Lucan, County Dublin

"For other meanings of Lucan, see Lucan (disambiguation). For the Roman poet Lucan, see Marcus Annaeus Lucanus."

Infobox Irish Place
name = Lucan
gaeilge = Leamhcán
map

pin coords = left:22px; top:86px
north coord = 53.3544
west coord = 6.4486
irish grid = O029352
area =
elevation =
province = Leinster
county = South Dublin
town pop = 37,622
census yr = 2006
web = www.sdcc.ie
|

Lucan ( _ga. Leamhcán), from the Irish "Leamhcán", meaning "Place of the Elms", is a suburban town to the west of Dublin city, Ireland, in the administrative county of South Dublin (part of Co. Dublin) and is situated some 16 km from the capital's city centre.

Today

The town lies at the confluence of the River Liffey and the River Griffeen, its tributary. The picturesque old town retains character, despite hosting ever-expanding areas of new housing that are essentially overspill developments for nearby Dublin. These new areas lead east from the town towards the Liffey Valley Shopping Centre and southeast towards Clondalkin. As part of Transport 21, a further major expansion south of the Dublin-Cork train line is planned on the lands of Adamstown.

History

Patrick Sarsfield, the Irish Jacobite leader, was born in Lucan and was granted the title Earl of Lucan by King James II.

Currently on the site of Sarsfield's castle beside the town is Lucan House, built around 1770 by Rt. Hon. Agmondisham Vesey, who had married into the Sarsfield family. The circular ground floor dining room is said to have been an inspiration for the Oval Office of the White House. Over the years, the house passed out of the Vesey family and since 1947, has been the residence of the Italian ambassador to Ireland. In the grounds of the house is a sulphurous spa, the waters of which attracted people to the town in previous times.

The influence of the Sarsfield and Vesey families on Lucan is still apparent in the locality. For example, the local Gaelic Athletic Association club is Lucan Sarsfields and a pub in the town bears the name 'The Vesey Arms'.

Transport and Access

Lucan is located on the N4 national primary route from Dublin to Sligo, and the southern areas of the town are close to the N7 route. It is also close to the M50 Dublin ring road. An outer-orbital distributor road, called the Outer Ring Road and designated R136, from the N4 (Woodies) interchange to the N7 is currently under construction (and it is proposed that this will ultimately be extended to Blanchardstown). Although it is located between two important commuter railway lines, both the original Lucan North (Leixlip) and Lucan South stations closed in 1941 and 1947 respectively. Only recently has a rail station re-opened in Lucan. This will service Adamstown, to the southwest, on the Kildare-Dublin commuter line. A Luas line for the town has been proposed under Transport 21, with the completion date set at 2012.

Dublin Bus provides several bus services to the area, including the 25/A/X, the 66/A/B/X, and the 67/A/X. Feeder routes such as the 239 from Liffey Valley shopping centre to Blanchardstown via the north of the town (the Strawberry Beds) also run. Dublin Bus also provides Nitelink services with the 25N serving south Lucan and the 66N serving Lucan village. Some other bus operators also serve Lucan, including Circle Line who connect Lucan with city centre, Ballsbridge, Dundrum and Nutgrove.

There is a private airport, Weston Airport, located to the west of Lucan and on the Dublin/Kildare border. This airport conducts pilot training and uses light aircraft and helicopters. It sometimes gives its address as Leixlip, Co. Kildare

Culture and identity

Lucan is generally considered in two parts - old Lucan, and new Lucan. Old Lucan consists of the main town of Lucan, containing smaller roads and shops, resting in the Liffey Valley. New Lucan is considered to be the majority of the newer housing developments, built South of the main town, out of the valley, and stretching as far as Clondalkin.

Lucan has undergone enormous change since the early-1990s. It is road after road of identical houses occupied by the new aspiring middle classes, or "decklanders", as economist David McWilliams terms them. After the building of the M50 motorway and N4 interchange, and the staggering increase in house prices and jobs during the Celtic Tiger era of the 1990s, Lucan quickly became one of the more reasonably priced areas in the south Dublin area. Given its easy access to Dublin City and relatively modest house prices compared to older more established areas in closer proximity to Dublin City many thousands of homes were built in a matter of years. Building development is still ongoing on a large, albeit reduced scale today. Where once it was considered as a completely separate satellite town of Dublin, Lucan is now perceived as part of the Dublin urban area (although the M50 motorway ensures that the two do not physically merge with each other), and it is the first town one meets when leaving Dublin on the N4.

Although there has been a substantial increase in housing built in the Lucan area in recent times, development of recreational, cultural and commercial facilities have been minimal, leaving young people in particular with little to do. However, the fact that Lucan enjoys one of the highest rates of third level entry in the country speaks volumes of the youth in the area. This is partly because Lucan is located within 15 km of four universities, three in Dublin and one in Maynooth, plus Dublin Institute of Technology.

