Castleknock

Castleknock (Caisleán Cnucha in Irish meaning "Castle of the Hill" or "Cnucha's Castle" is a suburb and a suburban village in west County Dublin. It is located 8 km west of the centre of Dublin, Ireland.

Castleknock is also the name of a barony, of which the village and suburb form a small part. This barony, one of five and a half comprising County Dublin, stretches from Cabra to Blanchardstown on one side and from Chapelizod to Finglas in the other direction.

Location

The village is located just inside the city's M50 motorway ring road, bordered to the west by the village of Blanchardstown and to the east by the Phoenix Park and north by Dunsink. The Royal Canal and the Dublin-Sligo railway line pass through the area.

Castleknock is in the Dublin 15 postal area and the Dublin West electoral constituency.

History

The feudal Barony of Castleknock was created by Hugh De Lacy for the Tyrrell family in the 12th century. It later passed to the Viscount Gormanston.

St. Brigid is the patron saint. Castleknock was once second to the Hill of Tara in importance in Ireland; the history of Castleknock Castle details and references much of the history of the area.

Castleknock was a rural village in North County Dublin until the late 1960s, when the first housing estates began to be developed. Castleknock developed in tandem with neighbouring settlement Blanchardstown, both of which grew rapidly from the early 1970s to the present. During the 1970s and 1980s, the village became subsumed into the suburban fabric of Dublin.

Amenities

Retail outlets in the village proper are mainly found in the Castleknock Village Centre and Ashleigh Centre shopping precincts which contain a variety of small local businesses and restaurants.

Transport & communications

Public transport in Castleknock is served by Dublin Bus, Urbus and a commuter train station on the Western Suburban Maynooth line. Castleknock railway station opened on 2 July 1990. The Navan Road / N3 is the main road artery.

Education

The village is also the location of Castleknock College, a Dublin secondary school for boys run by the priests of The Vincentian Order since 1835, which was exclusively a boarding-only school until 1987, following which day pupils were admitted and now it is day-only, as the boarding house was closed down in 2006.
Other secondary schools in the locality include Castleknock Community College in nearby Carpenterstown whose pupils are mixed gender and the girls' only Mount Sackville Convent in Chapelizod.
There are four primary schools, two of which are unsurprisingly called St. Brigid's. One of these is Church of Ireland denomination and the other St. Brigid's National School is Roman Catholic. The third primary school is non denominational Castleknock Educate Together National School.Located beside the Castleknock Tennis Club. The fourth is Scoil Thomais.

Development

State bodies such as the National Food Centre are located in Castleknock.

People

Some noted present day Castleknock people include actor Colin Farrell, Olympic athlete Eamonn Coghlan, TV presenter Amanda Byram, current Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan, Jnr, former Miss Irelands, Michelle Rocca and Aoife Cogan.

Sport

Castleknock lays claim to the largest tennis facility in Ireland, which was home to tennis for the 2004 Special Olympics.
Gaelic games are played at the Castleknock Hurling and Football Club and also St. Brigids GAA club who boast the largest all weather pitch in Ireland modelled on the New York Giants AFL pitch in New York
Golf is catered for by the municipal course at Elm Green on the edge of the village as well as by two private clubs in the Porterstown area.
The local association football club Castleknock Celtic FC boasts over 600 playing members.
Rugby Union is played at Coolmine RFC.