KILBARRACK

'Kilbarrack' (Irish: ''Cill Bharóg'' - Church of young Barra or St. Berach) is a residential area of Dublin, Ireland, located on the coast, about 8km (5 miles) from the city's centre.

Contents

Location and access

History

Amenities

Points of Note

Location and access

Kilbarrack is situated on the Northside of the city, between the suburbs of Raheny, Coolock, Donaghmede and Bayside (which was formed from its old core). Kilbarrack is accessible from the Howth Road and Tonlegee Road, by its own station on the (DART) Dublin Area Rapid Transit suburban rail system and by Dublin Bus. Kilbarrack railway station opened on 1 June 1969.^[1]

History

Kilbarrack, which is crossed by one of Dublin's small waterways, the Kilbarrack Stream, 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 being "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 and Graveyard complex (illustrated below), 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. At one time, ships entering Dublin Bay paid monies to the city authorities towards the upkeep of the chapel.

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-led shopping centre is near the site of the former "big house" of the area, Kilbarrack House.

Amenities

Kilbarrack has a local office of Dublin City Council, two shopping precincts (Greendale, with a large Centra, and Kilbarrack, dominated by Tesco, which has renovated it twice over the last decade) and a range of shops and pubs. There is a a major Health Services Executive centre, and, at the boundary with Raheny, Coolock and Donaghmede, a Municipal Fire Station and practice yard.
Kilbarrack has three primary schools, Scoil Eoin, the ''Educate Together'' North Bay School, and Gaelscoil Mide, previously of Donaghmede.
Kilbarrack is also well-known for its sporting clubs and teams, which include Naomh Barrog GAA Club, Kilbarrack United FC, who play in the top Division of the AUL, and Kilmount Boys FC.
The modern Parish Church (Roman Catholic) serves Kilbarrack and part of Raheny (Parish of Kilbarrack-Foxfield); some locals attend St. Benedict's Church in Grange Park Parish, which also serves some in Raheny.

Points of Note

Local author, Booker Prize winner and former teacher at Greendale Community School in Kilbarrack Roddy Doyle is seen by many as having captured the atmosphere and spirit of Kilbarrack in the early 90's, thinly disguised as ''Barrytown'', in a series of popular fiction works. However many young professionals have moved into the area the last few years so this stereotype has passed.