterSole Power,dual winner of both theNunthorpe Stakesand theKing's Stand Stakes,is trained near the town by Edward Lynam.

Events

The Dunshaughlin Harvest Festival is a three-day culture festival, usually taking place towards the end of September. It is a non-profit event, organized and run by local volunteers.

Gallery

• 
  Entrance toSaint Seachnall'sChurch of Ireland,site of the village'soriginal ecclesiastical foundationin the fifth century AD
• 
  Waterfall next to the old mill on the Killeen Road
• 
  1798 Croppy Commemoration, Croppy Lane, Trim Road
• 
  Remains of the monastic site ofSaint Seachnall,Domhnach Seachnaill,from which the town's name derives
• 
  A hot-air balloon over north-west Dunshaughlin

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

External links

• Meath County Council - Dunshaughlin Local Area Plan 2009-2015