Ringsend An Rinn (Irish) | |
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Inner suburb | |
.jpeg) Bridge Street in Ringsend | |
  Ringsend Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:53°20′31″N6°13′35″W / 53.34194°N 6.22639°W /53.34194; -6.22639 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| Local authority | Dublin City Council |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
| Eircode (Routing Key) | D04 |
| Area code | 01 (+3531) |
| Irish Grid Reference | O177337 |
Ringsend (Irish:An Rinn) is asouthside inner suburb ofDublin,Ireland. It is located on the south bank of theRiver Liffey and east of theRiver Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the southern terminus of theEast Link Toll Bridge. Areas included in Ringsend are the south side of theDublin Docklands, and at the west end is the area ofSouth Lotts and part of theGrand Canal Dock area. Neighbouring areas includeIrishtown,Sandymount and theBeggars Bush part ofBallsbridge to the south, and the city centre to the west. A key feature of the area is the chimneys of Poolbeg power station.
Formerly the point where ships arriving from across theIrish Sea would dock, Ringsend went into decline in the 19th and 20th centuries, when the shipping moved to other locations, although there is still some container shipping.
Ringsend was originally a long narrow peninsula separated from the rest of Dublin by the then much broader estuary of the River Dodder. On early maps, its name is given as 'Rin-Aun' meaning the point of the tide.[1] Subsequently it was called "Ring's Ende" and the nearest settlements to it are given the names Merryon (Merrion) and Donny Brook. In addition to it being a centre for transportation from England, Wales and elsewhere, it was well known from early times for having a saltworks there.[2]
Ringsend has long been known colloquially asRaytown, reflecting its history as a fishing village and popularity of thestingray fish, which is sold in local takeaways as battered ray.[3][4]
Ringsend was originally part of the parish of St Mary's, Donnybrook.[5]
At about the same time as the River Dodder was diverted at what is now the junction of Newbridge Avenue and Lansdowne Bridge, Sandymount (formerly known as The Brickfields) came into being. The English having moved the Irish outside the city walls started referring to the area towards the Ringsend peninsula as an "Irishtown." Reclamation of Dodder estuary and Liffey areas, including the building of York and Pidgeon House Roads and the Great South Wall (South Bull Wall), and development in the 16th and 17th centuries, out to thePoolbeg Lighthouse, led to an expansion of the area.
Ringsend has traditionally been identified as a place of shipbuilders and boat builders in the 19th century who owned yards with slipways leading into the Dodder. Among the shipyards was Greg Foley's which was located next door to Ringsend Catholic Church.[6]
Oliver Cromwell arrived in Ringsend on August 15, 1649, with 4,000 horses and 8,000 foot-soldiers, and was received with acclamation by the people of Dublin.[7][8][9]
Areas of deep water off Ringsend Point were used as staging places where goods were trans-shipped for transport by light boat from here to the city. In 1640 the firstRingsend Bridge over the Dodder was built so that Ringsend and Dublin were linked by road and goods could be transported by packhorse to the city.[10]
It was once within the administration of Pembroke Urban District Council.
Boland's Mill, a once active flour mill which employed many local residents until its closure in 2001, is located in theGrand Canal Dock area; it was a location of considerable action during theEaster Rising. Local manPatrick Whelan (1893–1916) was killed in action on the third floor of Boland's Mill on 26 April 1916, during theBattle of Mount Street. Whelan House, next door to St. Patrick's Church in Ringsend, is named in Whelan's honour. It has been recorded that the most notable figure involved in the 1916 Easter Rising at Boland's Mill bakery in Ringsend wasÉamon de Valera who commanded a section of the 3rd Battalion volunteers.
Recent years have seen significant growth in the area, particularly with theGrand Canal Dock Project. A number of high-tech multinationals includingGoogle established major offices in the area adding to the rejuvenation.
In the late 1980s, theWindmill Lane Studios moved to Ringsend and became Ringsend Road Studios, where many prominent musicians, among themU2 andThe Chieftains, have recorded. U2 also rehearses and records atThe Factory, nearby in Barrow Street.
Thorncastle Street and adjacent Bridge Street were used in the 1999 filmAgnes Browne as the location for the market stall and church scenes beside the flat blocks. Ringsend has also been a location for a number of other notable films includingIn the Name of the Father,Educating Rita (Rita's home was in Ringsend) andThe General.
