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Swords, Dublin

Swords (Irish: Sord[N 1] [sˠoːɾˠd̪ˠ] or Sord Cholmcille), the county town of Fingal, is a large suburban town on the east coast of Ireland, situated ten kilometres[10] north of Dublin city centre. The town was reputedly founded c. AD 560. Located on the Ward River, Swords features Swords Castle, a restored medieval castle, a holy well from which it takes its name, a round tower and a Norman tower. Facilities in the area include the Pavilions shopping centre, one of the largest in the Dublin region, a range of civic offices, some light industries, the main storage facility and archive of the National Museum of Ireland and several parks. Dublin Airport is located nearby.

Swords
Sord / Sord Cholmcille
Suburban town
Clockwise from top: Main Street, Swords; Ward River Valley Park; interior of Swords Pavilions
Swords
Location in Dublin area
Coordinates: 53°27′35″N 6°13′05″W / 53.4597°N 6.2181°W / 53.4597; -6.2181Coordinates: 53°27′35″N 6°13′05″W / 53.4597°N 6.2181°W / 53.4597; -6.2181
CountryIreland
ProvinceLeinster
RegionEastern and Midland
CountyFingal
EP constituencyDublin
Dáil constituencyDublin Fingal
Local electoral areas
  • Swords
  • Howth—Malahide
Founded560
County Town1994
Founded bySt Colmcille
Named for(possibly) St Colmcille's Well
County HallMain Street, Swords
Electoral divisions[1]
List
  • Swords-Lissenhall
  • Swords-Glasmore
  • Swords-Forrest
  • Swords Village
  • Swords-Seatown
  • Swords-Manor
  • Holy well
  • Applewood
  • Brackenstown
  • Cloghran
  • Airport
Government
 • TypeLocal authority (whole county, not just Swords)
 • BodyFingal County Council
Area
 • Urban11.35 km2 (4.38 sq mi)
 • Metro15.99 km2 (6.17 sq mi)
 Source: CSO Sapmap Viewer
Highest elevation60 m (200 ft)
Lowest elevation0 m (0 ft)
Population
 • Urban42,738
 • Urban density3,765/km2 (9,750/sq mi)
 • Swords CT
36,924
 • Swords CT density3,615/km2 (9,360/sq mi)
 • Kinsealy-Drinan CT
5,814
 • Kinsealy-Drinan CT density5,101/km2 (13,210/sq mi)
 Source: Census 2011
Ethnic or cultural background
 • White Irish30,946
 • White Other7,089
 • Asian or Asian Irish1,169
 • Black or Black Irish1,142
 • White Irish Traveller96
Time zoneUTC0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (WEST)
Postal Hub
Postal Sorting Office
SWORDS
Dialing Code+353(0)1
GeocodeO184469
ISO 3166 codeIE-D
Vehicle registrationD
WebsiteSwords on fingal.ie

The name "Swords" is also given to a townland,[N 2] a civil parish within the old County Dublin, and to the local electoral area.

History

 
Map of Swords

Origins and etymology

The town's origins date back to 560 AD when it was reputedly founded by Saint Colmcille (521–567).[11] Legend has it that the saint blessed a local well, giving the settlement its name, Sord, meaning "clear" or "pure".[12] However, An Sord also means "the water source" and could indicate a large communal drinking well that existed in antiquity.[13] St. Colmcille's Well is located on Well Road off Main Street. Sord may also refer to a "sward", an 'expanse of grass'.[14] The most common landscape indicators of early Christian settlement are the ecclesiastical enclosures, and in the case of Swords, the street pattern has been influenced by the circular alignment of the settlement.

Development

The medieval town developed in a linear pattern along Main Street, in a roughly north–south direction. The round tower, 26m in height, is also an indicator of early Christian settlement. The Irish high king Brian Boru is said to have had his funeral at the church on Spittal Hill after he was killed at the Battle of Clontarf; this was of course before the hospital and even the Church of Ireland when there would have been a small chapel there along with the round tower.

The parliamentary borough of Swords elected two MPs to the Irish House of Commons. It was disenfranchised in 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800.

