thumb|Skyline of Central Tallaght

Tallaght ( ; , ) is a southwestern outer suburb on the southside of Dublin, Ireland, and is the county town of South Dublin. Tallaght was the site of a monastic settlement from at least the 8th century, which became one of medieval Ireland's more important monastic centres. Suburban development began in the 1970s and a "town centre" area has been developing since the late 1980s. There is no legal definition of the boundaries of Tallaght, but the 13 electoral divisions known as "Tallaght" followed by the name of a locality have, according to the 2022 census, a population of 81,022, This makes Tallaght the largest settlement on the island without city status, though there have been calls for it to be declared one.

The village core of the district is located north of, and near to, the River Dodder, and parts of the broader area within South Dublin are close to the borders of Dublin City, County Kildare, Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown and County Wicklow. Several streams flow through the area, notably the Jobstown or Tallaght Stream (a tributary of the Dodder), and the Fettercairn Stream (a tributary of the River Camac), while the Tymon River, the main component of the River Poddle (Liffey tributary), rises in Cookstown, near Fettercairn.

Tallaght is also the name of an extensive civil parish, which includes other areas of southern and southwestern Dublin, from Templeogue to Ballinascorney in the mountains. A book about the civil parish was published in the 19th century, The History and Antiquities of Tallaght in the County of Dublin, written by William Domville Handcock.

Etymology

The place-name Tallaght is said to derive from támh-leacht, meaning "plague pit" in Irish, and consisting of "támh", meaning plague, and "leacht", meaning grave or memorial stone. The earliest mention of a Tallaght is in Lebor Gabála Érenn ("The Book Of Invasions"), and is there linked to Parthalón, said to be the leader of an early invasion of Ireland. He and many of his followers (9000) were said to have died of the plague. The burials that have been found in the Tallaght area, however, are all normal pre-historic interments, mainly from the Bronze Age, and no evidence of a mass grave has been recorded.

In translation:

The name in Irish, Tamhlacht, is found at other places, such as Tamlaght in Magherafelt District, Northern Ireland, though the mention of Eadoir, probably Binn Éadair (Howth) in the passage below, suggests that Tallaght is the more likely location for this tale.

Places near Tallaght featured in the ancient legends of the Fianna, a band of warriors that roamed the country and fought for the High King at Tara. In Lady Gregory's Gods and Fighting Men, mention is made of, in particular, Gleann na Smól: in Chapter 12 "The Red Woman", on a misty morning, Fionn says to his Fians, "Make yourselves ready, and we will go hunting to Gleann-na-Smol". There they meet Niamh of the Golden Hair, who chose Oisín from among all the Fianna to be her husband, told him to come with her on her fairy horse, after which they rode over the land to the sea and across the waves to the land of Tír na nÓg.

History

8th to 12th centuries

The monastery of Tallaght by St. Maelruain in 769 and was a centre of learning and piety, associated with the Céli Dé spiritual reform movement. This and the monastery at Finglas were known as the "two eyes of Ireland". St. Aengus was one of the most notable of the Céli Dé and was devoted to the religious life. A band of followers accompanied him at all time, distracting him from his devotions. In secret, he travelled to the monastery at Tallaght where he was unknown and joined as a lay brother, remaining there many years until Maeilruain uncovered his identity. They may have written the Martyrology of Tallaght together, and St Aengus also wrote a calendar of saints known as the Félire Óengusso ("Martyrology of Aengus"). St. Maelruain died on 7 July 792 and was buried in Tallaght. The influence of the monastery continued after his death, evidenced by the ability of the monks of Tallaght to prevent the holding of the Tailteann Games in 806, owing to some infringement of their rights.

While no plan was formally adopted, Tallaght was laid out as a new town, as set out in the 1967 Myles Wright masterplan for Greater Dublin (this proposed four self-contained "new towns" – at Tallaght, Clondalkin, Lucan and Blanchardstown – around Dublin, all of which were, at that time, villages surrounded by extensive open lands, with some small settlements). Many of the social and cultural proposals in this plan were ignored by the Dublin local authorities, and contrary to planners' suggestions, Tallaght and the other "new towns" were not provided with adequate facilities. Characterised by the same problems associated with poorly planned fringe areas of many European cities, during the 1970s and 1980s Tallaght became synonymous with suburban mismanagement.

The development of high-density housing in Tallaght began about 1969, with many residents having been prompted to move to Tallaght from substandard or overcrowded conditions in inner-city areas of Dublin, whilst others moved to Dublin from rural parts of Ireland in search of better opportunities.

The lack of amenities or job prospects in Tallaght afforded to the sudden influx of newcomers was still being felt into the early 1990s, with people complaining of isolation, in an area that felt like it was composed solely of 'the houses and the mountains' according to one resident. Tallaght Rehabilitation Project, a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation service was set up in 1997, initiated by the Tallaght Drugs Taskforce, in an effort to support local Tallaght residents suffering from drug addiction. The organisation have used Kiltalown House near Jobstown as their headquarters since July 2005. Along with other local libraries and arts groups, it also has another theatre building and a homegrown youth theatre company. It is also the home to the Tallaght Swim Team, Tallaght Rugby Club, the National Basketball Arena, Shamrock Rovers F.C., and several martial arts schools and Gaelic Athletic Association clubs.

