Ranelagh
Ranelagh
Irish:Raghnallach | |
|---|---|
Inner suburb | |
 Clockwise from top: Ranelagh Main Street; businesses in Ranelagh; Ranelagh Gardens | |
  Ranelagh Location in Ireland  Ranelagh Ranelagh (Dublin) | |
| Coordinates:53°19′31″N6°15′18″W/ 53.3253°N 6.2550°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Dublin |
| Local authority | Dublin City Council |
| Dáil constituency | Dublin Bay South |
| European Parliament | Dublin |
| Elevation | 36 m (118 ft) |
Ranelagh(/ˈrænələ/RAN-ə-lə,locally/ˈrɛn-/REN-;Irish:Raghnallach,IPA:[ˈɾˠəinˠəl̪ˠəx]) is an affluent[1]residential area and urban village[2]on theSouthsideofDublin,Ireland in thepostal districtofDublin 6.
Ranelagh was originally a village called Cullenswood. It has a history of conflict, including the attack on English inhabitants in 1207 and the Battle of Rathmines in 1649. Incorporated into Dublin in the 19th century, it experienced significant development. Ranelagh Gardens, a popular entertainment venue, was established in the 1770s, and Richard Crosbie famously flew in a hot air balloon from the Gardens in 1785.
In the 1970s and 1980s, areas of Ranelagh were bought for office space development. Today, the district is part of thelocal electoral areaof Pembroke. Ranelagh is home to several primary and secondary schools, including Scoil Bhríde, the first Irish-language school in Ireland, and Ranelagh Multi-Denominational School.
Ranelagh has been the setting for a number of literary and film works, such as Lee Dunne'sGoodbye to the HillandJohn McGahern'sThe Pornographer.It is also home to the Ranelagh Arts Centre and sports clubs like Ranelagh Gaels. The district is well-connected by public transport, including the Luas Green Line tram and bus routes.
History
[edit]The district was originally a village known as Cullenswood[3]just outside Dublin, surrounded by landed estates. OnEaster Mondayin 1207, a celebrating group of English inhabitants of Dublin were attacked here by Irish raiders from county Wicklow. Three hundred people were said to have been killed.[4]In the 1520s and 1530s Cullenswood was held by thede Meones family,who also owned, and gave their name to, nearby Meonesrath, nowRathmines.[5]
In the early years of theIrish Confederate Wars(1641–1649), the area was the scene of skirmishes culminating in theBattle of Rathminesin August 1649. After the Irish united with theRoyalistsagainst theParliamentarians,an attempt was made to take Dublin. Their army under Ormonde was defeated, many of them killed, and the place where they fell (mainly betweenRathminesand Ranelagh) was known for a long time as the Bloody Fields.[6]
The area was incorporated into the expanding city in the 19th century, after which massive development took place.[7]The locality became known as Ranelagh when a popular entertainment venue (now a public park) was established about 1770 and named Ranelagh Gardens after a similar venture of the same name inChelsea, London.[8]The Gardens were opened in 1766 by William Hollister, a London organ-builder.[9](The model and the name were also copied in other cities, including Liverpool, New York and Paris).[10]The original Ranelagh Gardens in Chelsea was built on the site of Ranelagh House, the London home of the Jones family, who took their title (Earl of Ranelagh) from lands inCounty Wicklowthat had belonged toFiach McHugh O'Byrne[11]sometimes described as Lord Ranelagh, because he was head of the Gabhal Ragnaill branch of theO'Byrne clan.[12]
In 1785, only two years after thefirst manned flightin history,Richard Crosbiesuccessfully flew in ahot air balloonfrom Ranelagh Gardens toClontarf.[13]The 225th anniversary of his flight was commemorated with a balloon flight from the same gardens on 23 January 2010 although due to adverse weather the balloon did not take off.[14]
In the 1970s and 1980s, areas of Ranelagh were bought up with the intention of developing the sites as office space, during a boom period of such construction in the wider city. One development site, purchased in 1972 by Fergus Morton, was a former builder's yard near Athlumney Villas, a terrace of artisan houses. Morton employed Delaney McVeigh and Pike to draw up a plan for two large office blocks on the site. The site was sold with the planning permission a number of times until it was purchased by theConstruction Industry Federation,who built the office blocks, completing them in 1983.[15]
Geography
[edit]
The name Ranelagh applies to many geographical features. The stretch of road joining Sandford Road (which begins at the corner of Anna Villa) to Ranelagh Road (which begins at the railway bridge) is known as Ranelagh or Ranelagh Village. The whole surrounding area is also popularly known as Ranelagh, stretching from Charlemont Bridge on the Grand Canal at the northern end of Ranelagh Road down to the junction with Milltown Road at the southern end of Sandford Road, and from Leeson Street to the East towards Rathmines to the West. At the centre of Ranelagh is "Ranelagh Triangle", semi-officially "the Angle", which is the junction of Ranelagh Village and Charleston Road at Field's Terrace. Nearby restaurant "Tribeca" references these geographical features (i.e., Tri-angle Be-low Ca-nal). To the North of the Triangle is the "Hill Area" of Ranelagh, which was the scene ofLee Dunne's novel,Goodbye to the Hill.Ranelagh contains many fine Victorian streets such as those surroundingMount Pleasant Square.
