Kingswood, Dublin
Encyclopedia
General description
The area is located between Belgard RoadR113 road
The R113 road is a regional road in Ireland. Located in the east of Ireland at Dublin, it forms a semi-orbital route around the south of the city. As of 2007, clockwise, it starts at the N31 at Temple Hill in Blackrock and ends at a junction with the N4 at Palmerstown.The road is one of the...
and the M50
M50 motorway (Ireland)
The M50 motorway is a motorway in Ireland running in a C-shaped ring around the north-eastern, northern, western and southern sides of the capital city, Dublin. The northern end of the route is located at the entrance to the Dublin Port Tunnel. Anti-clockwise it heads northwest through the tunnel...
motorway. Traditionally considered to be part of the hinterland of Clondalkin Village yet lying inside of the historical Parish of Tallaght, the area is now divided by the Ballymount Road, with roughly two thirds in Tallaght (Dublin 24), and the remainder, west of the road, in Clondalkin (Dublin 22), and therefore served by different Garda Stations. It has a population of approximately 1,600. At the centre of the district is a small shopping centre. It comprises a betting shop, a Chinese and Italian fast-food outlet, a dry-cleaner, a hair salon, a pharmacy, and a convenience store. It also, at various times, housed a clothes shops, a video store, a pizzeria, a sit-in diner, a butcher, and a newsagent.
Other amenities in the district include a primary school (St. Kilians), while the community centre complex comprises a new community centre (completed in 2007) a scout hall (158th), and the 'old' community centre, a 'prefab' building which was originally the Parish Church of St. Kilian when the estate was developed in the late 70s and early 80s. Nearby is the R.C. church (also St. Kilians) and a public house, formerly known as 'The Clocktower'). There are also several sporting teams, although they have no premises of distinction.
Notable features
Ballymount park is named after the town land given to it by Sir William Parsons who build the second castle in the area in 1622. The poet Katherine Tynan once lived in Ballymount, Kingswood, and her derelict house is adjacent to the park.The park is also home to the ruins of a castle, known locally as "Kingswood Castle", that is a gate house which was built by William Parsons
William Parsons
William Parsons may refer to:*William Parsons , Master of the King's Music*William Parsons , English writer associated with the Della Cruscan movement*William Barclay Parsons , American civil engineer...
in 1622
1622 in Ireland
-Deaths:*10 November - Henry Folliott, 1st Baron Folliott, settled in and developed Ballyshannon area....
, only to be burned down in 1646
1646 in Ireland
-Events:*June: The Battle of Benburb, part of the Irish Confederate Wars took place near Armagh....
by Gaelic insurgents. On the north side of the park, there is a mound which is a bronze age site and was turned into a motte-and-bailey
Motte-and-bailey
A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...
before a stone castle castle was built, which is under and in side the walls of the tower house built by Parsons. There is also a folly
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
, built in the early 18th century by John Butler as a venue for his daughter's wedding and to view the walled garden.
Sport
Soccer:- Kingswood F.C. is a local soccer club that was founded in 1988, as Kingwood Boys Football Club, by, amongst others, Paddy Baker, John Hickey and Jimmy Gaynor. The club was nearly called 'Albion F.C.', and a proposed link up with Grimsby Town Football Club in England meant the initial strip consisted of dark purple and white vertical stripes. The first u-15 side, managed by John Hickey, wore such a strip with 'Albion FC' on the left side of the chest. The club swiftly moved to black and white stripes and it was decided to adopt a name to reflect the locality. The club initially fielded most of its teams in the Dublin District Schoolboys League, but now is a member of the South Dublin Football League. The club caters for players from nursery level to under 18s, and the 'Boys' in the original title was dropped in the mid-90s to reflect the growing participation of girls in the club. Originally, all games were played in Kingswood Green, before the club decamped to a pitch that is now the lake in Ballymount Park. All teams now play elsewhere in Ballymount Park, beside the Crematorium. In 1990, the club acquired a controversial changing area, a pre-fabricated former church which was placed beside the tennis courts. Following much local pressure, the portable structure was placed beside the architecturally similar community centre, where it languished, unloved and vandalised, until replaced in the early 2000s with a metal container. It is proposed that changing facilities will be placed in the new Community Centre. There are also changing facilities in Ballymount Park. The club celebrated its 20th Anniversary on December 6, 2008.
Rugby:
- Clondalkin Rugby Club is located here.
Other Sports:
At one time a GAA club, St. Kilian's, existed in the estate, founded in 1986 by Paddy Somers. St. Kilians GAA Club ran underage teams, some successful, in the Tallaght GAA leagues (which evolved into the South Dublin Leagues). Many of the clubs players were also involved with the GAA teams of St Kilian's Senior National School, with both entities sporting the colours of Tipperary, royal blue with a gold band, attributable to the fact that the Tipperary senior hurling captain, Richie Stakelum, was a teacher in the school in the 1980s. The school teams have won several Cumann na mBunscoil titles, and continue to turn out teams, while St. Kilians GAA Club merged with St. Kevins GAA Club in Kilnamanagh in 1998, as both clubs sought to compete with the larger superclubs that predominate in the Tallaght/Templeogue area.