Chronology

  • 769: Saint Maelruain's monastery founded.
  • 792: AI792.1 Kl. Mael Rúain, bishop of Tamlachta, [rested].
  • 811: Saint Maelruain's monastery was devastated by the Vikings.
  • 824: Tamlachta of Mael Ruain plundered by the community of Cell Dara.
  • 1179: Tallaght and its hinterland, previously within the Diocese of Glendalough, were confirmed as holdings of the Archdiocese of Dublin.
  • 1310: bailiffs of Tallaght given royal grant to enclose the town.
  • 1324: Alexander de Bicknor begins the building of Tallaght Castle.
  • 1331-1332; Tallaght Castle plundered by O'Toole of Imaile.
  • 1378: Mathew, son of Redmond de Bermingham, takes up station at Tallaght Castle to resist the O'Byrnes.
  • 1540: O'Tooles invade, and devastate Tallaght Castle and surrounding manors.
  • 1635: Old Bawn House was built.
  • 1729: Tallaght Castle demolished; Archbishop's Palace built by Archbishop Hoadley.
  • 1822: Archbishop's Palace was demolished by Major Palmer, who then builds Tallaght House.
  • 1829: Modern Church of Ireland parish created.
  • 1856: Tallaght House is sold to the Dominicans.
  • 1864: Saint Mary's Priory was built.
  • 1867: Battle of Tallaght fought in March. 2 July 1882, Tom Bourke O.P. dies.
  • 1883: New Priory Church built.
  • 1888: The Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway commences operation, passing through Tallaght village.
  • 1903: New wing was built at the Priory, connecting Priory and the church
  • 1955: New retreat house built at the Priory, enclosing Tallaght House.
  • 1955: Michael Cardinal Browne buried in Tallaght Dominican church
  • 1984: Public library, at Castletymon, opened in June.
  • 1987: Alan Dukes outlines the Tallaght Strategy to the Tallaght Chamber of Commerce.
  • 1990: The Square shopping centre opens.
  • 1992: Institute of Technology, Tallaght opens.
  • 1994: South Dublin County Council comes into existence, with new headquarters at Tallaght; Tallaght Youth Theatre is founded; Tallaght's second public library, situated beside the South Dublin County Council offices, opened in December.
  • 1997: Tallaght Theatre is officially opened, on Greenhill's Road in Kilnamanagh.
  • 1998: Tallaght Hospital opens.
  • 1999: Civic Theatre opens adjacent to County Council headquarters in Tallaght centre.
  • 2004: The Red Line of the Luas light rail system opens, connecting central Tallaght to Heuston Station and Connolly Station in Dublin City.
  • 2008: Extensive rebuilding of Tallaght's main library is completed.
  • 2009: The County Arts Centre, Rua Red, is opened; completion of Tallaght Stadium.
  • 2011: On 15 September Shamrock Rovers hosted Rubin Kazan in what was the first UEFA Europa League group stage game to contain an Irish team. This game took place in the Tallaght Stadium which would host 2 more games in the group stage.

Geography

Location

Tallaght is centred 13 km (8 miles) southwest of Dublin city, near the foothills of the Wicklow Mountains. While there is no formal definition as such, it can be described as beginning southwest of Templeogue, running west towards Saggart, southwest towards the mountain areas of Bohernabreena, Glenasmole and Brittas, southeast towards Firhouse, and to the southern edges of Clondalkin in the northwest and Greenhills in the northeast. It lies outside the M50 Dublin orbital motorway, and in effect forms an irregular circle on either side of the N81 Dublin-Blessington road. The suburban villages of Saggart and Rathcoole, and the Citywest campus, with growing amounts of housing, lie west of Tallaght, along with the Air Corps aerodrome at Baldonnel. There is also still considerable open land, some still actively farmed, in this direction.

The village core of the district is located north of, and near to, the River Dodder, and several streams flow in the area. The Jobstown Stream or Tallaght Stream (a tributary of the Dodder), approaches from the west, and takes in at least one tributary, the Killinarden Stream from the south, near the N81.

Bus routes to Dublin city centre include the 27 (via Jobstown and Tymon Park), 56a (The Square, Springfield, Fettercairn and Kingswood), 65 (The Square, Tallaght Hospital, Tallaght Village and Balrothery), 65b (Killinarden Heights, Kiltipper Road, Aylesbury, Old Bawn, Firhouse and Ballycullen), 77a (Blessington, Killinarden Heights, The Square, Tallaght Hospital, Tallaght Village, Oldbawn, Balrothery and Tymon Park), 82 (Poolbeg to Kiltipper) and F1 (IKEA to The Square). Former routes include the 75 (The Square, Rathfarnham, Ballinteer, Dundrum, Stillorgan, and Dún Laoghaire) and 175 (Citywest, Dundrum and UCD). Since November 2023, they have been withdrawn and largely replaced with the new S6 and S8 routes.

While the proposed "Metro West" metro line was projected to serve Tallaght, this proposed project was shelved in 2011.

Population