Belfield
Encyclopedia
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
, located to the south of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
's capital city Dublin. It has a distinct identity because of, and is generally synonymous with, the main campus of University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
.
Belfield is in close proximity to Donnybrook
Donnybrook, Dublin
Donnybrook is a district of Dublin, Ireland. It is situated on the southside of the city, in the Dublin 4 postal district, and is home to the Irish state broadcaster RTÉ. It was once part of the Pembroke Township...
, Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge
Ballsbridge is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland, named for the bridge spanning the River Dodder on the south side of the city. The sign on the bridge still proclaims it as "Ball's Bridge" in recognition of the fact that the original bridge in this location was built and owned by a Mr...
, Clonskeagh
Clonskeagh
Clonskeagh or Clonskea , is a southern suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district straddles the River Dodder.-Location and access:Whilst located fully within the traditional County Dublin, Clonskeagh lies partially within the administrative area of Dublin City Council but mostly in that of Dun...
, Goatstown
Goatstown
Goatstown is a suburb of Dublin located in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. To the west is Dundrum, to the east is Mount Merrion and Stillorgan, to the south is Sandyford, and to the north is Roebuck and Clonskeagh....
and Stillorgan
Stillorgan
Stillorgan , formerly a village in its own right, is now a suburban area of Dublin in Ireland. Stillorgan is located in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, and contains many housing estates, shops and other facilities, with the old village centre still present...
and takes its name from Belfield House and Demesne, one of eight properties bought to form the main campus of University College Dublin. It is adjacent to the N11 road.
History
Belfield was one of the original sites suggested as a possible location for Dublin AirportDublin Airport
Dublin Airport, , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon...
before Collinstown was chosen. Nowadays, Belfield is synonymous with University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
, being the location of that institution's main 132 hectare campus. University College Dublin (UCD) dates back to its foundation at 86 St. Stephen's Green in 1851 as the Catholic University of Ireland
Catholic University of Ireland
The Catholic University of Ireland was a Catholic university in Dublin, Ireland and was founded in 1851 following the Synod of Thurles in 1850, and in response to the Queen's University of Ireland and its associated colleges which were nondenominational...
founded by John Henry Newman who was its first rector.
In 1934, UCD bought Belfield House and from 1949 to 1958 purchased a group of adjoining properties to form a potential campus estate.
In 1960, the Government recommended that the College move from the city centre to Belfield. The first buildings to be completed on the new campus were those of the Faculty of Science in 1964. The other faculties moved to Belfield on a phased basis as their new buildings were completed, although as of 2007, parts of a few remain in Dublin city centre. Additionally, the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business is based on the remainder of the Carysfort (former School of Education) campus in Blackrock.
Amenities
The site also includes Belfield office park, with a large, international Hewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
call centre
Call centre
A call centre or call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing,...
, and a sports ground, The Belfield Bowl, at which the UCD soccer and rugby teams both play in the top divisions of their respective leagues.
Office parks
There are several office parks located in Bellfield: The Bellfield Office Park, Beech Hill OP, Clonskeagh Drive. Some of the major companies located here are:- HPHewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
– until 2008 most call centreCall centreA call centre or call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing,...
activities were based in the Bellfield Office Park, but the majority of the employees moved to the new HP Ireland HQ in LeixlipLeixlip-Politics:Since 1988 Leixlip has had a nine member Town Council , headed by a Cathaoirleach , which has control over many local matters, although it is limited in that it is not also a planning authority...
. Only some specialized activities remained in Dublin, such as: HP European hardware dispatch, IT support for Bank of IrelandBank of IrelandThe Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history...
and Premier and Professional support for MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
on WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, ExchangeMicrosoft Exchange ServerMicrosoft Exchange Server is the server side of a client–server, collaborative application product developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Servers line of server products and is used by enterprises using Microsoft infrastructure products...
, SharePointMicrosoft SharePointMicrosoft SharePoint is a web application platform developed by Microsoft. First launched in 2001, SharePoint is typically associated with web content management and document management systems, but it is actually a much broader platform of web technologies, capable of being configured into a wide...
and OfficeMicrosoft OfficeMicrosoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
products. - EricssonEricssonEricsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
– several buildings, mainly for the Sales and Marketing division of this Swedish telecom conglomerate - Smurfit Kappa GroupSmurfit Kappa GroupThe Smurfit Kappa Group is Europe's leading corrugated packaging company, following the merger of Jefferson Smurfit Group and Kappa Packaging. This merger was finalized by the end of 2005...
– the company's head office is located here on Beech Hill
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland