Sandymount


Sandymount is an affluent coastal suburb in the Dublin 4 district on the south side of Dublin in Ireland.

Etymology

An early name for the area was Scal'd Hill or Scald Hill. During the 18th century, there was a village called Brickfield Town on the site of Sandymount Green; this took its name from Lord Merrion's brickfields, which stretched from here to Merrion at the time.

Geography

Sandymount is located between 3 and 4 km south-east of Dublin's city centre. At the northern end it begins where Newbridge Avenue meets Herbert Road, running to Church Avenue at the coast, and west along the DART rail line, and south to Merrion Gates. Sandymount Promenade runs along the coast road from Sandymount Strand, down to Merrion Gates. It lies a little south of the Great South Wall in Dublin Bay.
The River Dodder passes nearby to the west, and three streams, the Elm Park, Nutley and Trimleston, come to the coast to the south, but any pollution of these impacts Sandymount Strand. In the past, the Nutley Stream came to the coast in what is now Sandymount, and severe flooding occurred on the old course in 1963.
Neighbouring suburbs are Ballsbridge, Merrion and Irishtown.

Transport

The area is served by the commuter rail system and two stops are located in the area, Sandymount and Sydney Parade. It is served by bus routes 1, 18 and 47. It was once served by routes 2, 3 which ceased operation and were replaced with the route 1 on 12 May 2012 and 52 which ceased operation in 1998.
Both railway stations on the electrified suburban railway system were originally opened in January 1835 by the Dublin and Kingstown Railway and continue to this day.

Amenities

Sandymount Green

Sandymount Green is a triangular park located next to the village. The houses along the south side of the green are part of what once was Sandymount Castle and the roads behind this bear the name. There are shops, restaurants and cafés around the green.

Sandymount Strand

The extensive Sandymount Strand, which is part of the South Bull,, is a major component of the south side of Dublin Bay. The strand runs from curve of the bay at Ringsend to Merrion Gates. Sandymount Strand is a popular place for locals to take a walk. People and cars have been occasionally trapped by the incoming tide.
The promenade is a 2.5 km walkway along the coast from Gilford Avenue to Saint Alban's Park, however, there are plans to lengthen the promenade to connect with the S2S Sandycove to Sutton Cycleway.

Baths

The Merrion Promenade Pier and Baths Co. built Sandymount swimming baths in 1883. The baths measured approximately 40 by 40 metres, with a 75-metre pier added in 1884. The pier featured a bandstand halfway along it and summer concerts were regularly held there for many years. By 1920, the pier had deteriorated so much that it had to be demolished. The concrete baths section, which resembles a small harbour out on the sands, remains; the baths still remain in Sandymount but they have fallen into disrepair mainly by storm damage.

Martello Tower

About halfway along the strand is the Sandymount Martello tower, part of a system of defences built to warn of an invasion by Napoleon. The Tower was a popular cafe in the 1960s. An attempt to turn the tower into a restaurant led to the installation of a large window with roller blinds on the seaward side of the tower. The restaurant never opened, leaving the tower with the modified window, and landscaped exterior abandoned on the strand. It is one of approximately 29 Martello Towers in the Greater Dublin Area and the closest to Dublin City and port.

Sport and leisure

The Gaelic Athletic Association club Clanna Gael Fontenoy operate in the area, with grounds between Sandymount, Irishtown and Ringsend, and attract many players from Sandymount..Gaelic sports, football, hurling and Camogie have become the most popular and participated-in sports in the Sandymount area with over 350 families in the area members of the club and hundreds of boys, girls, women and men training and playing every week. This club has seen much success, at club and county level. In 2019 the U16 Football team became Champions of Dublin.
The sports of cricket and rugby are also prominent in the area, with local clubs including Monkstown F.C. and Railway Union. There are also two gymnasia / fitness clubs.
Hockey is also represented by Pembroke Wanderers H.C. on Serpentine Avenue, in the area since 1922.
Epworth Badminton Club has club nights twice a week in the village and also run a summer club.

Parkrun

takes place every Saturday at 9:30 at Sean Moore Park.

Religion

The Church of Ireland Church of St John of the Evangelist is located at the top of St John's Road. The Catholic church in Sandymount is dedicated to Our Lady Star of the Sea and is near the north end of Sandymount Road. Christ Church, on Sandymount Green, is a united Methodist and Presbyterian church, which appoints a minister from either denomination alternately and Mount Tabor nursing home shares the grounds of the church.
The area is also home to a house of the Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa.

Governance

Sandymount is within the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council. It is in the Dublin Bay South constituency and the Pembroke Ward.

History

Sandymount was once part of Pembroke Township, which took its name from the fact that this area was part of the estate of the Earl of Pembroke.

People

The following people were born in Sandymount:
The following live or have lived in Sandymount:

Literary references

Sandymount Strand is the most famous beach in Irish fiction, James Joyce based two episodes of his epic novel Ulysses here:

On the morning of Bloomsday, in the Proteus episode, Stephen Dedalus wanders "into eternity" on the strand; later the same day, Leopold Bloom sits on a rock and watches while young Gertie lifts her skirt as Bloom pleasures himself. It was this incident in the Nausicaa episode which led to the banning of the book in the USA for alleged obscenity.