Templeogue (from Irish Teampal Óg, meaning 'New Chapel') is a southwestern suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It lies between the River Poddle and River Dodder, and is about halfway from Dublin's centre to the mountains to the south.

Geography

Location

Templeogue is 6 kilometres (4 mi) from Dublin city centre to the north, from the Dublin Mountains to the south, and from the coast at Dublin Bay, on the Irish Sea. It is 55 metres (180 ft) above sea level and occupies an area of 534 hectares (2 sq mi).

Suburbs adjacent to Templeogue are Greenhills, Kimmage, Perrystown, Knocklyon, Rathfarnham and Tallaght, and Terenure, with small borders with Ballyroan and Firhouse.

Transport

The three main routes through the suburb are the R112 regional road (Templeville Road), the R137 regional road (Templeogue Road), and the R817 regional road (Cypress Grove Road and Wainsfort Road). The M50 motorway borders the suburb to the west.

Dublin Bus operates the following bus routes through Templeogue: 15, 15A, 15B, 15D, 49, 54A, 65, 65B and 150.

Natural features

The River Dodder forms a natural southern border with Rathfarnham and Knocklyon, while the River Poddle forms the northern border with Greenhills and Kimmage. The historical artificial watercourse from the Dodder at Firhouse to the Poddle passed through Templeogue.

Prominent views from Templeogue are of Montpelier Hill 5.7 km (3.5 mi) to the southwest, topped by the ruin of the Hellfire Club at 383 metres (1,257 ft), and of Three Rock Mountain (450 m), topped by transmitter masts, 7.3 km (4.5 mi) to the southeast.

Etymology

The original Irish language name Teampal Óg ("new chapel") refers to a chapel that was built there in about 1273.

History

Templeogue was originally a small village in the rural, southern part of County Dublin.

In Elizabethan times it was owned by the Talbot family, who later became prominent as the owners of Mount Talbot. The Talbot's estate was forfeited to the Crown on the Restoration of Charles II.

In the later seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was owned by the Domviles. The Domviles effectively had some control over the canal drawn from the Dodder to the Poddle, which passed through their estates- at that time it provided Dublin's main drinking water supply, as well as critical power for multiple watermills.

An illustration of the Doric temple at Templeogue House by Gabriel Beranger from around 1751 illustrates the grounds of the Domville estate as it would have looked when lived in by Sir Compton Domvile, 2nd Baronet. The temple was later moved to another family property, Santry Court, along with a number of other follies in 1781 when Charles Domvile vacated the estate as the house had fallen into disrepair. Today Templeogue House still contains many of the original features and is one of the oldest structures in the area.

In 1801, the Templeogue Road was constructed, originally as a toll road.

Expansion of Dublin during the 1950s and '60s absorbed the village into the city's suburban sprawl, but the village remains distinct.

Amenities

Schools

The local schools are St. Pius X National School, Our Lady's Secondary School, Templeogue College, St. Mac Dara's Community College, Bishop Galvin National School, Bishop Shanahan National School, and Ashfield College.

Sports

Local sports facilities are Faughs GAA Club, St. Judes GAA Club, St. Mary's College RFC, Templeogue Swimming Club, Templeogue Tennis Club, and Templeogue United Football Club.

Shops and services

Shops, restaurants, and small business services are located in the village on Templeogue Road, as well as in Fortfield Park, Cypress Park and Wainsfort Drive.

Although surrounded by pubs in adjacent neighbourhoods, Templeogue has only one pub inside its boundaries, The Templeogue Inn, today known as The Morgue. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway passed through Templeogue so close to the pub that pedestrians were sometimes hit. Some corpses were sheltered in the pub until taken away and the pub acquired the permanent, morbid nickname. The Templeogue Inn was, for a while, the most expensive pub in Ireland when it changed hands on 12 October 1983 for IR£660,000, a remarkable sum at the time.

Churches

The Roman Catholic parish church is St. Pius X which opened on 27 November 1960 on College Drive. A historical chapel was built in the 13th century beside the graveyard which survives at Wellington Lane, where the original village of Templeogue was located.

