Rathgar
Encyclopedia
Rathgar is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland
, lying about 3 kilometres south of the city centre.
and Victorian
era terraces and much of the area lies within an architectural conservation
zone. One of the main schools in area is The High School, Dublin
, which moved to the area from its original location on Harcourt Street. There's also Stratford College on Zion road, founded in the 1950s by members of the Jewish Community in Dublin. Dodder Park
is located in Rathgar.
' has just opened in the town center providing residents with groceries within walking distance. Local restaurants include Bijou (Modern Irish), Monty's (Nepalese), Howard's Way and Kanum (Asian).
, Highfield Road, specialises in cancer treatments. This is currently under threat of closure and many of the local residents are opposed to this. Mount Carmel
General and Maternity hospital is located on Orwell Road.
) at the junction of Rathgar Road and Highfield Road in the village centre. The Roman Catholic Church
of The Three Patrons (The three patrons referred to are the Patron Saints of Ireland: St Patrick, St. Bridget and St. Columba) on Rathgar Road is known as "The Servants' Church" because in the late 19th and early 20th century it was the place of worship for the large number of servants who worked and lived in the large houses in the area. While externally the church is of little note internally it is noteworthy. Both can be seen in the external links section below. The Church of Ireland
Theological College and the Zion
Church of Ireland at the junction of Zion and Bushy Park Road are also in Rathgar.
The suburb's most famous son is James Joyce
, who was born in Brighton Square. Jack Lynch
, who was Taoiseach
(Prime Minister) of Ireland intermittently from 1966 to 1979 had his home at Garville Avenue, Rathgar. Also Bram Stoker
, author of Dracula
, lived in Rathgar on Orwell
Park for a time. Arnold Bax
rented a villa in Bushy Park Road for a short time. He described the view in his autobiography:
A Georgian house on Kenilworth Square west provided the setting for the film of Maeve Binchy
's novel Tara Road
.
Éamon de Valera's presidential office was moved to 53, Kenilworth Square in 1921 when his house in Blackrock was raided. It was in this house that Arthur Griffith presented Lloyd George's proposals for the Anglo-Irish Treaty to de Valera four days before the Treaty was signed in London.
Convicted Croatian
war-criminal Andrija Artukovic
is also believed to have spent part of his life in a house in Rathgar after the war due to Ireland's neutrality.
constituency of Dublin South East
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,...
, lying about 3 kilometres south of the city centre.
Amenities
Rathgar is largely a quiet suburb with good amenities, including primary and secondary schools, nursing homes, child-care and sports facilities, and good public transport to the city centre. The housing stock largely comprises red-brick late GeorgianGeorgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
and Victorian
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
era terraces and much of the area lies within an architectural conservation
Architectural conservation
Architectural conservation describes the process through which the material, historical, and design integrity of mankind's built heritage are prolonged through carefully planned interventions. The individual engaged in this pursuit is known as an architectural conservator...
zone. One of the main schools in area is The High School, Dublin
The High School, Dublin
The High School is a co-educational school located in Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1870 in Harcourt Street before moving to its current location in Rathgar in 1971 and amalgamated with The Diocesan School for Girls in 1974, thereby becoming co-educational.-Millennium...
, which moved to the area from its original location on Harcourt Street. There's also Stratford College on Zion road, founded in the 1950s by members of the Jewish Community in Dublin. Dodder Park
Dodder Park
Dodder Park is a suburban linear park in Dublin, Ireland, consisting of over 100 hectares of fragmented parkland and remnant countryside.-Location:...
is located in Rathgar.
Business
It has a variety of retail outlets. Rathgar maintains a nice village feel as it has a delicatessen, 2 butchers , a bike shop and a wine shop all within 20 yards of the main cross. There is also Rathgar Pharmacy, Rathgar Hair Studio and a number of fashion and interior boutiques. A small scale supermarket 'SuperquinnSuperquinn
Superquinn is an Irish supermarket chain. Until 2005, the company was entirely privately held by the Quinn family. It is now a subsidiary of Select Retail Holdings Limited....
' has just opened in the town center providing residents with groceries within walking distance. Local restaurants include Bijou (Modern Irish), Monty's (Nepalese), Howard's Way and Kanum (Asian).
Health care
St. Luke's HospitalSt. Luke's Hospital, Rathgar
St. Luke's Hospital, Rathgar, Ireland, is a hospital which has specialised in treating cancer patients from throughout Ireland for over half a century. It is primary national centre for radiotherapy treatment. Opened in 1952, the Hospital was founded by the Cancer Association of Ireland on the...
, Highfield Road, specialises in cancer treatments. This is currently under threat of closure and many of the local residents are opposed to this. Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel
Mount Carmel ; , Kármēlos; , Kurmul or جبل مار إلياس Jabal Mar Elyas 'Mount Saint Elias') is a coastal mountain range in northern Israel stretching from the Mediterranean Sea towards the southeast. Archaeologists have discovered ancient wine and oil presses at various locations on Mt. Carmel...
General and Maternity hospital is located on Orwell Road.
Churches
Rathgar has a number of fine architectural features, notably Christ Church Rathgar (part of the Presbyterian Church in IrelandPresbyterian Church in Ireland
The Presbyterian Church in Ireland , is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland...
) at the junction of Rathgar Road and Highfield Road in the village centre. The Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
of The Three Patrons (The three patrons referred to are the Patron Saints of Ireland: St Patrick, St. Bridget and St. Columba) on Rathgar Road is known as "The Servants' Church" because in the late 19th and early 20th century it was the place of worship for the large number of servants who worked and lived in the large houses in the area. While externally the church is of little note internally it is noteworthy. Both can be seen in the external links section below. The Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
Theological College and the Zion
Zion
Zion is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem. The word is first found in Samuel II, 5:7 dating to c.630-540 BCE...
