Killiney
Encyclopedia
Killiney is a suburb
of Dublin in south County Dublin
, Ireland
. It is within the administrative area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County. The area is by the coast, south of neighbouring Dalkey
, and north to Shankill
area in the most southern outskirt of Dublin.
Killiney is part of the Dáil Éireann
constituency of Dún Laoghaire
.
Park was opened in 1887 as Victoria Hill in honour of Queen Victoria's 50 years on the throne. The park boasts magnificent views of Dublin Bay
, Killiney Bay, Bray Head and the mountain of Great Sugar Loaf
(506 m), stretching from the Wicklow Mountains
right across to Howth Head
. The Park's topography is quite dramatic and its highest point, at the obelisk, is 170 metres above sea level.
Other attractions include Killiney Beach, Killiney Golf Club, a local Martello Tower
, and the ruins of Cill Iníon Léinín, the church around which the original village was based.
The coastal areas of Killiney are often favourably compared to the Bay of Naples in Italy
. This comparison is reflected in the names of surrounding roads, like Vico, Sorrento, Monte Alverno, San Elmo, and Capri. On clear days, the Mourne Mountains of County Down
can be seen, although this is less and less frequent due to air pollution. The park was once part of the estate of Killiney Castle, now a hotel. Since early 2010 a pod of bottlenose dolphins has been seen regularly in Killiney Bay.
service starting at Fitzpatrick's Castle Hotel links Killiney with Dublin Airport on the hour off-peak and half hourly at peak times.
and The Edge
, Enya
and occasionally former racing driver Eddie Jordan
. Killiney is also home to a number of foreign ambassadors to Ireland.
family, some of the original followers of the 1170 Norman invasion. The obelisk on top of Killiney Hill records the famine of 1741 and the relief works made for the poor which include the obelisk and the many walls which cover the top of the hill. By the 19th century, the areas to the north and east of the village were owned by Robert Warren, who developed many of the Victorian residential roads. The Warrens also sold the land required to extend the Dublin and Kingstown Railway
to Killiney and ultimately Bray
. Killiney beach was a popular seaside destination for Dubliners, and John Rocque's 1757 map shows bath houses near White Rock, on Killiney Beach. The coastline became even more popular once the railway opened, and the opening of Victoria Park in 1887 to commemorate the Queen's visit and the opening of Vico Road in 1889 appear to have increased this popularity further. Victoria Castle
was also built in honour of Queen Victoria, specifically her accession to the throne. This is currently owned by Donegal
singer Enya
who has renamed it Manderley Castle.
From 1900 until the late 1940s Killiney remained a near-rural area, despite its proximity to Dublin city. This lack of further development can be traced to the 35% fall in the non-Catholic population of Dublin from 1901 to 1926, followed by the recession caused by the Economic War
and the restrictions on nonessential construction during The Emergency from 1939 to 1945.
, whose house, Torca Cottage, is close to the boundary with Dalkey
.
South Killiney consisted of farmland (owned by the Hackett
family) uncultivated hillside and woodland, a few large country houses (Ballinclea House in particular, owned by the Talbot de Malahide
family and destroyed by fire in the early 1970s, and Rochestown House, near to the contemporary Killiney Shopping Centre), the convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny and Killiney Golf Club, a nine-hole course founded in 1903.
Killiney's population grew substantially in the decades following The Emergency as the urbanization of Ireland and the suburbanization of Dublin progressed. The main sub-districts most locals will identify are Victoria (or Killiney Hill) Park, Roche's Hill (locally called Mullins Hill), Killiney Village itself, North Killiney (Cluny Grove, Killiney Road, Ballinclea), Killiney Hill Road, and the Vico Road. The last six of these areas are developed, most frequently with two-story housing, at average densities of 10 to 30 houses per hectare. North Killiney mainly consists of 2 bedroom, 2 storey housing at 10 to 30 houses per hectare.
The population, as recorded by the Census of Ireland, peaked in 1996 at approximately 10,800 and has fallen by about 12% since then, as falling average family sizes have outpaced residential construction.
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...
of Dublin in south County Dublin
County Dublin
County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...
, 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,...
