Harold's Cross Irish:Cros Araild | |
|---|---|
Inner suburb | |
 Robert Emmet Bridge as seen from the banks of theGrand Canal, Harold's Cross | |
  Harold's Cross | |
| Coordinates:53°19′35″N6°17′41″W / 53.32639°N 6.29472°W /53.32639; -6.29472 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | Dublin |
| Local authority | Dublin City Council |
| Established | 12th Century |
Harold's Cross (Irish:Cros Araild, meaning 'Harold's Cross') is an affluenturban village andinner suburb on the south side ofDublin,Ireland[1] in the postal districtD6W. TheRiver Poddle runs through it, though largely in an underground culvert, and it holds a major cemetery,Mount Jerome, andOur Lady's Hospice.
Harold's Cross is situated north ofTerenure andRathgar, west ofRathmines, east ofCrumlin andKimmage, and directly south from theGrand Canal atClanbrassil Street. It lies within the jurisdiction ofDublin City Council, and straddles the boundary ofDublin 6,Dublin 6W andDublin 12 postal districts.
TheRiver Poddle runs south to north through the area. At the southern end of the district, the river's course splits at the centuries-old "Tongue" or "Stone Boat" with part of its flow diverted underground into the "City Watercourse" culvert, while the mainline continues overground, passing through ponds. The Poddle goes underground between Mount Argus and Mount Jerome, then flows along the cemetery boundary, including the Islamic plot, before going into a culvert at Greenmount, heading for the Grand Canal.
There are a number of competing explanations for the name of Harold's Cross, which has been extant for a very long time, at least several centuries, and indeed whether there was an eponymous Harold, or whether the name referred to a class or group of "Haralds," or where precisely and what form the “Cross” took. Debating the question is considered a good way to start an argument in the area, since there is no clear or contemporaneously recorded answer, with many authoritatively and insistently stated, albeit significantly different explanations since the 19th century, with at least some tenuous justification to each. An aspect of the name theories is that Harold’s Cross lies on the ancientSlíghe Chualann, a major South to North route and one of the‘Five Great Roads’ of medieval Ireland and a key southern entry point into Dublin City viaClanbrassil Street.
One explanation of the origin of the name is that it is derived from the name given to agallows, which had been placed where the Harold's Cross Park is now situated; however, gallows in medieval times were primarily used to support weighing scales for markets and toll/tax collection and less for executions (see the discussion below.) It is the case that Harold's Cross was an execution ground for the city of Dublin up to the 18th century, but it also was a key entry point to the greater city where tolls might have been collected. In the 14th century a gallows there was maintained by the Archbishop.[2]
Another explanation is that Harold's Cross stands on lands which formed, like those ofRathmines, part of theManor of St. Sepulchre, and its name is said to have originated in a cross which marked the boundary of the lands of theArchbishop of Dublin, and warned the Harolds (or Haralds/Harrals/Harrels), the wild guardians of the border ofthe Pale nearWhitechurch that they must not encroach beyond that point.[3] TheDe Meones family, who gave their name toRathmines, also owned lands at Harold's Cross in the fourteenth century.[4]
Yet another explanation is that it is derived from a stone cross that marked theboundary of lands held by theDanish Viking[5] Harold family ofRathfarnham in earlymedieval times, reputedly located at what is now the five-road Kenilworth junction on Harold's Cross Road.
A variation on these explanations is derived from the traditional use of gallows as public weighing scales (and not just a means of public execution) and suggests that the cross was used to weigh certain goods entering or exiting the city of Dublin by this boundary, so as to charge a tax or tariff, or that a fee was charged by weight for goods crossing a ford over one of the watercourses that predated the Grand Canal by one or more of the families, groups or individuals described as controlling the area above, or alternatively that the cross[ing] was that ford over the river Poddle.
Harold’s Cross lies on the medievalSlíghe Chualann, of theFive great roads of Ireland, and thus would have been an important entry point into Dublin from the South. Much of the local industry during the 19th century revolved around the old mills which were located on the River Poddle and associated channels. A paper mill was located at Mount Argus where there was a small rural village at that time, and also a flour mill was near what are now the gates of Mount Jerome cemetery. During the 20th century the old mill at Mount Argus, disused at this stage, was adopted by the localScout Troop the 45th Mount Argus as a boxing club, as a result of which the troop became commonly known as "the fighting 45th" troop in Dublin Scouting circles. The troop was founded by Rev. Fr. Cronin C.P. of Mount Argus church.[6]
Harold's Cross Green was a key meeting point for members of theSociety of United Irishmen just before the 1798 Rebellion, rebels such asThomas Cloney andMyles Byrne meet the commander Robert Emmet to discuss tactics for the pending uprising.