Church of Ireland at the junction of Zion and Bushy Park Road are also in Rathgar.
Notable people associated with Rathgar
- Ulick O'ConnorUlick O'ConnorUlick O'Connor is an Irish writer, historian and critic.-Early life:Born in Rathgar, County Dublin in 1928, O'Connor attended St. Mary's College, Rathmines and later University College Dublin, where he studied law and philosophy, becoming known as a keen sporting participant, especially in boxing,...
- George William RussellGeorge William RussellGeorge William Russell who wrote under the pseudonym Æ , was an Irish nationalist, writer, editor, critic, poet, and painter. He was also a mystical writer, and centre of a group of followers of theosophy in Dublin, for many years.-Organisor:Russell was born in Lurgan, County Armagh...
- J.M. Synge
- David MarcusDavid MarcusDavid Marcus was an Irish Jewish editor and writer who was a lifelong advocate and editor of Irish fiction.- Life and times :...
- Éamon de ValeraÉamon de ValeraÉamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in twentieth century Ireland, serving as head of government of the Irish Free State and head of government and head of state of Ireland...
- Eoin McDowell - Irish Rugby Union player
- Seumas O'Sullivan
The suburb's most famous son is James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
, who was born in Brighton Square. Jack Lynch
Jack Lynch
John Mary "Jack" Lynch was the Taoiseach of Ireland, serving two terms in office; from 1966 to 1973 and 1977 to 1979....
, who was Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
(Prime Minister) of Ireland intermittently from 1966 to 1979 had his home at Garville Avenue, Rathgar. Also Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
, author of Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
, lived in Rathgar on Orwell
Orwell
Orwell can refer to:*The writer George Orwell and the derived phrase Orwellian*The River Orwell in Suffolk, England*Orwell High School in Suffolk, England*The village of Orwell, Cambridgeshire, England...
Park for a time. Arnold Bax
Arnold Bax
Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, KCVO was an English composer and poet. His musical style blended elements of romanticism and impressionism, often with influences from Irish literature and landscape. His orchestral scores are noted for their complexity and colourful instrumentation...
rented a villa in Bushy Park Road for a short time. He described the view in his autobiography:
from the back windows of the incongruously named "Yeovil" there was... a clear vista of parklike wooded country and beyond that of the complete ring of the untamed Dublin Mountains. On any clear day one's eye could wander along that amphitheatre of beloved slopes, over Niall Glundubh's cairn on Tibradden, past haunted Kilmashogue, down into the sylvan hollows of Glendhu, up again along a red-brown fringe of leafless trees to the sinister ruins of Kilikee brroding over Dublin's south-western suburbs - "the Hellfire Club," monumental to the arrogance and violence of the eighteenth-century Irish gentry - until finally one's gaze rested upon Seefin, a pearl-grey phantasm of a mountain, its summit gleaming maybe with the snowdrifts of last week's blizzard. And deep in those folded hills, thirty miles away, was hidden Glendalough
GlendaloughGlendalough or Glendaloch is a glacial valley in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is renowned for its Early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century by St Kevin, a hermit priest, and partly destroyed in 1398 by English troops....
of the Seven Churches, an enchanted place of holy gloom.
—Arnold Bax
Arnold BaxSir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, KCVO was an English composer and poet. His musical style blended elements of romanticism and impressionism, often with influences from Irish literature and landscape. His orchestral scores are noted for their complexity and colourful instrumentation...
, Farewell My Youth
A Georgian house on Kenilworth Square west provided the setting for the film of Maeve Binchy
Maeve Binchy
Maeve Binchy is an Irish novelist, newspaper columnist and speaker. Educated at University College Dublin, she worked as a teacher then a journalist at The Irish Times and later became a writer of novels and short stories.Many of her novels are set in Ireland, dealing with the tensions between...
's novel Tara Road
Tara Road
Tara Road is a novel by Maeve Binchy. It was chosen as an Oprah's Book Club selection in September 1999.-Plot introduction:It is the story of two women, one from Ireland and one from America, who trade houses without ever having met...
.
Éamon de Valera's presidential office was moved to 53, Kenilworth Square in 1921 when his house in Blackrock was raided. It was in this house that Arthur Griffith presented Lloyd George's proposals for the Anglo-Irish Treaty to de Valera four days before the Treaty was signed in London.
Convicted Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
war-criminal Andrija Artukovic
Andrija Artukovic
Andrija Artuković was a Croatian politician and a member of the Ustaše movement. Artuković was convicted of war crimes committed against minorities in the Independent State of Croatia during World War II...
is also believed to have spent part of his life in a house in Rathgar after the war due to Ireland's neutrality.
Politics
Rathgar is located in the Dáil ÉireannDáil 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 Dublin South East
Dublin South East (Dáil Éireann constituency)
Dublin South–East is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 4 deputies...
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
Sources
O'Connell, Angela. The Servants' Church: History of the Church of the Three Patrons in the Parish of Rathgar. Dublin: Parish Development and Renewal Core Group, Church of the Three Patrons, 2004. 106p. Class no. 29 L.H. (Dublin) / 129External links
- Irish Architecture - Buildings of interest in Rathgar
- http://www.christchurchrathgar.org (Christ Church Rathgar, Presbyterian church)
- http://www.dublintourist.com/towns/rathgar/ (Tourist Information)
- http://rathgarresidentsassociation.ie/ (Residents Association)
- http://pix.ie/explore/tag/rathgar (Some pictures of the area)