At the northern end of the street stands Swords Castle, 200m northeast of the ecclesiastical site, which was built in the early 13th century. A short distance north of the castle is the elevation known as Spittal Hill, where a hospital once stood.[15]

In 1994, Swords became the county town of the new county of Fingal after the abolition of the former County Dublin as an administrative county. In 2001, upon the completion of the County Hall, senior executive offices moved there from Parnell Square in Dublin city centre.

In June 2006, the RNLI Ireland officially opened a new all-Ireland headquarters at Airside Business Park, within greater Swords.[citation needed] The National Museum of Ireland operates its Collections Resource Centre (CRC) at a former Motorola factory site on the northern edge of the town. The size of two football fields, the CRC includes storage, archive, library and research facilities serving all branches of the museum.[16]

Strategic vision

Fingal County Council's "Strategic Vision" for Swords is reputedly to create a sustainable "new city". The council has referred to Swords as an "emerging city" and has projected that the population of Swords would rise towards 100,000 by the year 2035.[17] The town is the seventh-largest urban area in the country, and the third-largest in County Dublin, after Dublin City and Tallaght.

The Swords Cultural Quarter Masterplan, by Fingal County Council, proposed to redevelop the centre of Swords surrounding the castle.[18]

Quality of life

 
A middle class housing estate on the southern side of Swords

In 2012, Swords was named the third-best town in Ireland to live in. The survey conducted by Retail Excellence Ireland took into account safety, retail, dining, entertainment, events, car parking and the overall attractiveness of the town.[19] Swords has seen steady regeneration of shop fronts,[20] public buildings, and footpaths and the restoration of Swords Castle since the mid-1990s. Households in Swords have the seventh-highest median incomes in the state, among distinct towns (a comparison excluding most other suburbs of the city).[21]

A 2011 Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey declared Swords to be the second cleanest town in Ireland.[22] This came just eight years after an IBAL survey had scored the town as the worst "litter blackspot" in the country.[23] In the 2019 survey, An Taisce, who carry out the surveys on behalf of IBAL, stated: "A stellar showing for this large urban area. Swords is a model for others to follow."[24]

Geography

Landscape

 
Swords Main Street lined with London Plane trees, August 2022

Swords is situated roughly in the centre of the modern county of Fingal and the ancient barony of Nethercross. The Ward River, coming from County Meath, runs west to east to near the centre of the town, and then turns to run north, before flowing into the Broad Meadow Water or Broadmeadow River to the east of the town, across the former northern road. A small stream joins the Ward near the town centre and the holy well. The Broadmeadow, also flowing from Meath, borders the north of the town. It runs from Dunshaughlin in the west and across the north of Swords, before receiving the Ward and flowing into the wide Broadmeadow Estuary, then into the Irish Sea past Malahide. The estuary is crossed by a railway embankment and bridge from Malahide.[25] Swords is surrounded by a protected green belt. Dublin Airport has prevented the town from expanding further south and the large Broadmeadow Estuary and Malahide beyond limit expansion further east. To the north and west of Swords, there is sparsely-populated, relatively flat, farmland.

Townlands and baronies

The civil parish of Swords mainly lies in the ancient barony of Nethercross.[N 3] Swords Demesne is the name of the townland in the heart of the urban town of Swords.[N 4] It is one of 58 such geographic units in the civil parish. However, a single parcel of land, 5 acres in extent, is situated in the barony of Coolock[N 5] as an exclave of the civil parish proper.

There are 10 townlands in the electoral division of Swords, which is not coterminous with the civil parish.

Urban layout

 
A Credit Union on North Street
 
St. Columcille's Court, Swords

The main retail area is located in the centre of the town and includes the town's wide, tree-lined Main Street, and the Pavilions and Swords Central combined shopping centres. There are also two smaller retail developments, Swords Plaza and Swords Town Mall. Most civic facilities are also in this central area, with some subsidiary shopping and civic centres in surrounding housing areas.

The west of the urban area is mainly residential, with the neighbourhoods of Applewood, Rathbeale and Brackenstown to the north of the Ward River and Knocksedan, River Valley, Rathingle, Highfields, and Boroimhe to the south side of the river.