The townlands of Ranelagh North and Ranelagh South are in the civil parish of St. Peter's and in the barony of Uppercross. They are bounded on the north by Harcourt Road and Adelaide Road, on the east by Sussex Road and an old irregular boundary from there to Chelmsford Road, on the south by Chelmsford Road, Ranelagh Village, Charleston Road, Oakley Road and Dunville Avenue, and on the west by Beechwood Park, Belgrave Square East, Mountpleasant Avenue Upper, Bessborough Parade, Rathmines Road Lower and Richmond Street South. The area, popularly known today as Ranelagh, also includes parts of the adjoining townlands of Cullenswood, Sallymount and Milltown.[16]
Electoral area
[edit]Ranelagh is in thelocal electoral areaof Pembroke since 2019. From 2014 to 2019 it was in the Rathgar–Rathmines LEA and prior to that in Pembroke–Rathmines. It is located in theDáil constituencyofDublin Bay Southwith effect from the 2016 general election, formerlyDublin South-East.
It was part of the urban district ofRathmines and Rathgar,which was abolished in 1930.
Education
[edit]
There are several primary and secondary schools in the area. Scoil Bhríde, founded in 1917, was the firstgaelscoil(Irish-language school) in Ireland.[17]Lios na nÓg, another gaelscoil, is located in Cullenswood House on Oakley Road, where St. Enda's School (Scoil Éanna) was set up byPatrick Pearsein 1908. This was the first school in Ireland where pupils were taught in both Irish and English. St. Enda's school then moved toRathfarnhamin 1912 leaving the school building, Cullenswood House, unoccupied. In 1998, Lios na nÓg moved in and the school went under a major refurbishment over the period 2008-'09.
The RanelaghMulti-Denominational Schoolis another primary school, established in September 1988, and located on the main Ranelagh Road, close to the Luas stop. It is on the site of the old St. Columba's national school, which was donated to RMDSA, the school's promoting body, by theChurch of Ireland.The school won many awards for the architecture of the building, built in the late 1990s.
Other primary schools in the area include Sandford National School, located close to Gonzaga College. Secondary schools includeGonzaga Collegefor boys andSandford Park School.
Culture
[edit]Lee Dunne's novelGoodbye to the Hillis set in Ranelagh.
The cover picture ofJohn McGahern'sThe Pornographeris of Mount Pleasant Square.
In March 2013,Lenny Abrahamson,Irish film and television director, filmed part of his movieFrankon Cowper Gardens and Park Drive of Ranelagh.[18]
The 1965 movieYoung Cassidy,starring Maggie Smith and Rod Taylor, was filmed in parts of Ranelagh.[19]
Ranelagh Arts Centre is located on Ranelagh Main Street, across the road from the Luas Station. The centre presents exhibitions by artists from the locality and beyond with regular open calls.[20]As part of the Ranelagh Arts Festival 2021, short films were screened in the Stella Movie Theatre in the Ranelagh hotel, The Devlin Hotel.[21]
Sport
[edit]Ranelagh Gaels GAAwas founded in 2003. The club'sLadies' Gaelic footballteam won the Dublin Junior E Championship in 2010 and added the Junior D title in 2019. The men'sGaelic footballteam won the Dublin Junior 2 Championship at Parnell Park in 2018.[22][23]The hurling team lines out in theDublin Junior H Championship.[24][25]An underage section was started in 2012.[22]
Transport
[edit]
TheLuas Green Linehas two stops in the Ranelagh area:Ranelagh(on Ranelagh Road) andBeechwood(on Dunville Avenue), built on the site of the formerRathmines and Ranelagh railway stationon theHarcourt Street railway line(the station opened on 16 July 1896, and finally closed on 1 January 1959).[26]
TheDublin Bus11, 44, 44d, and S2 routes pass through Ranelagh.[27]
Initial plans for theDublin Metro (later Metrolink)included a proposed upgrade of Ranelagh Luas stop to a metro station.[28]However, as a result of the portal of the tunnel being moved south, to just north ofBeechwood,these plans were updated such that the Metro would instead stop at Beechwood andCharlemont Luas stop,just north of Ranelagh. Beechwood would become the southernmost Luas stop, with the line further south being served only by the Metro.[29]
Gallery
[edit]-
Lower Cherryfield Avenue, Ranelagh -
Restaurants on Ranelagh Main Street -
