South Dublin

South Dublin () is a county in Ireland, within the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. South Dublin County Council is the local authority for the county. The county contains both dense suburbs of Dublin and stretches of unpopulated mountains. In 2022 it had a population of 301,075, making it the fourth most populous county in the state. the towns and district centres are listed as:

Tallaght, the county seat and the location of The Square Shopping Centre which was opened in October 1990
Clondalkin ("to be facilitated and developed as a Town Centre ... including northward development")
Lucan (with notes on the Liffey Valley Centre, and the developing Adamstown area – a future "district centre" – and a stated aim to avoid Lucan merging with Leixlip)
and with a proposal to develop a Town Centre around the Liffey Valley Centre at Quarryvale

while the more local centres are noted in three groups:

'city suburbs' including at least Rathfarnham, Ballyroan, Palmerstown, Terenure, Templeogue, Knocklyon, Firhouse, Ballycullen and Greenhills
'villages' such as Rathcoole, Newcastle(-Lyons), and Saggart
'new neighbourhoods', some within bigger, older areas – including such as Kilnamanagh, Ballyowen, Finnstown, and, in development, Adamstown (mentioned in the county plan as an extension of Lucan).

Residential areas

Adamstown
Ballyboden
Ballycullen
Ballyroan
Belgard
Citywest
Clondalkin
Edmondstown
Firhouse
Greenhills
Jobstown
Kingswood
Kilnamanagh
Knocklyon
Lucan
Newcastle
Palmerstown
Rathcoole
Rathfarnham
Rockbrook
Ronanstown
Saggart
Tallaght
Templeogue
Walkinstown, southernmost part

Terminology

alt=Signpost boundary between South Dublin and Dublin City|thumb|Signposted boundary between Dublin City and South Dublin County on the Naas Road in Inchicore

In Ireland, the usage of the word county nearly always comes before rather than after the county name; thus "County Clare" in Ireland as opposed to "Clare County" in Michigan, USA. In the case of those counties created after 1994, they often drop the word county entirely, or use it after the name; thus for example internet search engines show many more uses (on Irish sites) of "South Dublin" than of either "County South Dublin" or "South Dublin County". The 2003 placenames order lists South Dublin without any modification.

History

In 1985, County Dublin was divided into three electoral counties: Dublin–Fingal, Dublin–Belgard, and Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. At the 1991 local election, the area of Dublin–Belgard was renamed as South Dublin. The name Belgard did have a historical association with the area, being the designation of one of the border fortresses of the Pale that existed in that area. It was altered due to a view that the name Belgard might create associations with areas of modern development in Tallaght that now also uses that name.

On 1 January 1994, under the provisions of the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993, County Dublin ceased to exist, and was succeeded by the counties of Fingal, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown and South Dublin in the areas of the electoral counties. Under the act, South Dublin County Council (together with Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council and Fingal County Council) became one of the three "successor" councils to Dublin County Council.

Various organs of state use alternative subdivisions of Dublin for administrative reasons, for example, the Dublin postal codes.

Local government and politics

right|thumb|The island of Ireland, showing location of Fingal.

South Dublin County Council is the local authority for the county. It was established on 1 January 1994 with the establishment of the county. It is one of local authorities in County Dublin. The county is divided into seven local electoral areas: Clondalkin (7 councillors), Firhouse–Bohernabreena (5 councillors), Lucan (5 councillors), Rathfarnham–Templeogue (7 councillors), Tallaght Central (6 councillors), and Tallaght South (5 councillors).

The Dáil constituencies of Dublin Mid-West (4 seats) and Dublin South-West (5 seats) are wholly within South Dublin, and the constituency of Dublin South-Central is partially within South Dublin.

In 2015, South Dublin became part of the Eastern and Midland Region. South Dublin County Council sends three members to the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly.

Demographics

{| class=wikitable

|+ Main immigrant groups, 2016

! Nationality || Population

| || 9,159

| || 7,988

| || 3,235

| || 2,726

| || 2,644

| || 2,620

| || 1,499

| || 1,434

| || 999

| || 971

Symbols

The heraldic crest for South Dublin has the inscription "This We Hold in Trust" in both English and Irish, while incorporating elements relating to the history, geography and present day infrastructure of the area.

Sport

The League of Ireland club Shamrock Rovers plays at Tallaght Stadium. The stadium hosted the 2009 FAI Cup final and the Setanta Sports Cup final in 2010 & 2011.

The National Basketball Arena in Tallaght is the home venue for both the Ireland national basketball team and Ireland women's national basketball team. The arena also hosts various National Cup & League matches.

Flora and fauna

In 2024, South Dublin County Council managed 195 hectares of meadows across the entirety of South Dublin including 175 hectares of long-flowering meadows and 20 hectares of short-flowering meadows.