Kilbarrack
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kilbarrack (Irish: Cill Bharóg - Church of young Barra or St. Berach) is a residential area of Dublin, Ireland, located on the coast, about 8km from the city's centre. It is situated on the Northside of the city, between the suburbs of Raheny, Coolock, Donaghmede and Bayside. Kilbarrack is accessible by the Howth Road, by its own station on the (DART) Dublin Area Rapid Transit suburban rail system and by Dublin Bus.
Kilbarrack is an old district, whose name can be found on maps and sea charts, many held at Dublin City Archive, going back several hundred years. It was historically a large area of fields, many "grange" lands held by Dublin church establishments, with small settlements. Over time, two hamlets emerged, Kilbarrack proper, near the seafront, close to the still-extant Kilbarrack Church complex, and Little Kilbarrack, on the road inland (now Tonlegee Road).
The coastal church and graveyard, which includes the grave of the "Sham Squire", were a point of call for mariners, and the church is noted in some records as the Chapel of Mone.
The site of Kilbarrack hamlet, and the part of the district bounding Sutton and Baldoyle, are now known as Bayside, while today's Kilbarrack, and the Greendale shopping and civic complex, are close to where Little Kilbarrack stood. The Tesco shopping centre is near the site of the former "big house" of the area, Kilbarrack House.
Kilbarrack has a local office of Dublin City Council, a major Health Services Executive centre, two shopping precincts (Greendale, and Kilbarrack, which is dominated by Tesco) and a range of shops and pubs. At the boundary with Raheny, Coolock and Donaghmede is a Municipal Fire Station and practice yard. The modern Parish Church (RC) serves Kilbarrack and part of Raheny (Parish of Kilbarrack-Foxfield); some locals attend St. Benedict's Church in Grange Park Parish.
Local author, Booker Prize winner and former teacher at Greendale Community School in Kilbarrack Roddy Doyle accurately captured the atmosphere and spirit of Kilbarrack, thinly disguised as Barrytown, in a series of popular fiction works.
[edit] External links