Irish Nationalist leaderRobert Emmet was captured near Harold's Cross. He lived for a period in a house in Harold's Cross so he could be near his sweetheartSarah Curran ofRathfarnham. He led an abortive rebellion against British rule in 1803 and was captured, tried and executed. TheGrand Canal bridge linking Harold's Cross Road and Clanbrassil Street was named in his honour and a plaque there commemorates him (the bridge was formerly called Clanbrassil Bridge, and is known locally as Harold's Cross Bridge).
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The population at the time of the 1841 census was 2,789 inhabitants.[7]
The father ofPatrick Pearse (Pádraic Mac Piarais), James, was a stonemason for Mount Argus Church. The Pearse family had a long association with the Passionists and Mount Argus. Both Patrick and Willie Pearse came for confessions on the day of theEaster Rising. Mrs Pearse and Patrick himself also taught Irish language lessons in the community Scout Hall next to the church.[8] The1916 Volunteers, who had a training ground in nearbyKimmage, are said to have paid a visit to Mount Argus Church to pray just before taking part in the 1916 Easter Rising.
O'Connor's Jewellers on Harold's Cross Road was the location of one of two robberies carried out by the notorious Dublin criminalMartin Cahill in the 1980s.[9] Cahill, also known as "The General", is buried in Mount Jerome Cemetery.
Honour Bright, a prostitute (real name Elizabeth (Lily) O'Neill)was murdered in June 1925, and her body found in the mountains.[10] Witnesses last saw her alive at Leonards' Corner, just to the north of Harolds' Cross.[10] Dr Patrick Purcell, a medical doctor in County Wicklow, and Leopold J. Dillon, a Garda, were put on trial charged with the murder but were acquitted.[10] The murderer was never traced.
There was a well-established community ofQuakers in Harold's Cross that operated a number of industries in the locality including cotton, paper and flour milling during the 19th century. They also ran a number of orphanages locally.[11] Among these industries was the Greenmount Spinning manufacturing powered by theRiver Poddle, owned by the Pim family.James Pim was commonly known as the "Quaker father of Irish railways.[12][13]
Quaker brothers Thomas Pim and Robert Goodbody decided to relocate Goodbody Tobacco manufacturing to Greenville near Harolds Cross after a disastrous fire in theirTullamore premises in 1886; as a result, most of their employees were also relocated to the area, where red brick terrace housing was built in the area by theDublin Artizans' Dwellings Company, in which the Pim family were prominent members.[14][15]
Harold's Cross has a number of pubs, shops, cafes, an activecredit union, and other businesses.
Harold's Cross Park, a small and well-maintained city park, occupies the site of the original village green and contains a playground, water feature and coffee kiosk.
Historically a number of large houses were constructed, mostly with the appendage of ‘Mount’ to reflect the parish's elevation, and their names are remembered today but no longer as houses: Mount Argus (church and monastery), Mount Jerome (cemetery),Greenmount House (the Hospice), Mount Harold (the Catholic Church) and Mount Drummond and Mount Tallant (housing developments).[16]
The memorial cross at Harold's Cross Park was sculpted by local sculptor and stonemason Joseph Courtney and isn’t the eponymous ‘Cross;’ the name of Harold’s Cross long predating it (at least that explanation for the area’s name is definitely incorrect! See the discussion above)
In 1804 the sisters of the order of St. Clare[17] moved to the village to run a female orphanage (named afterSan Damiano), founded the previous year. This is now the Saint Clare's Convent and Primary School,[18] and is the oldest Catholic school in theArchdiocese of Dublin.[19] Beside the convent is the national headquarters for theSecular Franciscan Order.