The main business and industrial areas are located to the east of the town centre, along the R132 dual carriageway. These include Balheary Industrial Park, Swords Business Campus, Swords Business Park, and the Airside campus (Business Park, Retail Park and Motor Park). The neighbourhoods of Seatown, Lissenhall, Holywell and Drynam are also to the east of the town core.[citation needed]

Postal designation

Swords has a postal address of County Dublin, and an eircode "routing key" of K67.[citation needed]

Climate

The climate of Swords is, like the rest of Ireland, classified as a maritime temperate climate (Cfb) according to the Köppen climate classification system. It is mild and changeable with abundant rainfall and a lack of temperature extremes. The hottest months of the year are June, July and August with temperatures of around 17 – 20 degrees. Swords gets rainfall all year round and the wettest months are October to January.

Climate data for Swords (Dublin Airport) (1981–2010 averages)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.5
(61.7)
16.2
(61.2)
17.2
(63.0)
20.5
(68.9)
23.5
(74.3)
25.7
(78.3)
27.6
(81.7)
28.7
(83.7)
24.6
(76.3)
21.0
(69.8)
18.0
(64.4)
16.2
(61.2)
28.7
(83.7)
Average high °C (°F) 8.1
(46.6)
8.3
(46.9)
10.2
(50.4)
12.1
(53.8)
14.8
(58.6)
17.6
(63.7)
19.5
(67.1)
19.2
(66.6)
17.0
(62.6)
13.6
(56.5)
10.3
(50.5)
8.3
(46.9)
13.3
(55.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.3
(41.5)
5.3
(41.5)
6.8
(44.2)
8.3
(46.9)
10.9
(51.6)
13.6
(56.5)
15.6
(60.1)
15.3
(59.5)
13.4
(56.1)
10.5
(50.9)
7.4
(45.3)
5.6
(42.1)
9.8
(49.6)
Average low °C (°F) 2.4
(36.3)
2.3
(36.1)
3.4
(38.1)
4.6
(40.3)
6.9
(44.4)
9.6
(49.3)
11.7
(53.1)
11.5
(52.7)
9.8
(49.6)
7.3
(45.1)
4.5
(40.1)
2.8
(37.0)
6.4
(43.5)
Record low °C (°F) −9.5
(14.9)
−6.7
(19.9)
−7.9
(17.8)
−4.0
(24.8)
−1.6
(29.1)
2.1
(35.8)
4.6
(40.3)
2.4
(36.3)
1.2
(34.2)
−3.3
(26.1)
−8.4
(16.9)
−12.2
(10.0)
−12.2
(10.0)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 62.6
(2.46)
48.8
(1.92)
52.7
(2.07)
54.1
(2.13)
59.5
(2.34)
66.7
(2.63)
56.2
(2.21)
73.3
(2.89)
59.5
(2.34)
79.0
(3.11)
72.9
(2.87)
72.7
(2.86)
758.0
(29.84)
Average rainy days 17 15 17 15 15 14 16 16 15 17 17 17 191
Average snowy days 4.6 4.2 2.8 1.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.8 2.9 16.6
Average relative humidity (%) 80.6 75.7 71.0 68.3 68.0 68.3 69.0 69.3 71.5 75.1 80.3 83.1 73.3
Mean daily sunshine hours 1.9 2.7 3.5 5.3 6.2 5.8 5.3 5.1 4.3 3.3 2.4 1.7 3.9
Source: Met Éireann[26]

Demographics

Swords has developed into one of the largest urban areas in Ireland. The town's population boom began in the 1970s with the construction of the sprawling Rivervalley Estate, then Ireland's largest private housing development, ahead of Kilnamanagh Estate in Tallaght North. It continued during the 1990s and 2000s, with many new residents moving to the area due to its proximity to work at Dublin Airport and various industrial estates.

At the 2011 census, the total urban population of greater Swords was 42,738. This wider area of Swords had a population density in 2011 of 3765/km2, making it the most densely populated urban area in Ireland.[27]

Fingal County Council has referred to Swords as an "Emerging City", and has suggested that the overall area's population may reach 100,000 by 2035.

Transport

Roads

 
Fáilte Sord 2018 sculpture

Swords has good road links due to its proximity to Dublin city, which is the main focus of the Irish road network. The M1 Dublin-Belfast motorway passes along the eastern edge of the town and is the main route to/from Dublin City, Drogheda, Dundalk, Newry and Belfast. The M50 Dublin semi-orbital motorway passes to the south of the town and provides connections with all of the other main roads out of Dublin (N2, N3, N4, N7, N81 and M11). The R132 dual-carriageway bypasses the centre of Swords, and runs south to Dublin Airport and north to Balbriggan. The proposed Swords Western Ring Road dual carriageway is due to run from the M1 at Lissenhall, north of Swords, along the western edge of Swords to the M2 motorway at Cherryhound. Other main roads from Swords include the R106 to Malahide and Portmarnock, R108 to Ballyboughal and Naul, R125 to Ashbourne and the M2 motorway, R126 to Donabate and Portrane and R127 to Lusk and Skerries.

Bus

The town's Main Street is served by Dublin Bus (and Go-Ahead Ireland) routes 33, 33A, 33B, 33N, 41, 41B, 41C, 41X, 43, 102 and 142 as well as Bus Éireann routes 101 and 101n, and Swords Express routes 500, 500x, 501, 501x and 502. Buses operate between Swords and Dublin city centre approximately every 5 minutes throughout the day, through a combination of Dublin Bus routes 33, 41, 41B, 41C, 41X & 43,[28] with a journey time of about an hour. Swords Express[29] operate express services through the Dublin Port Tunnel which take about 35 minutes. Other bus routes serving Swords include the 102 to Malahide, Portmarnock and Sutton, route 33b to Donabate and Portrane, routes 33 and 33a to Lusk, Rush, Skerries, and Balbriggan and Bus Éireann route 101 to Balbriggan, Julianstown and Drogheda. Connect Bus and Coach operate route H1 every 20 minutes between Dublin Airport and the Travelodge Hotel in Swords.

There are a number of long-distance bus services from the Atrium Road and coach park in Dublin Airport[30] to various locations throughout the country operated by Bus Éireann[31] and other private companies, including 50 daily services to Belfast (route 1/X2 & Aircoach[32]), 12 to Derry (route 33 & John Mc Ginley[33]), 11 to Letterkenny (route 32 & John Mc Ginley), 9 to Donegal (route 30), 3 to Sligo (route 23), 1 to Ballina (route 22), 52 to Galway (route 20, Citylink[34] & gobus[35]), 14 to Limerick (route 12 & JJ Kavanagh[36]), 24 to Cork (GoBé & Aircoach), 6 to Clonmel (JJ Kavanagh), 21 to Waterford (route 4/X4 & JJ Kavanagh) and 31 to Wexford (route 2, Ardcavan[37] & Wexford Bus[38]).

Rail

Swords has no railway services. The nearest railway stations are at Malahide and Donabate. Malahide is served by the frequent DART service to Bray, through the city centre. Both Malahide and Donabate are served by Dublin – Drogheda commuter services.

Swords is the only Dublin county town not to be served by rail, as Tallaght in South Dublin is served by the Luas light rail system, and Dún Laoghaire is served by the DART and Irish Rail services.

Metro

 
The Plaza, Swords

There are proposals for a light rapid transit line, MetroLink, to run from St Stephen's Green to Swords via the Mater Hospital, Drumcondra Railway Station, Dublin City University, Ballymun and Dublin Airport. In 2015, the Government announced that Metro North would be redesigned to a cheaper cost. Construction of the line was proposed to begin in 2021 and be completed by 2026.

Three stops have been proposed within or near Swords (at Estuary, Swords Central, Fosterstown) with another at the airport (between Terminals 1 and 2). A further three stops were originally proposed but were refused planning permission.[citation needed]

Dublin Airport

Dublin Airport, the busiest airport in Ireland, is located at Collinstown, several kilometres to the south of Swords. The airport has direct flights to Britain, Europe, North America, North Africa and the Middle East. In 2019, 32.9 million passenger journeys were recorded,[39] and it is by far the busiest of the airports by total passenger traffic in Ireland. As of 2014, Dublin–London was the world's second-busiest international air route, behind Hong Kong–Taipei.[40]

Knocksedan Heliport

Knocksedan Heliport is a private heliport on the western side of Swords, run by Celtic Helicopters. The heliport has four hangars and they provide a helicopter wash facility and Jet A1 Fuel.[41] Irish Helicopters also use the heliport. They provide aerial crane, filming and survey services, helicopter charter and maintenance, spraying and special project services.[42]

Features and historical attractions

Some historical attractions are listed below. Many of these are promoted by Swords Historical Society.[43]

 
Swords Castle as seen from Swords Town Park

Swords Castle

Swords Castle was built as the manorial residence of the 1st Archbishop of Dublin, John Comyn, around 1200 or a little later in Swords, just north of Dublin. It was never strong in the military sense, but covers a large pentagonal walled area of nearly 1.5 acres (6,000 m2) with a tower on the north and a gateway complex on the south. The adjoining chapel, built in the late thirteenth century, was probably used as the Archbishop's private oratory.[citation needed]

Other buildings, recorded in an inquisition in 1326, have now vanished, including the great hall on the east side of the enclosure. The Archbishop abandoned Swords once a new palace was built at Tallaght in 1324. The stepped battlements suggest some form of occupancy during the fifteenth century, but by 1583, when briefly occupied by Dutch Protestants, it was described as "the quite spoiled old castle". It was used as a garden in the nineteenth century and sold after the Church of Ireland was disestablished.

Swords Castle has undergone restoration and is open as a tourist attraction. The castle was used as a film location for the production of TV series The Tudors in spring 2010.[44]

St. Colmcille's Well

 
St Colmcilles Well

On Well Road, also known as St. Columb's Well. In a locked chamber. Reputed to be where Swords got its name when St. Colmcille blessed the well of clear water, 'Sord' being the Irish for 'clear or pure'.

St. Columba's Church, Belfry & Round Tower

 
St. Columba's Church and round tower

The round tower is the surviving remnant of St. Colmcille's monastic settlement. The only remaining relic of the medieval church is its belfry, from c. 1300, which is open to the public in the summertime. The original church is said to have fallen into ruin sometime in the seventeenth century. The new church of early Gothic style was built in 1811 on the foundations of the old.[45] The Sexton's Lodge was built in 1870. The body of Brian Boru was said to have been brought there in 1014 to be waked after the Battle of Clontarf, while on the way to be buried in Armagh.[46]

Old Borough School

Located on Main Street, the building was designed by the architect Francis Johnston. In 2015, Wetherspoon bought the premises, and now operates The Old Borough as a public house.

St. Colmcille’s RC Church

On Chapel Lane, a pre-Catholic Emancipation church built in 1827 on a site donated by James Taylor of Swords House. The graveyard contains the headstones of nationalist politician Andrew Kettle, who was known as "Parnell’s Righthand Man."

Courthouse

 
Swords Courthouse

Designed by Alexander Tate, Swords Courthouse is located on North Street and was built in 1845 in Classical style.

Lord Mayors

Founded in 1668, the 350-year-old Lord Mayors is a Swords landmark. The thatched-roof pub is the oldest structure in the village.[47]

The Lord mayors closed for business in April 2019[48] leaving the premises vacant, with some locals questioning the plan to build 172 apartments on the site of the historic structure.[49]

Fingal County Hall

 
Fingal County Hall

The modern Fingal County Hall, by Bucholz McEvoy Architects, is located at the northern end of Main Street. It is built on the site of Swords House, the home of the Norman family, the Taylors of Swords. Records show the family arrived there in the 13th century and built a 'Mansion House' in 1403.[citation needed]

Leisure and cultural facilities

Swords library

Swords library, located on Rathbeale Road, offers typical library services and runs cultural activities for children and adults.[citation needed]

Historical society

Swords Historical Society, founded in 1982, is supported by volunteers who have worked to record, promote and preserve the heritage of the greater Swords area. The society's Museum and Heritage Centre at the Carnegie Library on North Street is run by volunteers and is open on weekday afternoons. The society's oral history project has produced an annual 'Swords Voices' publication, which chronicles the memories of local people.[43]

Ward River Valley Park

The Ward River Valley Park is a linear park on the banks of the Ward River approaching town. It covers an area of 89 ha. (220 acres) between Swords town centre and Knocksedan Bridge. Features include some 12th-century fortifications, woodland habitats, wetlands and rolling grassland. There are viewing points, picnic sites, sports pitches and tennis courts.[50] The park is known locally as "The Jacko", which is a nickname that is thought to have originated in the 1960s.[51]

Swords Town Park (with Swords Castle)

 
Swords Town Park, with Ward River on left

Swords Town Park is a small park situated in the centre of the town of Swords, along the Ward River.[52] It has tennis courts and a playground. Swords Castle lies within the park. It is the former residence of the Archbishop of Dublin and it is the only fortified residence of the Archbishop to survive in a reasonable state today (see above).

Balheary Park

Balheary Park is north of the town centre near the confluence of the Broadmeadow River and the Ward River, which flow to the northern and southern edges of the park. It meets Swords Business Campus / Balheary Business Park on three sides and has some playing pitches which are used by the Fingallians GAA club. In mid-2006, Fingal County Council built a skatepark and adjoining basketball courts/football court in Balheary Park. The park contains a bowl, a vert wall, a spine, some quarterpipes, and a section of boxes in the middle of the park.

Broadmeadow River Linear Park

The Broadmeadow Linear Park is a small park north of Applewood along the Broadmeadow River. Fingal County Council plan to extend the park eastwards to Balheary Park and westwards into the proposed Swords Regional Park.[53]

National Show Centre

A little south of Swords, near Dublin Airport, the National Show Centre is an exhibition and conference venue owned by the Irish Kennel Club.[54] The venue is used as a counting centre during elections for the Dublin Fingal constituency.

Sports

Boxing

Swords Boxing Club is based at Sluagh Hall, a former military facility which is shared with Fingallians GAA clbu.[55] Fingal Boxing Academy, which is affiliated with the Irish Amateur Boxing Association and located in Rivervalley, Swords, was the first boxing club in Ireland to train female boxers and has trained several national champions.[citation needed]

GAA

There are three Gaelic Athletic Association clubs local to Swords, and one more with pitches. These include Fingallians (based at Lawless Memorial Park), St. Finian's (Rivervalley), and St Colmcille's (Holybanks, Glen Ellan Road in the Applewood neighbourhood).[citation needed]

Golf

There are several golf courses close to the town, namely Swords Open Golf Course, Forrest Little Golf Club, Roganstown Golf and Country Club and Balheary "Par 3" Golf Course. There are also several driving ranges in the area with the Drynam Golf Centre being the first driving range in Ireland with automated tees.[citation needed]

Rugby

Swords RFC are a rugby union team playing in Division 3 of the Leinster League. The club is based out of ALSAA Sport Complex beside the airport and has 2 Men's teams and 1 Women's team.[citation needed]

Soccer

Swords Celtic, established in 1962, fields DDSL, NDSL, LSL, and MGL schoolboy and schoolgirl teams.[citation needed] The main pitch and clubhouse are located at Balheary, Swords and include dressing rooms an eleven-a-side and two seven-a-side pitches with floodlights.[citation needed]

Swords Manor FC, established in 1995, fields NDSL, DDSL, MGL, and UCFL schoolboy and schoolgirl teams.[citation needed] The main pitch and clubhouse are located on Brackenstown Road.[citation needed]

River Valley Rangers AFC was established in 1981. It fields NDSL schoolboy/girl teams and its pitch and clubhouse are located in Ridgewood Park.[citation needed]

Columbas Rovers FC was established in 2002. It uses the ALSAA sports centre near the airport.[citation needed]

A former club, Swords Rovers FC (founded in 1993), was disbanded in 2015.[56]

