Churchtown, Dublin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Churchtown
Baile an Teampaill
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Suburb
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Shops in Churchtown
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 Churchtown
Location in Dublin
Churchtown
Location in Ireland
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| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown |
| Time zone | UTC±0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (IST) |
| Eircode routing key |
D14
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| Telephone area code | +353(0)1 |
Churchtown (which is Baile an Teampaill in Irish) is a busy area on the south side of Dublin, Ireland. It's mostly a place where people live, located between Rathfarnham and Dundrum.
Contents
Cool Places to See
Ely's Arch
On Braemor Road, you'll find an old gate that looks like a fancy arch from the 1700s. This arch used to be the entrance to Rathfarnham Castle. It was built by Henry Loftus, who was the Earl of Ely, between 1769 and 1783. That's why it's called Ely's Arch!
After the castle's land was divided up in 1913, the arch became the entrance to the Castle Golf Club. Later, new roads were built, and the arch became a landmark for the Braemor area.
Bottle Tower
The Bottle Tower, sometimes called Hall's Barn, is a unique building on Whitehall Road. It was built in 1742 by Major Hall. It looks a bit like another famous building called the The Wonderful Barn near Leixlip.
Even though it's called a barn, the first and second floors had fireplaces, so people might have lived there. There was also a smaller building nearby that was a pigeon house.
Berwick House
Berwick House is a tall building on Whitehall Road. It has had many names over the years! In 1766, it was called Waxfield. By 1836, it was known as Hazelbrook. This name was later used for the nearby Hughes Brothers milk factory, which made famous ice cream.
From 1844 to 1899, it was called Bachelor's Hall. Then it became a charity home called Berwick Home. In 1944, it became a private home again and was renamed Berwick House.
The Ponds
Loreto Terrace, near Rathfarnham's Loreto Abbey, used to be known as "the Ponds." This name came from a large pond that was in the area a long time ago.
This spot was also where a small fight happened during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Local fighters gathered here and were attacked by soldiers. Some were hurt or captured, but the survivors managed to fight back and escape.
How Many People Live Here?
In 2006, about 8,736 people lived in Churchtown.
Things to Do and See
Churchtown has many shops and pubs. There's even a supermarket with special food for people who keep kosher. It's also a popular place for driving tests!
Nutgrove Shopping Centre
Nutgrove Shopping Centre opened in October 1984. Back then, this area was still quite rural. The shopping centre was built on land that used to be part of an apple orchard!
Nutgrove was home to some "firsts" in Ireland:
- It had Ireland's first drive-through McDonald's restaurant.
- It also had the country's first government office for social welfare services located inside a shopping mall.
Churches and Religion
Churchtown probably got its name from St. Nahi's Church (a Church of Ireland church). This church has been rebuilt many times over the centuries. The current building was finished in 1910. The baptismal font (a bowl used for baptisms) in St. Nahi's Church was used to baptise Arthur Wellesley, who later became the Duke of Wellington, in 1769.
The local Roman Catholic church is the Good Shepherd Church. A famous Irish leader, Seán Lemass, who was a former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, had his state funeral here.
The Church of Ireland Theological Institute (where people study to become priests) and the main library for the Church of Ireland are both in Churchtown. The Quakers also have a Meeting House here.
Schools and Learning
The Good Shepherd National School is a primary school in Churchtown. For secondary school, there's De La Salle College, which is for boys. Many famous people went to De La Salle College, including:
- Damien Duff, a well-known football player who played for the Republic of Ireland national football team.
- Jim Stynes, a talented athlete who won awards in both Gaelic football and Australian Rules Football. His younger brother, Brian Stynes, also went there and won an All-Ireland football medal.
- Des Fitzgerald, a former Irish international rugby player.
- John Treacy, a former Dublin Hurling player.
The former girls' secondary school in the area was Notre Dame School. Mary Lou McDonald, who is a well-known politician and the current president of Sinn Féin, went to Notre Dame School. The Notre Dame school closed, and its campus will be used for other schools in the future.
Former School
A De La Salle Preparatory School, which is now closed, was located in Camberley House. This house was once owned by the wife of Éamonn Ceannt, who was one of the leaders who signed the Proclamation of the Irish Republic in 1916.
Ice Cream History
Churchtown was once home to the HB Dairy. HB Ice Cream was named after the Hughes Brothers dairy and was made at Hazelbrook Farm, which was across the road from the Good Shepherd National School.
Famous People from Churchtown
Many interesting people have lived in or come from Churchtown:
- Seán Lemass: A very important Irish politician who was the third Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland.
- John Millington Synge: A famous Irish writer.
- Maureen O'Hara: A well-known Irish film actress and singer.
- Ruth Coppinger: A politician who represents Dublin West.
- Dervla Kirwan: An actress known for TV shows like Goodnight Sweetheart.
- Bazil Ashmawy: A television personality.
- Séamus Brennan: A senior Irish politician.
- William Tankerville Chamberlain: A judge.
- Dick Farrelly: A songwriter who wrote "Isle of Innisfree," which was used in the film The Quiet Man.
- Fionnula Flanagan: An award-winning actress.
- Into Paradise: A band whose members were from Churchtown. They even named their 1991 album "Churchtown."
- John Kavanagh: A martial artist and coach for famous UFC fighter Conor McGregor.
- John Wilson: A politician who held several important government roles, including Minister for Education.
- Elizabeth Yeats and Lily Yeats: Sisters of famous writers Jack and William Butler Yeats. They started a printing and craft business called Cuala Press in Churchtown.
Clubs and Groups
Churchtown has lots of sports clubs and groups:
- Football (Soccer) Clubs: Leicester Celtic and Broadford Rovers.
- Athletics: Dundrum South Dublin Athletic Club.
- Gymnastics: Phoenix gymnastics club.
- Hockey: Old Alex Hockey Club.
- Rugby: De La Salle Palmerstown rugby club.
- Cricket: Sandyford Cricket Club.
- Cycling: Orwell Wheels and South Dublin Cycling Club.
- Hiking: Hill Top Treks and The Bog Trotters.
- Golf: Castle golf club and Milltown golf club are nearby.
Gaelic games (like Gaelic football and hurling) are played at clubs such as Ballinteer St Johns GAA Club, CLG Baile Buadáin Naomh Éanna, Kilmacud Crokes GAA, and Naomh Olaf GAA Club.
Many local schools also have groups for their former students, like Ballinteer Community School, De La Salle College, and The High School.