At one side of Harold's Cross isMount Jerome Cemetery, as mentioned inJoyce'sUlysses, originally one of the residences of an extensive family named Shaw.[20] It is considered Dublin's most gothic cemetery. People buried there includeThomas Davis,George Russell (AE), andOscar Wilde's father,William Wilde, and mother, in addition to members of the Guinness family and deceased members of theRoyal Irish Constabulary. The remains ofFrench Huguenots once buried inSt. Peter's Churchyard, Peter's Row (now the location of the Dublin YMCA), which was demolished in the 1980s, are interred here.[21] Other graves include those of mathematicianWilliam Rowan Hamilton and playwrightJohn Millington Synge. The cemetery was operated from 1837 to 1984 by a private company and now belongs to the Massey family.[22]
The creation of the cemetery at Mount Jerome in 1836 by the ProtestantChurch of Ireland was to counteract the popularity of burials, even among people of their own fraternity at that time, for the newGlasnevin Cemetery opened in 1832.[citation needed] Initially Mount Jerome was an exclusively Protestant cemetery but was later opened up to Catholic burials. There is now also a distinct Islamic plot, to the right near the entrance.
The suburb is also home to Dublin's firsthospice,Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross. Thispalliative care facility was founded in 1879 in a house called Our Lady's Mount (formerly Greenmount), which was previously the Mother House of theReligious Sisters of Charity.Mary Aikenhead, founder of the Sisters of Charity order, lived in Our Lady's Mount from 1845 onwards. She bought a largeGeorgian house at Greenmount from anabolitionist family calledWebb who were members of the Society of Friends (Quakers),[23] after she offered more than a rival bid from Mount Jerome cemetery. A new hospice building was commenced in 1886, and many more buildings followed.[24]
Harold's Cross is served byDublin Bus route 16, 82, F1, F2, F3 and S2. Dublin Bus also provides a Dublin Bus Nitelink service (49N) on Friday, Saturday nights and on public holidays at 00:00, 02:00 and 04:00.[citation needed]
The area holds Our Lady of the Rosary Roman Catholic parish church, Mount Argus Monastery and church, Saint Clare's Convent and primary school, and the base of Dublin's Russian Orthodox community.
Mount Argus was the official home of SaintCharles of Mount Argus who was a well knownPassionist priest in 19th-century Ireland, mentioned as a miracle worker in the bookUlysses, Circe chapter.[25] It also has long-established links with theGarda Síochána and it was officially the church of theDublin Metropolitan Police. The first Rector of Mount Argus was Fr. Paul Mary Pakenham who was the son of theEarl of Longford and nephew ofKitty Pakenham (Duchess of Wellington). His first mass took place in a house at the time on 15 August 1856. Irish architect J.J. McCarthy was commissioned to design the new monastery.
The Roman Catholic parish church is the Church of the Holy Rosary. The parish is an active one with many contributing to its attendant organisations. The church was built on top of the remains of an old stately house called Mount Harold House at the end of the 19th century. Original floor tiles of the house can still be seen on the chapel floor to this day.[16]
The formerChurch of Ireland parish church in Harold's Cross, overlooking the Poddle and Mount Jerome Cemetery to the rear, is leased to theMoscow Patriarchate of theRussian Orthodox Church and operates as the Church of Ss Peter and Paul. A substantial congregation, made up of Orthodox immigrants to Ireland (mostly from the formerSoviet Union, EasternSlovakia, the Baltic States andPoland) along with native (mostly convert) Irish Orthodox attend services here. Services are conducted both inChurch Slavonic and English with a smattering ofIrish, and theiconostasis includesSt. Patrick andSt. Brigid. Below the church are community rooms.
Harold's Cross is served by a number of primary and secondary schools.[citation needed]
Primary schools in the area include Harold's Cross National School, Saint Clare's Primary School, Scoil Mológa (a Gaelscoil) and Harold's Cross Educate Together National School.[26]
Harold's Cross has a single secondary school, Harold's Cross ETSS (Educate Together Secondary School),[27] and is served by a variety of other schools in the immediate area.[citation needed]
Harold's Cross Stadium was one of two main greyhound racing stadia in Dublin, the other beingShelbourne Park inRingsend. It was owned and operated by the Irish Greyhound Board. It closed in February 2017 due to a need to repay debts arising from a major development in Limerick.[34][35]
Shelbourne FC, the League of Ireland side, played at the Harold's Cross greyhound stadium during the period 1975-77 and again from 1983 to 1989 before moving to the refurbished home ground of Tolka Park.[citation needed]St Patrick's Athletic also played at the greyhound stadium from 1989/90 up to November 1993, while work was being done to itsRichmond Park home.[citation needed]
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