Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown () is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished in 1994. It is named after the former borough of Dún Laoghaire and the barony of Rathdown. Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 233,860 at the time of the 2022 census. The city has been administered separately from County Dublin since 1548. An "area committee" for the electoral county was formed within Dublin County Council under the Local Government Act 1991,
On 1 January 1994, County Dublin and the Borough of Dún Laoghaire were abolished and the three electoral counties became the administrative counties of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal, and South Dublin respectively. Under the related act, the Local Government (Dublin) Act, 1993, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (together with South Dublin County Council and Fingal County Council) became one of the three "successor" councils to Dublin County Council. The three counties together with Dublin city constitute the traditional County Dublin.
Naming
thumb|right|The island of Ireland, showing location of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown.
The coastal town of Dún Laoghaire (called Dunleary until 1821 and then Kingstown until 1920) gave its name to the larger borough of Dún Laoghaire established in 1930. Rathdown was the south-easternmost barony in County Dublin, named after Rathdown Castle. When County Wicklow was created south of County Dublin in 1606, half of Rathdown was transferred to Wicklow, including Rathdown Castle, now a ruin. From the 1840s, the poor law union (PLU) of Rathdown covered all of the Wicklow barony and most of the Dublin barony, with part of Uppercross. From the Dublin and Wicklow sections of the PLU, the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 created rural districts respectively named Rathdown No. 1 and Rathdown No. 2, abolished in 1930 and 1925. Rathdown PLU survived as Rathdown Public Assistance District until 1960. Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown was a Dáil constituency created by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1947 coterminous with the former Rathdown No. 1 rural district.
The name "Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown" was given to the electoral county created in 1985. Before its establishment as an administrative county, possible alternative names before deciding to retain "Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown". The Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 named it "Dun Laoghaire–Rathdown" in English, omitting the on the "u" of "Dun", and in Irish. Since then the default provisions for placename changes apply, requiring a plebiscite of voters rather than a resolution of councillors.
The spelling in English as "Dun Laoghaire–Rathdown", without the , is used in the list of counties in the Local Government Act 2001 (and as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014). However, in the Placenames Database of Ireland and the ministerial order under the Official Languages Act 2003, the name of the county in English is "Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown".
Local government and politics
thumb|right|280px|[[County Hall, Dún Laoghaire]]
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council is the local authority for the county. There are six local electoral areas (LEAs) for the county which return a total of 40 councillors as follows: Blackrock (6), Dundrum (7), Dún Laoghaire (7), Glencullen–Sandyford (7), Killiney–Shankill (7), and Stillorgan (6).
For elections to Dáil Éireann, the county is split between the Dáil constituencies of Dún Laoghaire (4 TDs) and Dublin Rathdown (3 TDs), with the division generally running along the N11. These constituencies currently have three Fine Gael TDs, two Green Party TDs, one Fianna Fáil TD and one People Before Profit–Solidarity TD.
It is part of the 4-seat Dublin constituency in European Parliament elections.
County motto
The motto on the insignia of the County Council reads, , Irish for "From Harbour to Mountain". The crown in the device is that of Lóegaire mac Néill, a legendary 5th-century High King of Ireland and the eponymous Laoghaire of "Dún Laoghaire".
Demographics
{| class="wikitable"
|+Main immigrant groups, 2016
|-
! Nationality !! Population
|-
| || 11,927
|-
| || 3,120
|-
| || 2,181
|-
| || 1,919
|-
| || 1,325
|-
| || 1,223
|-
| || 1,178
|-
| || 1,024
|-
| || 953
|-
| || 926
|}
Transport
The Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) system runs through the eastern coast of the county and connects to Dublin city centre to the north as well as other points north and south on the Iarnród Éireann railway system, with connections to Intercity and commuter trains. The Luas Green Line runs through the centre of the county.
There is a medium-sized harbour at Dún Laoghaire, with now discontinued ferry crossings to and from Holyhead in North Wales; this was a popular route for tourists travelling across the Irish Sea from Britain. This service was suspended indefinitely in September 2014.
Footnotes
References
External links
- Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council
- Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Enterprise Board
- Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Tourism