St. Margaret's, County Dublin
Settlement area, townland and civil parish in Ireland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saint Margaret's or St. Margaret's (Irish: Teampall Mhaighréide)[1] is a civil parish and townland in the historical barony of Coolock in County Dublin, Ireland.[1][2] Rivermeade, a housing estate of 175 homes which is treated as a separate census town, is located between Saint Margaret's and the Ward River. Dublin Airport is also nearby.[3][4]
Saint Margaret's
Irish: Teampall Mhaighréide | |
|---|---|
Civil parish | |
St Margaret's Roman Catholic church | |
  Saint Margaret's Location in Dublin | |
| Coordinates: 53.4307°N 6.3009°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Dublin |
| Local government area | Fingal |
| Irish grid reference | O129436 |
History
One of the earliest documented references to St. Margaret's dates to 1182, when Pope Lucius III reportedly confirmed "the town of St. Margarets" to the Archbishop of Dublin.[5] Other evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a fulacht fiadh site,[6] holy well,[7] and an early 18th century church and graveyard.[8] 16th-century records of St. Margaret's Chapel at Dunsoghly, also called Dovemachenor or Donoughmore, indicate that a church existed in the area from at least 1275 AD.[9]
Also nearby is the 15th century Dunsoghly Castle,[10] the one-time residence of John Plunket, who was Lord Chief Justice of Ireland from 1559 until his death in 1582.[5] The graveyard and well at St. Margaret's are also historically associated with the Plunket family and it was reputedly a member of this family who had "St. Margaret's Spa Well [...] walled in so as to form a bath 6 feet long by 3 feet wide".[5]
Geography
There are 14 townlands within Saint Margaret's civil parish,[11] including Barberstown, Harristown, Newtown, Sandyhill, Shanganhill, and Saint Margaret's.[2] A number of these townlands, such as Shanganhill,[12] overlap with the grounds of Dublin Airport.[13]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 660 | — |
| 1996 | 621 | −5.9% |
| 2002 | 558 | −10.1% |
| 2006 | 615 | +10.2% |
| 2011 | 542 | −11.9% |
| 2016 | 530 | −2.2% |
| 2022 | 521 | −1.7% |
| Source: [14] | ||
Rivermeade, a housing development of 175 homes south of the Ward River, is located in the area.[15] Rivermeade is treated as a census town and had a population of 521 people as of the 2022 census.[14] It is served by Dublin Bus route L89.[16]
In 2018, the local authority, Fingal County Council, published a statutory Local Area Plan (LAP) covering the area. The LAP envisaged making Rivermeade, and St. Margaret's in general, a "more viable community" and providing a base for local services, with allowance for the addition of up to 275 houses, a commercial centre and a civic space.[15]
Amenities
Local national (primary) schools include St. Margaret's National School (with an enrollment of approximately 90 pupils),[3][17] and Mary Queen of Ireland National School in Rivermeade (which opened in 1981).[18]
The local Catholic church, which is dedicated to Saint Margaret, is a chapel of ease in Finglas parish in the Archdiocese of Dublin.[19][20] This 19th-century church is included in the Record of Protected Structures maintained by Fingal County Council.[21]
Sport
Sports clubs in the area include St Margaret's GAA club (which was founded in 1908)[22] and St. Margaret's Golf Club.[23] As of 2018, Rivermeade F.C. was fielding association football (soccer) teams in the Athletic Union League.[24]