A Luas tram at Ranelagh station -
Main Street, Ranelagh in winter -
Ranelagh triangle in 2017 with monument to activist Deirdre Kelly
People
[edit]Notable people associated with Ranelagh include the following:
- Wilfrid Brambell(1912–85), film and television actor best known for his role in the British television seriesSteptoe and Son,was raised on Edenvale Road
- Maeve Brennan(1917–93), short story writer and long-time journalist withThe New Yorkermagazine, was born and raised in Ranelagh; she set the majority of her fiction in a terraced house based on her home at 48 Cherryfield Avenue[30]
- Robert Briscoe(1894–1969), formerLord Mayor of DublinandTD,was born on Lower Beechwood Avenue, Ranelagh
- Gerard Byrne(1958-), Irish artist, modern Impressionist, is living and exhibiting his work at the Gerard Byrne Studio, 15 Chelmsford Road, Ranelagh
- George Campbell(1917–79), Irish painter and Stained Glass artist lived on Florence Terrace, Leeson Park Avenue in the 1960s
- Martin Cahill(1949–1994) akaThe General,career criminal, was assassinated on Charleston Road at the junction with Oxford Road, Ranelagh on 18 August 1994
- Hazel Chu(1980- ), Dublin City Councillor and formerLord Mayor of Dublin,lives in Ranelagh with her husbandPatrick Costello,TD and their daughter
- Helen Dillon(1940- ), one of Ireland's most famous gardeners, who lived on Sandford Road from 1972 to 2016, operating one of the country's most visited gardens
- Ken Doherty(1969- ), former worldsnookerchampion, is from the area and used to practice in a local snooker club, Jason's (demolished in 2012)
- Garret FitzGerald(1926–2011), who wasTaoiseach(Prime Minister) of Ireland twice in the 1980s, and Fine Gael Leader 1977–87, lived the last years of his life at Anna Villa in Ranelagh
- Eamon Dunphy(1945- ), Irish media personality, broadcaster, author, sports pundit and former professional footballer, lives in Ranelagh
- Eleanor Knott(1886–1975), Irish language scholar, was born in 2 Sallymount Terrace, where she lived much of her life
- Seosamh Laoide(1865–1939), Irish language scholar was born at 7 Annaville Lower in Ranelagh.
- Nell McCafferty(1944- ),Northern Irishcivil rightscampaigner and journalist, has lived in Ranelagh for many years
- Seán MacEntee(1889–1984), IRA leader,Fianna Fáilpolitician and government minister, lived in Marlborough Road
- Máire Mhac an tSaoi(1922–2021), noted Irish language poet and scholar, lived in Marlborough Road
- Ciaran McCoy, aka PIGSY,(1972-), expressionist artist lives in Ranelagh off Appian Way
- Michael McDowell(1951- ), Senator, FormerTánaisteand Minister for Justice and Leader of the Progressive Democrats, lives in Ranelagh, off the "triangle"
- Eamon Morrissey(1943- ), actor, grew up in Ranelagh, coincidentally in the same house as Maeve Brennan, 48 Cherryfield Avenue, and has written and performed a play about the property, "Maeve's House"[31]
- Michael Mulcahy(1960- ), former Fianna Fáil TD, lives in the Beechwood area of Ranelagh
- John Mulholland(1962- ), editor of the UK newspaperThe Observer,grew up in Ranelagh
- Deirdre O'Connor(1951–1999), architect, first female president of theArchitectural Association of Ireland,was born in Ranelagh
- Peadar O'Donnell(1893–1986), Irish republican and socialist revolutionary, lived at 39 Marlborough Road for many years
- Maureen O'Hara(1920–2015), Hollywood actress, grew up at 32 Upper Beechwood Avenue[32]
- Brendan O'Reilly(1929–2001), Olympian, RTÉ commentator, journalist, singer, songwriter, actor, and author, lived in Ranelagh for many years until his death
- Pádraig Pearse(1879–1916) lived in Ranelagh until he moved his school to Rathfarnham
- Mary Robinson(1944- ), formerPresident of IrelandandUN High Commissioner,was a resident of Sandford Road
- Simone Rocha(1986-) – the Irish fashion designer's family home is in Ranelagh
- Eamon Ryan(1963- ), Leader of the Green Party, lived in the Ashfield Road area for a time
- Bernie Tormé(1952–2019), rock guitarist, singer, songwriter
- Jack B. Yeats(1871–1957), noted Irish artist and brother of W.B. Yeats, lived in 61 Marlborough Road, Ranelagh
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Ireland's most expensive street identified in new property report".The Irish Times.Retrieved28 January2022.
