The Dubliner's Dublin – Sandymount

Not to be confused with the one on New Zealand’s South Island: a hill on Otago Peninsula named for the imposing dunes rising up its southern flanks to a height of over 100 metres. Our Sandymount is a quaint suburban village huddled around an old-fashioned green, just over a mile from the city centre. Despite the encroachment of various multinationals and franchises, Sandymount is still essentially a seaside village full of quirky owner-run businesses.

History The land occupied by Sandymount (Dumhach Thrá) was in the 16th Century a furze-covered rabbit warren called the Scallet Hill, originally part of the lands owned by Richard de Saint Olof. In the early-1700s it was discovered that the local soil was excellent for making bricks and the area was rechristened Brickfield Town. A famous landmark at the time was a pretty thatched inn called the Conniving House, renowned for its fish dinners and excellent ale.

Property An eclectic mix, often on the same road. Take Gilford Road for example – fine, late-Georgian/early-Victorian villas; pre and post-war suburban homes with large gardens and small blocks of modern apartments rub shoulders. Houses are not fetching what they once did, but property here is still pricey; places on Strand Road with panoramic sea views can still attract €2 million and beyond.
schools Sandymount School (Enable Ireland) is a non-denominational, equal opportunities school for physically and intellectually-disabled pupils. Primary schools in the area include Star of the Sea (boys), Scoil Mhuire (girls), Scoil Náisiúnta Paroiste Maitiu Naofa (mixed) and Ioclainn na Pailirise (gaelscoil, mixed). Second-level convents and colleges easily accessed include Blackrock College, Marian College and Loreto on the Green. The site of the former Sandymount High School, attended by actress Fionnuala Flanagan and broadcasters Eamon Dunphy and Charlie Bird, is now home to Cannon Place, an exclusive gated community.

Hospitals Sandymount Pet Hospital is on Gilford Road. Those suffering from human ailments can make the short trip to St Vincent’s in nearby Elm Park. This major teaching hospital provides a front-line emergency service and medical care at inpatient and outpatient level.

Entertainment Joyce referenced Sandymount in Ulysses. The first official Bloomsday celebration took place in 1954 when Paddy Kavanagh, Flann O’Brien and the publisher John Ryan, among others, met at the Martello Tower to re-enact scenes from the book. The ensuing pub-crawl ended, rather messily, in the Bailey much later that same day. Revelers still come to the strand every June 16th. You’ll also find raucous singing and colourful costumes at the annual Wren Boys celebration at Sandymount Green on December 26th: one of the few remaining enactments of this ancient rite.

Bars and pubs O’Reilly’s, established in 1922, is popular with locals and interlopers alike and is a favourite gathering place for barstool sports enthusiasts. Star batsman/wicketkeeper Niall O’Brien used to work here and an enthusiastic bunch of local fanatics took up residence in front of the TV during last year’s Cricket World Cup. Ryan’s Sandymount House, with its multifarious nooks and crannies, is an ideal spot for an afternoon pint. Mulligans is a relative newcomer that serves tasty lunches and weekend brunch and has a live jazz session on Sundays at 5pm.

Transport A short stroll from the city centre, Sandymount is also on the DART line. It is serviced by the number 18 bus, which travels to Palmerstown via Rathmines; the number 3 which runs to the poetically-named Larkhill via O’Connell Street, and the number 2 to Parnell Square.

Green space Sandymount Green is a tiny triangular park at the heart of the village first enclosed and laid out during   the early-1800s. Look out for the bust of WB Yeats (born at 5 Sandymount Avenue). Although not technically green, Sandymount Strand is a favourite promenading place for locals. About halfway along stands a Martello tower, part of a system of defenses built to warn of possible Napoleonic invasion. In Ulysses Stephen Dedalus, occupant of the tower, takes a walk on the strand; Leopold Bloom later sits on a rock and watches young Gertie lift her skirt – an incident which led to the banning of the book for obscenity.

Sporting facilities At Railway Union sports club, bowls, cricket, hockey, rugby, soccer and tennis are all played at senior and youth level. Facilities include a floodlit Astro hockey pitch, five all-weather floodlit tennis courts and six grass courts, a full-size bowling green, two soccer pitches, a cricket ground and a full-size rugby pitch. YMCA Sandymount also has excellent facilities. O’Reilly’s is home to an active golf society, named after the pub. Kitesurfing is very popular on the Strand.

Neighbours Sandymount is the birthplace of poet W.B. Yeats and the present-day poet in residence is Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney. Booker prizewinner John Banville is another local literary luminary. Artist Felim Egan is inspired by the view from his house on Strand Road. Roisin Ingle grew up here and got her start on NewsFour, the local freesheet.
 
Politicians Former Labour Party leader Ruairí Quinn has his constituency office in the village. The Green Party’s John ‘Don’t Mention the Incinerator’ Gormley is frequently found campaigning on local issues including sludge and smells from the nearby wastewater treatment plant in Ringsend. Last Dublin PD/TD standing Mary Harney lives locally.

Restaurants Charming neighborhood restaurant itsa4 serves comforting, nutritious food – families are particularly welcome. There’s a Dunne and Crescenzi on Seafort Avenue. Back on the Green, Brownes, a café by day turns French bistro by night. Mario’s is one in a family-friendly chain and Café Java is a pleasant little lunching spot. Newbie Mulligan’s does a good Irish lunch and a popular weekend brunch. All in all, a fine array.

Best-kept secret NewsFour, a free community newspaper edited by Ann Ingle, mother of Roisin. Packed with useful information, topical discussion, reviews and local colour, it was set up by Ruairí Quinn in 1986 under the auspices of Sandymount Community Services, a project intended to alleviate severe unemployment. Nearly 8,000 copies are distributed locally every two months.

The bottom line Sandymount is lovely...and locals are keen to keep it thus. The residents’ association recently successfully objected to the building of a four-storey, 15-unit social and affordable housing development in the village on the grounds that it was a traffic hazard and would endanger public safety. There was also massive local opposition to the incinerator planned for the nearby Poolbeg Peninsula.

Comments

[Margaret McWilliams]

On a recent visit to Dublin I walked up Sandymount Avenue (I think) and there was a "memorial to de-aging" in the front garden of a house. I have been trying to find some reference to it can you shed any light on it? I thought there would be some mention on your site.