Cruagh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cruagh An Chraobhach
Cruagh Location in Ireland
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
Area
• Total	29.61 km2 (11.43 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	3,967
• Density	133.98/km2 (346.99/sq mi)

Cruagh (in Irish: An Chraobhach) is a historic area in South Dublin, Ireland. It is known as a civil parish within the barony of Uppercross. Cruagh includes several smaller areas called townlands. These are Cruagh, Killakee, Tibradden, Glendoo, Newtown, Jamestown, Woodtown and Orlagh. You can find Cruagh south of Ballyboden on the R116 regional road.

What's in a Name? The Meaning of Cruagh

The name Cruagh comes from the Irish word Craobhach. This word means "branches." It comes from an even older Irish word, Croibech. The name Cruagh was first written down in its current form in 1641. For a long time, people often called the area 'Creevagh' or 'Crevagh'. This was common until the 19th century and sometimes even into the early 20th century.

Cruagh's Ancient Past: Early History

People have lived in the Cruagh area for a very long time. Evidence shows settlement since the Neolithic period, also known as the New Stone Age. You can see this from the ancient chambered cairn on nearby Tibradden Mountain. It is also likely that people lived here during the Bronze Age. This is because a cemetery from the 2nd century BC was found in Edmondstown in the 1950s.

Around 450 AD, a small church was built in what is now the old part of Cruagh Cemetery. A 5th-century saint named Dalua, who was a student of Saint Patrick, likely built it. In 1184, Prince John gave this church to the Archbishop of Dublin. The church was used until about 1700. After that, it fell into disuse. Today, only small ruins of the church remain.

Exploring Cruagh's Townlands

Cruagh is made up of 8 different townlands. The townland with the most people is Newtown.

Tibradden: History and Nature

The ancient cairn at Tibradden Mountain.

Tibradden has several interesting places to visit. One is a special rock where Daniel O'Connell, a famous Irish leader, spoke to local people in 1843. They were celebrating Garland Sunday. Tibradden House is also here. It was built in 1859 as a wedding gift for Mary Davis. Her family still lives there today.

Near the top of Tibradden Mountain, there is a chambered cairn that is 4,000 years old. In 1849, the Royal Irish Academy dug up this site. They found a stone-lined cist (a small stone box) containing a pottery pot and cremated human remains.

Woodtown: Old Buildings and Animal Care

Woodtown has a history that goes back to the 16th century. It has two old buildings: Woodtown Park and Woodtown Manor. Woodtown Park was built around 1700 as a farmhouse. In 1896, Reverend Walter A Hill started a school here. It was the first boarding school in Ireland just for boys up to age thirteen.

It is believed that the final plans for the Easter Rising in 1916 were made at Woodtown Park. Opposite is Woodtown Manor, built around 1720. This estate once had 132 acres, including a deer park. In 2003, the DSPCA (Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) moved to their modern animal care center at Mount Venus in Woodtown.

Cruagh Townland: Cemetery and Views

Cruagh itself is a small townland. As mentioned, a church once stood in Cruagh Cemetery. In the early 1800s, a watchtower was built partly on the church's site. A guard was hired there to prevent people from disturbing graves. This was a problem at the time because there weren't enough bodies for medical studies.

The old part of the cemetery was used from the early 1700s until the mid-1900s. A new section opened around 1945, but it is now full. Near the cemetery entrance is a former school from the 19th century. It was turned into a home in the 1970s. Cruagh Wood is also in the area. At 522 meters high, it offers amazing views of Dublin City.

Orlagh: A Place of Retreat

Just below the ruins of the Hell Fire Club in Killakee, you'll find the house known as Orlagh. It was built in 1790. In 1872, it was sold to the Augustinian Order, a religious group. Eoin MacNeill, a key figure in the Easter Rising, found safety and stayed at the college for a few days during the Rising.

Famous visitors to Orlagh include Patrick Pearse and Daniel O'Connell. Today, Orlagh is a retreat and conference center run by the friars (members of the Augustinian Order). In a field nearby, there is a well that was opened in 1920. Many people came to the opening, which included a drum band and banners.

Killakee

Glendoo: Mountain Views

Glendoo is an area near Tibradden with very few houses. In 1837, it was described as having "a great quantity of turf with only one house." Glendoo Mountain is 586 meters high. Its summit crosses the border between Wicklow and Dublin.

Newtown: Mills and Schools

Newtown borders Killakee to the south and Woodtown to the west. It starts at Mount Venus Cemetery and ends at Boden Park estate. In the 1800s, Newtown was home to several mills. Edmondstown National School is built where the Newtown Great Paper Mill once stood. This mill started in the early 1800s and once employed over 600 people.

Nearby are the ruins of Newtown Little Paper Mill, built in 1757. This mill later became a cloth mill and stopped working around 1836.

Jamestown: Farmland and History

Jamestown has only a few houses and is mostly farmland. The townland's edge follows Masseys Wood for its entire length. Not much is known about its early history. However, during the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Jamestown lost a lot of goods and cattle.

Images for kids

• 

  Stream near Cruagh Wood

• 

  Inside the watchtower at Cruagh Cemetery

• 

  Cruagh watchtower with the remains of the church on the left

• 

  Ruin of small stone building near Glendoo