- ^"Five reasons to live in Ranelagh, Dublin".propertylistings.ft.Retrieved29 January2022.
- ^Curtis, M (2012) Rathmines, The History Press Ireland, Dublin, p 25; Wren, Jimmy (1987) The Villages of Dublin, Tomar, Dublin
- ^Ware, Sir James (1705) The Antiquities and History of Ireland, A Crook, Dublin p 41
- ^Irish Times 24 January 2000
- ^F. Elrington Ball: A History of the County Dublin. 1903. Part II. page 103 et passim
- ^Curtis, M (2012), p 60
- ^Helen, Lloyd (2011) Ranelagh Gardens: A Comparative Case Study of Pleasure Gardens in 18th century Dublin and London, School of Architecture, University College Dublin
- ^Maxwell, Constantia (1997).Dublin under the Georges: 1714-1830.Dublin: Lambay Books. p. 115.ISBN0708944973.OCLC1244738727.
- ^V.L. Redway, "Handel in Colonial and Post-Colonial America (To 1820)" The Musical Quarterly 1935; Caldwell, Mark (2005). New York Night: The Mystique and Its History. (New York: Scribner's) p. 44. Layton-Jones, Katy; Lee, Robert (2008), Places of Health and Amusement, Swindon: English Heritage, pp. 4–6
- ^O'Brien, Conor (2000) Feagh McHugh O’Byrne, History Ireland, Vol 8 No 1
- ^Kelly, Deirdre (1995) Four Roads to Dublin: A History of Rathmines, Ranelagh and Leeson Street, O'Brien Press, Dublin p.60; Peter, Ada (1907) Sketches of Old Dublin, Sealy Briars and Walker, Dublin.
- ^Rice, Eoghan (17 December 2006)."First Irishman to take to the skies to be honoured".Archived fromthe originalon 22 November 2007.Retrieved9 April2007.
- ^Ranelagh Arts FestivalArchived2011-07-27 at theWayback Machine
- ^McDonald, Frank (1985).The destruction of Dublin.Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. p. 249.ISBN0-7171-1386-8.OCLC60079186.
- ^"Shop.osi.ie Mapviewer".Archived fromthe originalon 29 August 2012.Retrieved11 October2012.
- ^Scoil Bhríde
- ^Maurice Curtis (2017). "12".The Little Book of Ranelagh.History Press. p. 168.ISBN978-0-7509-8512-3.
- ^Sean O'Casey: Spirit of Ireland,retrieved11 September2022
- ^"Ranelagh Arts Centre | Ranelagh Arts | County Dublin".ranelagharts.Retrieved11 September2022.
- ^"Short Movies at the Stella, Devlin Hotel, Ranelagh".Eventbrite.Retrieved11 September2022.
- ^ab"About Ranelagh Gaels GAA Club | About Us and Club's History".ranelaghgaels.ie.Retrieved24 September2024.
- ^"Mayo footballers win title with Dublin club".Connaught Telegraph.8 November 2018.Retrieved24 September2024.
- ^Well Whooley God!(9 September 2010)Ranelagh Gaels 2-9 Scoil Ui Chonaill 2-7
- ^"Go Ahead Ireland Junior H Hurling Championship Group 1 Standings - Dublin GAA Competition".dublingaa.ie.Retrieved24 September2024.
- ^"Rathmines and Ranelagh station"(PDF).Railscot – Irish Railways.Retrieved23 November2007.
- ^"Timetables – Dublin Bus – Ranelagh".dublinbus.ie.Retrieved28 November2023.
- ^"Metrolink Public Consultation 2018"(PDF).National Transport Authority.
- ^London Bridge Associates Ltd."Constructability Report – Green Line Closure"(PDF).
- ^Bolick, Kate (8 June 2016)."The Springs of Affection by Maeve Brennan review: irresistible stories".The Irish Times.
- ^"Maeve's House".Abbey Theatre. Archived fromthe originalon 27 July 2013.
- ^"The Maureen O'Hara Room".Ranelagh Rooms.