Today, September 27th, is World Tourism Day – whatever that is! Well, I’m at home so I’m taking you on a tour of my village (grab your umbrella – rain is on its way!).
Welcome to Shankill. We are located in South County Dublin which is on the East Coast of Ireland. I think I’m very lucky to live here – I’m a few minutes walk from the beach, a few minutes walk from the train station which gets me to the city centre in 30 minutes and 2kms from County Wicklow with its beautiful forests and glens.
The name Shankill is derived from either the Irish sean-chill (old church) or sean-choill (old wood). Natives here go back a long way – the area has been inhabited since 2500BC. Roll on to the 19th century when the local landlord decided to gentrify the area to attract Dublin’s elite. He evicted his tenant farmers, some of whom were kindly rehoused by another landowner in a cluster of buildings which was to become the village.
This is our little main street (the mountain in the background is the Sugarloaf – a few kms away in County Wicklow – its a popular weekend climb for families). This was once the main road from Dublin to the south east of the country so we lived with traffic jams every day. Now it is bypassed and has allowed a lovely community to develop.
Mosaics have been inlaid into the pavement outside the shops.
This is my local – Brady’s is a great pub and very supportive of the community.
Our library was built in 1912.
Ah – good timing – my favourite bus route!!! The air coach passes through the village every hour and gets me to the airport in about 65 minutes. 
St Anne’s Catholic Church was built in 1933….
…while St. James’ at Crinken has been open since 1840!
I love the old walls…
….and we’ve lots of hump-backed bridges.
There’s talk of removing our lovely trees to facilitate a bus corridor. The community is objecting of course. The red ribbons were added to highlight awareness.
Now we are in Shanganagh Park. We’ve almost 90 acres of parkland to cross…
Signs of autumn…
For the next few weeks I’ll carry a bag with me on my walks but the blackberries aren’t ready for picking yet…
The dog park is busy today…
Plenty of sporting opportunities…
And now we’ve reached the Irish sea…
Look right towards the seaside town of Bray…
….and left toward Killiney Hill.
This is Dalkey Island.
Erosion is a huge problem here.
We walk along the beach for a few hundred metres and then head off to see what else the locals get up to…. past the bowling club, the tennis club and the allotments…
This is the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit). It takes me from Shankill station to the city centre in about 30 minutes.
Pupils from the local schools made this whale mural which is displayed at the DART station.
We’re now walking along the top of those cliffs we saw from the beach. There’s Killiney Hill and Dalkey Island again.
Here’s a closer look at Killiney Hill. I’ll take you up there sometime. The spire on top is not a church but an obelisk – commissioned by a local landlord to provide employment for destitute families during the Great Famine (1845-49). Ironic that the hill is now home to many of Ireland’s wealthiest residents – moneyed business people, musicians, actors, authors and TV personalities like to buy here.
The spire in the distance belongs to the church of St Alphonsus and St Columba. Its too far to walk today. Its only significance is that I was christened there!
We’re curving back around now – this is the Shanganagh River.
I’m almost home and the rain has held off – I’ve probably done my 10,000 steps so I’ll say goodbye.
Happy World Tourism Day wherever you are.
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PS
Looking back over this, its all a bit twee isn’t it. Well… I didn’t show you everything of course…
….for example, this is our new shopping centre which everyone is actually delighted with….
….although I’m not sure how well the combination of traditional and contemporary is working!!
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Lovely place !
It is really – of course I don’t appreciate it half enough!
Thanks for introducing Shankill to me. We definitely hope to travel to Ireland next year and will attempt to stay in Shankill. We would also like to hike in the Wicklow Mountains. I look forward to reading more of your posts.
You will love Wicklow – its a beautiful county. Thank you for your support.
You are welcome ! Hopefully, you’ll make your travel to Shankill !🙏 And many thanks for visiting my blog : https://peblogs.com/
I used to pass through Shankill in the days of the traffic jams, moving very slowly but never stopping. It’s lovely to see it so close up, I’m definitely going for s visit when I get back! Thank you for the tour, I loved it!❤
Always more to these places than the main street. Hope you’re having a great trip. Marie
Yes there is! I am, thank you 😊
We used pass through Shankhill many times while exploring East coast villages and towns yet never got off the DART to wander around it. Thanks for sharing and have a good day
You’re very welcome. So many lovely places along the DART line, and such a scenic railway line…..I’m lucky that its my main commuting route to Dublin.
Nice place! I like the mosaics. That’s a good idea.
I also always carry a ziploc bag for berries. Our blackberries are done now, but we’ve still got lingonberries around.
Must admit I had to google lingonberries!!! That’s a new one for me.
What a beautiful place to call home! thanks for sharing.
And thank YOU for your support. It is a lovely place – doesn’t stop my itchy feet though!!!
What a beautiful place to call home! Thank you for sharing.
Ah yes Marie. The savage loves his native shore….
Well done! .
T
‘The savage loves his native shore,
Though rude the soil and chill the air….’
Which is why you and I head for the heat as often as possible!!! (but always come home of course!!)
Nice one, Marie. And what a relief to find that the Shankill name refers to a delightful village not far from Dublin, a stark contrast with The Shankill Road of ill fame in Belfast, scene of the Troubles, barricades and riots. I also saw a Shankill Road in Sydney, Australia and I presumed this came from Belfast but now you’ve set me thinking.
Didn’t think to clarify – it makes for a somewhat cryptic title to a blog in that context doesn’t it!!
I know the soccer clubs from our Shankill and Belfast Shankill have had links in the past – not sure if there have been any other cross community initiatives over the years.
fantastic place
Thank you – its a good place to live all right.
I didn’t know that it was World Tourism Day. What better way to celebrate it than by showcasing many of the main attractions where you live. Thanks for taking us along on the journey.
Thank you for your support as always. I must say, that 24 hours on, I didn’t hear or see a word of World Tourism Day mentioned yesterday!! Still a mystery!
An excellent guide to your home – thanks for sharing! Do hope the trees can be saved from the bus lane!
Thank you for your support. Yes the trees are lovely – although I must admit that they’ve been part of the landscape for so long that we stopped seeing them until they were threatened. No word on it now for a few months – I suspect we’ll just wake up some morning and they’ll be gone!!
Do hope not!
Thanks for the reminder here of how the seasons do change. Lovely town.
Its a good place to live all right. Well into autumn at this stage so colours changing nicely at the moment
You little town looks like a great spot to live…close to everything, while still having that small town feel. Thanks for sharing Marie. Allan
We’re so lucky – beside the sea, beside the mountains and about 40 mins by train from Dublin city centre.