. It is within the administrative area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County. The area is by the coast, south of neighbouring Dalkey
Dalkey
Dalkey is suburb of Dublin and seaside resort in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement and became an important port during the Middle Ages. According to John Clyn, it was one of the ports through which the plague entered Ireland in the mid-14th century...
, and north to Shankill
Shankill, Dublin
Shankill is a suburb in the South-East of Dublin located in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. It has a population of 13,242 .-History:-Name:...
area in the most southern outskirt of Dublin.
Killiney is part of the Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
constituency of Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Dún Laoghaire is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies...
.
Amenities
Killiney HillKilliney Hill
Killiney Hill is the southernmost of the two hills which form the southern boundary of Dublin Bay . Crowned by an obelisk, the hill is 153 metres high and offers beautiful views over the surrounding areas : Dublin to the northwest; the Irish Sea and the mountains of Wales to the east and...
Park was opened in 1887 as Victoria Hill in honour of Queen Victoria's 50 years on the throne. The park boasts magnificent views of Dublin Bay
Dublin Bay
Dublin Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south...
, Killiney Bay, Bray Head and the mountain of Great Sugar Loaf
Great Sugar Loaf
Often simply known as the Sugar Loaf , this mountain is located in the east of County Wicklow, in Ireland, south of Bray and to the north of the Glen of the Downs Nature Reserve...
(506 m), stretching from the Wicklow Mountains
Wicklow Mountains
The Wicklow Mountains form the largest continuous upland area in Ireland. They occupy the whole centre of County Wicklow and stretch outside its borders into Counties Carlow, Wexford and Dublin. Where the mountains extend into County Dublin, they are known locally as the Dublin Mountains...
right across to Howth Head
Howth Head
Howth Head is a headland north east of Dublin City in Ireland. Howth falls under the local governance of fingal county council. Entry to the headland is at Sutton while village of Howth and the harbour are on the northern shore. Baily Lighthouse is on the southeastern part of Howth Head...
. The Park's topography is quite dramatic and its highest point, at the obelisk, is 170 metres above sea level.
Other attractions include Killiney Beach, Killiney Golf Club, a local Martello Tower
Martello tower
Martello towers are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards....
, and the ruins of Cill Iníon Léinín, the church around which the original village was based.
The coastal areas of Killiney are often favourably compared to the Bay of Naples in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. This comparison is reflected in the names of surrounding roads, like Vico, Sorrento, Monte Alverno, San Elmo, and Capri. On clear days, the Mourne Mountains of County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
can be seen, although this is less and less frequent due to air pollution. The park was once part of the estate of Killiney Castle, now a hotel. Since early 2010 a pod of bottlenose dolphins has been seen regularly in Killiney Bay.
Transport
An AircoachAircoach
Aircoach is a Republic of Ireland based subsidiary company of the United Kingdom based FirstGroup. It provides airport bus express coach services from Cork, Greystones, Bray, South Dublin and Dublin City Centre to Dublin Airport. It also operates contracted bus service for airport car parks...
service starting at Fitzpatrick's Castle Hotel links Killiney with Dublin Airport on the hour off-peak and half hourly at peak times.
Famous residents
North-eastern Killiney is one of Dublin's most exclusive residential areas. Famous residents include U2 members BonoBono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
and The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
, Enya
Enya
Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...
and occasionally former racing driver Eddie Jordan
Eddie Jordan
Edmund "Eddie" Jordan also known as "EJ" founded and owned Jordan Grand Prix, a Formula One constructor which operated from 1991 to 2005...
. Killiney is also home to a number of foreign ambassadors to Ireland.