Ringsend and the southern part ofDublin Port are also home to theGreat South Wall, connecting thePoolbeg Lighthouse to the mainland. The lighthouse lies at the extreme east end of the wall and was constructed in 1767. The stone wall that now stands was constructed over a period of many years and was completed in 1795. The wall and lighthouse are popular walk destinations. The area aroundPoolbeg also containsDublin's main power station, with its two huge chimneys for steam – Dublin's tallest structures, the former Pigeon House Fort and a range of industrial buildings.
South of the Poolbeg peninsula and the Great South Wall lies the sandy area known as the South Bull.
At 207.8 metres and 207.48 metres, thePoolbeg Generating Station chimneys in Ringsend are thetallest structures in Dublin. The Poolbeg chimneys have been defunct since 2010 and were due to be dismantled, however by popular local demand theESB decided to keep them standing.
Ringsend has a range of shops, pubs, flats and businesses. It also has a branch of the city's public library system, aDublin City Council recycling depot and Ringsend Park, a 10.58-hectare grassy area which contains a renovated stadium, formerly "Ringsend Stadium", now "Irishtown Stadium" in honour of the neighbouring area ofIrishtown.
Ringsend College is a localEducation and Training Board college. Formerly known as Ringsend Technical Institute.
Ringsend was home to one of Ireland's firstScout Groups, founded around 1908 and Ireland's firstSea Scout Group, founded in 1912. The group is called the 1st Port of Dublin (Ringsend) and meets at Focsle, its facility on Pigeon House Road, with the founder of world ScoutingBaden Powell visiting Ringsend in 1915 and 1928.[11]
Ringsend is served bySt. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church,[12] on Thorncastle Street, building began in 1858 and it was opened in 1859 by Archbishop Cullen, the parish was constituted in 1905 from Sandymount.[13] St. Mathews Church of Ireland church in Irishtown (originally built between 1704 and 1706), which is in union with Donnybrook parish and serves the Ringsend area.[14]
There was a Methodist Chapel in Ringsend first built in 1840, a replacement chapel was built in 1904. The congregation declined and it closed in 1961. The building was demolished and redeveloped.[15] The World War One memorial was moved to the united Methodist and presbyterian, Christ Church in Sandymount.[16]
Ringsend is part of theDáil Éireann constituency ofDublin Bay South, and theDublin City Council electoral area of South-East Inner City.
The first major sports club was the Gaelic football team 'Isles of the Sea'. They won the All-Ireland Club competition on three successive occasions and got to keep the original trophy. After a dispute with the GAA, members of the Isles of the Sea club went on to foundShamrock Rovers F.C..Shelbourne F.C. was also founded in the area. Bath Markievicz Celtic[17] is a schoolboy club whose home pitch is in Ringsend Park. Cambridge Boys FC[18] is a schoolboy club named after Cambridge Avenue and whose home pitch is in Ringsend Park. Liffeys Pearse FC[19] was formed by an amalgamation ofLiffey Wanderers and Pearse Rangers. The club's home pitch is in Ringsend Park.St. Patrick's C.Y.F.C.[20] was established in 1936. The club's home pitch is atIrishtown Stadium. There is also a tradition of rowing with two clubs, St. Patrick's and Stella Maris. The Ringsend Regatta takes place twice annually, one for each club. More recently, the Poolbeg Yacht, Boat Club, & Marina has established a centre for water-based sporting activities and hosts an eighteen-race sailing series from the marina to the Dublin Bay area during the summer months each year.[citation needed]
The ESB Swimming Club was established in Ringsend in 1949 as a recreational club for the employees of ESB Networks and still has strong links with ESB Group. The club is now affiliated with the Swim Ireland governing body and has trained many international swimmers, including Olympic athlete Aisling Cooney. ESB Swimming Club is currently based in the SPORTSCO Complex in Dublin 4, having use of their 6-lane 25m pool.
The Clanna Gael Fontenoy[21]GAA club are the localGaelic football,hurling, and camogie teams.
Shelbourne Park greyhound racing stadium is also in Ringsend.
Local residents includeColin Farrell, the actor,Paul Durcan, the poet, the rap duoVersatile[22] and the former Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Green Party leader,John Gormley.
Irish revolutionary and socialistJames Connolly lived at South Lotts Road. In July 2023 a plaque was unveiled by theDublin City Council at Connolly's former residence.[23]
Sports people from the area includeJody Byrne,Jimmy Dunne,Bob Fullam,Dermot Gallagher,Val Harris,Daniel Kelly,Abbie Larkin andFran Rooney.[citation needed]
Other notable people from Ringsend includeLouisa Nolan (Military Medal recipient),Daniel Pollen (Prime Minister of New Zealand from 1875 to 1876).[citation needed]
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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