Other sports

Fingal Orienteers have created orienteering maps of the Ward River Valley park, and the surrounding estates of Swords Manor, Brackenstown, River Valley and Knocksedan, and regularly hold events in the area.[57]

Racquet sports clubs include Forest Badminton Club, River Valley Badminton Club, and Swords Tennis Club (based at Swords Town Park). Swords Hockey Club is a ladies club based in ALSAA Sports Grounds.[citation needed]

Events

Fingal Horticultural Show

The Fingal Horticultural Society holds their annual flower show in Swords every August.[58] It includes competition classes in Cut Flowers, Hanging Baskets, Pot Plants, Flower Arranging, Fruit, Vegetables, Cookery, Wine Making, Photography, Painting and Handcrafts, as well as special classes for children. The Fingal Horticultural Society also hold an annual Garden Competition, Allotment Competition and Pub Frontage Competition in Swords.

Flavours of Fingal Agricultural Show

The first Flavours of Fingal Show took place in July 2012 in Newbridge House near Donabate. The farm section of the two-day show featured a program of livestock and sheep competitions, equestrian contests and other agricultural displays. Separately, the walled garden of Newbridge House hosted the food producers section of the show. During the festival, family and musical entertainment, walks and other events were held.[59]

Dog shows

In 2012 over 80 dog shows were held in the National Show Centre,[60] including the Celtic Winners Dog Show, held on St. Patrick's Day.[original research?]

Fingal 10k Road Race

The first Fingal 10k Road Race took place on 22 July 2012 on the roads around Swords. It was part of the Dublin Race Series, a series which culminates in the Dublin Marathon. Over 4200 people entered the first race, and the event has since been run annually.[61]

Economy

 
A concourse area in Pavilions Swords

Retail

Swords is the home to a large retail and business park called Airside Retail and Business Park, on the southern fringe of the town, hosting many employers, including the European Headquarters of Kellogg's. Ingersoll Rand also has its corporate headquarters in the Airside Business Park.[62] East of the town, running parallel to Swords bypass, lies the large Swords Business Park, where The Hertz Corporation have a Shared Services Centre.

Swords also has a large shopping centre, the Pavilions Swords, off the R132, which has a multi-screen cinema and branches of SuperValu and Dunnes Stores.

Aviation

 
Empennages of an Aer Lingus and Ryanair planes at Dublin Airport, near Swords.

Swords is the closest town to Dublin Airport and the two share the same Eircode routing area key of K67. The airport has long provided employment to the area. In 2011, Dublin Airport handled over 18.7 million passengers and served over 171 routes with 62 airlines.[63] The airport serves as an operating base for Aer Lingus, Aer Lingus Regional, Air Contractors, CityJet, Ryanair and Thomson Airways, and as a maintenance base for Aer Lingus, CityJet, Dublin Aerospace,[64] Eirtech Aviation,[65] Etihad Airways[66] and Ryanair.

The Irish Aviation Authority[67] operate the Dublin Air Traffic Control Centre on the airport.

The headquarters of the Dublin Airport Authority and Ireland's four largest airlines are located in or near Swords. The Dublin Airport Authority, who manage Dublin, Cork and Shannon Airports, employ over 3,000 people and have their headquarters on the airport campus.[68] Aer Lingus,[69] Ireland's flag carrier, have their headquarters on the Dublin Airport campus. CityJet, part of the Air France-KLM group, has its headquarters in Swords Business Campus[70] and Air Contractors, part of the ASL Aviation group, has its head office on the Malahide Road in Swords.[71] In 2014, Ryanair moved into a new €20m, 100,000 sq ft Dublin Head Office in Airside Business Park.[72] The building was officially opened in April 2014.