History
For many centuries the major part of the district was the property of the Talbot de MalahideBaron Talbot of Malahide
Baron Talbot of Malahide, in the County of Dublin, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1831 for Margaret Talbot, widow of Richard Talbot, heir of the ancient Lords of Malahide. She was succeeded by their eldest son, the second Baron. In 1839 he was created Baron Furnival, of...
family, some of the original followers of the 1170 Norman invasion. The obelisk on top of Killiney Hill records the famine of 1741 and the relief works made for the poor which include the obelisk and the many walls which cover the top of the hill. By the 19th century, the areas to the north and east of the village were owned by Robert Warren, who developed many of the Victorian residential roads. The Warrens also sold the land required to extend the Dublin and Kingstown Railway
Dublin and Kingstown Railway
The Dublin and Kingstown Railway , which opened in 1834, was Ireland’s first railway. It linked Westland Row in Dublin with Kingstown Harbour’s West Pier in County Dublin.-History:...
to Killiney and ultimately Bray
Bray
Bray is a town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is a busy urban centre and seaside resort, with a population of 31,901 making it the fourth largest in Ireland as of the 2006 census...
. Killiney beach was a popular seaside destination for Dubliners, and John Rocque's 1757 map shows bath houses near White Rock, on Killiney Beach. The coastline became even more popular once the railway opened, and the opening of Victoria Park in 1887 to commemorate the Queen's visit and the opening of Vico Road in 1889 appear to have increased this popularity further. Victoria Castle
Manderley Castle
Manderley Castle , formerly "Victoria Castle" and "Ayesha Castle", is a large castellated Irish mansion built in Victorian style, in Killiney, County Dublin, Ireland. It is currently owned by the singer Enya....
was also built in honour of Queen Victoria, specifically her accession to the throne. This is currently owned by Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
singer Enya
Enya
Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...
who has renamed it Manderley Castle.
From 1900 until the late 1940s Killiney remained a near-rural area, despite its proximity to Dublin city. This lack of further development can be traced to the 35% fall in the non-Catholic population of Dublin from 1901 to 1926, followed by the recession caused by the Economic War
Anglo-Irish Trade War
The Anglo-Irish Trade War was a retaliatory trade war between the Irish Free State and the United Kingdom lasting from 1932 until 1938...
and the restrictions on nonessential construction during The Emergency from 1939 to 1945.
20th century development
In the first half of the twentieth century, the Electoral Division of North Killiney still consisted of a small village at its centre and a number of suburban roads lined with large houses. A few modest cottages were occupied by working class locals and bohemian residents such as George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, whose house, Torca Cottage, is close to the boundary with Dalkey
Dalkey
Dalkey is suburb of Dublin and seaside resort in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement and became an important port during the Middle Ages. According to John Clyn, it was one of the ports through which the plague entered Ireland in the mid-14th century...
.
South Killiney consisted of farmland (owned by the Hackett
Hackett
Hackett is a surname of Norman origin, Hacket being a common Norman personal name....
family) uncultivated hillside and woodland, a few large country houses (Ballinclea House in particular, owned by the Talbot de Malahide
Baron Talbot of Malahide
Baron Talbot of Malahide, in the County of Dublin, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1831 for Margaret Talbot, widow of Richard Talbot, heir of the ancient Lords of Malahide. She was succeeded by their eldest son, the second Baron. In 1839 he was created Baron Furnival, of...
family and destroyed by fire in the early 1970s, and Rochestown House, near to the contemporary Killiney Shopping Centre), the convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny and Killiney Golf Club, a nine-hole course founded in 1903.
Killiney's population grew substantially in the decades following The Emergency as the urbanization of Ireland and the suburbanization of Dublin progressed. The main sub-districts most locals will identify are Victoria (or Killiney Hill) Park, Roche's Hill (locally called Mullins Hill), Killiney Village itself, North Killiney (Cluny Grove, Killiney Road, Ballinclea), Killiney Hill Road, and the Vico Road. The last six of these areas are developed, most frequently with two-story housing, at average densities of 10 to 30 houses per hectare. North Killiney mainly consists of 2 bedroom, 2 storey housing at 10 to 30 houses per hectare.
The population, as recorded by the Census of Ireland, peaked in 1996 at approximately 10,800 and has fallen by about 12% since then, as falling average family sizes have outpaced residential construction.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
Sources
- The History of Killiney Hill Park Dunlaoghaire-Rathdown County Council
- Carrickmines Castle, the Vale of Shanganagh, Dalkey, Killiney and Ballybrack Hills (Waybackmachine archive link)
- Pearson, Peter (1998). Between the Mountains and the Sea: Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Dublin: The O'Brien Press. ISBN 0-86278-582-0.