With the large population increases came jobs and high-profile retail developments, but traffic congestion has become a major problem. The N4 is considered one of the most congested roads in the city; particularly where it meets the M50, as traffic regularly stretches back for up to 5 kilometres at rush hour. Upgrade schemes are currently under construction for both the N4 and N4/M50 interchange to help remedy these problems.

Amenities

Lucan has a number of schools, including an Educate Together primary school. Other schools include Lucan Community College (mixed VEC school), Colaiste Phadraig a CBS school, St. Joseph's girls school, Colaiste Cois Life (Irish speaking secondary school), St. Mary's Boys National School, St. Mary's Girls Primary School and St. Andrew's mixed Primary School.

In July 2006, the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland signed a five year community radio contract with Liffey Sound Communications Co-operative Society Limited (broadcasting as Liffey Sound FM) [Broadcasting Commission of Ireland Press Releases 2006 [http://www.irtc.ie/news_information/press84.html] ] to serve the Community of Lucan and its environs. [ Liffey Sound FM [http://www.liffeysound.com/aboutus.htm] ]

Employment

The area is primarily a residential one, though employment does exist. One of the major employers within the region is the Liffey Valley Centre in North Clondalkin, though there are a number of other businesses in the area. There are major businesses in the nearby areas of southwest Dublin such as Citywest and Tallaght. Intel and Hewlett-Packard are also major employers, located nearby in Leixlip, Co. Kildare, with further employment close by in Blanchardstown, in Fingal, such as eBay's European operations. The largest employer at the moment , with 300 employees, is ' Bubbly Toys Ltd.', who are involved in the large scale production of teddy bears and other assorted cuddly toys including, 'Larry the leopard, cheeky chimp, eddie elephant, Terry the tiger and their most important product, Harry the hedgehog '.

hopping

The Liffey Valley Shopping Centre opened in 1998 and is the major shopping centre for the area. The Blanchardstown Centre is another major retail development with relatively easy access. The area has a strong local retail sector, but Dublin City Centre remains popular as a shopping destination as well.

A number of local shopping centres exist in Lucan, including one at Hillcrest, whose main tenant is Tesco, and another on the Newcastle road, which has Superquinn as well as several other shops, including a McDonald's restaurant.

A retail park exists at an N4 junction, where Woodies DIY, D.I.D Electrical and various other stores are found.

port

Lucan has a Gaelic football team, Lucan Sarsfields, one of the upcoming clubs in Dublin with two county representatives on the football team and four on the hurling team. They won the u/21 Dublin Football Championship and a Minor double of Football and Hurling in 2005.

Several football teams also play in the area, such as Hillcrest F.C., Beech Park, Esker Celtic and Lucan United- [http://www.geocities.com/lucanunited] .

In January 2008, Lucan Boxing Club reformed after a few years break, and currently train in the sports hall in Colaiste Phadraig (Christian Brothers School).

The Dublin Dragons American Football Team are based in Lucan. [http://www.dublindragons.com Dublin Dragons AFC]

[http://www.lucanharriers.com/index.html Lucan Harriers Athletic Club] are also based here.

A skatepark was opened in 2007, after a lengthy campaign begun in the late 1980s by local skaters but finally built after a 4 year concerted campaign by people from surrounding areas.

Music

Lucan has its very own Concert Band, Lucan concert band which has been in existance since 1983. [http://www.lucanconcertband.ie Lucan Concert Band] . The band caters for all wind instruments, from trumpet, clarinet, flute and trombone to bass, euphonium, percussion, bassoon and saxophone. In 2008 Lucan concert band will be celebrating its 25th Anniversary.

Notes and references

*Note on population: Lucan was officially considered as part of Dublin City from the 1996 census onward, meaning that the census does not list the town's population as a whole, but it is arrived at by adding the Lucan areas (Lucan-Esker, Lucan Heights and Lucan-St Helen's) to provide an overall population.Verify source|date=July 2007 It is also important to note that for planning purposes Lucan and Clondalkin are often considered as a single entity.Fact|date=February 2007

ee also

* List of towns and villages in Ireland

Notable Locals - Past and Present

* James Gandon, Georgian architect
* Paul Gogarty, Irish politician
* Liam Lawlor, Irish politician
* Paul Noonan musician with Bell X1
* Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic Explorer
* Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan

External links

* [http://www.lucanstpatricksday.org Lucan St. Patrick's Day Parade]
* [http://www.lucanunited.com Lucan United football club]
* [http://www.southdublinhistory.ie South Dublin County History]
* [http://www.southdublinimages.ie South Dublin County Images]
* [http://www.lucanconcertband.ie Lucan Concert Band]