St. Jude's church was built at Orwell Park on 7 December 1975 to serve the newer housing estates of Orwell, Willington, Rossmore and surrounding areas.

Politics and administration

Templeogue straddles two Dáil constituencies, with five of its electoral divisions (Templeogue-Cypress, Templeogue-Limekiln, Templeogue-Orwell, Templeogue-Osprey, and Templeogue Village) in the Dublin South-West constituency, and one electoral division (Templeogue-Kimmage Manor) is in Dublin South-Central.

It is administered by South Dublin County Council, and its local electoral area for county council elections is Rathfarnham–Templeogue.

Templeogue is part of the Dublin 6W postal district.

Population

Templeogue's population at the 2016 census was 17,395, a rise of 0.1 per cent from the previous 2011 census. In the twenty-five years from 1991 to 2016, the population fell by 304, a decrease of 1.73 per cent. The population at the 2011 census was 17,378, a fall of 1.8 per cent from the previous 2006 census.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1991	19,647	—
1996	18,662	−5.0%
2002	18,383	−1.5%
2006	17,699	−3.7%
2011	17,378	−1.8%
2016	17,395	+0.1%
Source: www.cso.ie

Electoral Division	Population 2016	Population 2011	Population 2006	Change 2011-2016	Change 2006-2011
Templeogue-Cypress	2,714	2,801	2,949	–3.16%	–5.0%
Templeogue-Kimmage Manor	4,856	4,653	4,267	+4.27	+9.0%
Templeogue-Limekiln	3,449	3,476	3,658	+0.78	–5.0%
Templeogue-Orwell	2,056	2,138	2,308	+3.91	–7.4%
Templeogue-Osprey	2,246	2,324	2,560	+3.41	–9.2%
Templeogue Village	2,074	1,986	1,957	+4.33	+1.5%
Templeogue Total	17,395	17,378	17,699	+0.10	–1.8%

Culture

James Joyce, who was born 2 km to the northeast in Rathgar, mentions Templeogue in Finnegans Wake, Book III, Episode 3, page 553, line 12.

The poet Austin Clarke lived in Bridge House beside Templeogue Bridge, which spans the River Dodder. After his death, there was a proposal to preserve the house and his library of 6,500 books as a memorial. This was not possible owing to long-term plans to demolish the house and widen the road. The old Templeogue Bridge, built in 1800, and Bridge House were removed and a new bridge at the same location was opened by Councillor Mrs. Bernie Malone, Chairman Dublin City Council on 11 December 1984, which was renamed Austin Clarke Bridge in his honour.

The novelists Mary Beckett, Charles Lever, and Flora Shaw resided in Templeogue as did journalists Ursula Halligan and Michael Mills, and radio music host Larry Gogan.

Notable residents

• Mary Beckett — Novelist and short story writer.
• Austin Clarke — Poet, novelist, playwright, author, English lecturer.
• Liam Cosgrave — Taoiseach; leader of Fine Gael.
• W. T. Cosgrave — First President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State.
• Larry Gogan — Disc jockey; radio and television broadcaster.
• Hermann Görtz — Nazi spy, stayed at 245 Templeogue road during May 1940.
• Ursula Halligan — Journalist and broadcaster.
• Charles Lever — Doctor and novelist.
• John McCann — Teachta Dála for Dublin South; Alderman on Dublin City Council; Lord Mayor of Dublin; playwright and author; journalist; father of the actor Donal McCann.
• Kevin McManamon — Football player for St Jude's GAA club and formerly for Dublin county football team (2010 to 2021).
• Michael Mills — Political journalist with the Irish Press and Ombudsman of Ireland.
• Flora Shaw — Writer who coined the name "Nigeria" for the African country.
• Sir Frederick Shaw — Recorder of Dublin 1830–76 and Dundalk; built Kimmage Manor.
• Sir Robert Shaw — Tory MP for Dublin City 1830–1831 and 1832; member of the Privy Council of Ireland; owner of Bushy Park estate.
• George Simms — Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin; Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland.
• Mervyn Taylor — Dublin County Councillor, Teachta Dála, Minister for Labour, and Minister for Equality and Law Reform.

Pictures

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