Logistics

In 2007 Tesco Ireland opened their new €70 million distribution centre in Lanestown, between Swords and Donabate. With a building footprint of over 68,000 m2 and a total volume of 1.55 million m2 the Tesco Ireland distribution centre is the largest building on the island of Ireland and one of the 10 largest building in the world. The building is over half a kilometre long and could fit 16 jumbo jets. It has 106 loading bays and supplies 106 stores up to 6 times a day.[73]

Pharmaceutical

Swords is the home to several international chemical producers and pharmaceutical giants, including Opec. Merck Sharp & Dohme (formally Organnon) employ over 500 people in their facility in Drynam, which manufactures women's health, anaesthesiology and mental health products.[74] Bristol Myers Squibb employ over 400 people in their Swords Laboratories bulk pharmaceutical plant on Watery Lane.[75] The Lonza Group employ 45 people in their European manufacturing facility for personal care and industrial biocides, also on Watery Lane.[76]

Food and horticulture

Swords is located in the centre of Fingal and is surrounded by farms growing crops like potatoes, wheat and barley. However, unlike the rest of Fingal, a lot of the food distributed from Swords has been imported from abroad.[citation needed] As of 2018, FoodCentral (marketed as "Ireland's national food park") was being developed south-west of Swords.[77][78]

The Keeling's Group, who employ over 1700 people, have their headquarters in FoodCentral and use a lot of land around Swords.[79] The Keeling's Farms division annually grow 2,500 tonnes of soft fruits/berries from 5 hectares of glasshouse, tunnel and field crops in Swords. They grow Bramley apples in 139 acres of orchards and lettuce in 8 acres of glasshouses. Their glasshouses also produce 1,500 tonnes of red, orange, yellow and green peppers annually.[80] Keeling's also operate a large banana ripening facility for Chiquita which ripens over 3 million bananas each week. They also have separate ripening rooms for other fruits.[81][82]

Total Produce, Ireland's largest agribusiness[83] operates two facilities in Swords.[84] Its facility in Swords Business Park includes a distribution and ripening centre for Fyffes[85] Cape, Outspan, Green Ace and TOP Fruit products. Their "Uniplumo" facility on the Rathbeale Road,[86] has 46,000 square metres of glasshouses for growing plants, flowers and tomatoes.

Education

Primary

The town is served by more than 10 primary schools. These include several gaelscoils,[87] a number of Educate Together schools,[88][89][90] and mixed and gender-specific national schools.[91][92] The latter includes both Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic schools.[93][94][95][96][97] A number of other primary schools are in planning or under construction.[98][99]

Secondary

The secondary schools serving the town include Loreto College (all-girls school, River Valley),[100] Coláiste Choilm C.B.S. (all-boys school, Dublin Road),[101] Fingal Community College (Seatown Road),[102] St. Finian's Community College (Castlefarm),[103] and Swords Community College (Rathbeale Road)[104]

Third level and further education

Land has been reserved for a potential university campus at Lissenhall in north Swords.[105][needs update]

The National Learning Network, Fingal Adult Education Service and Swords Youthreach each have a presence in the area.[106][107][108]

There is also the Fingal Adult Literacy and Education Centre[109]

Religion

Population by religion (Census 2011)[110] Persons
Roman Catholic 34,021
Orthodox (Greek, Coptic, Russian) 1,335
Church of Ireland, England, Anglican, Episcopalian 944
Apostolic or Pentecostal 201
Presbyterian 195
Other Christian religion 454
Total Christian religions 37,150
Muslim (Islamic) 579
Other stated religions 1,003
No religion 3,006
Not stated 1,000
Total Population 42,738

Christianity

Christianity is the predominant religion in Swords and Roman Catholicism is the predominant denomination. The town has six Roman Catholic churches. St. Colmcille's, the Church of the Visitation and Our Lady Queen of Heaven are all within Swords parish.[111][112][113] St. Cronan's and St. Finian's each belong to distinct parishes, while the Church of the Immaculate Conception lies within Donabate parish.[114][115][116]

There are also a further eight Christian churches and a retreat centre.[117] These include St. Columba's Church of Ireland church on Church Road,[118] and Baptist churches which meet in St. Finian's Community College and at Seatown West.[119][120]

Other Protestant and evangelical communities include the Apostolic Faith Church and Churchtown Trust.[121][122] The Syriac Orthodox Church meets as the St. Ignatius Jacobite Congregation in St Columba's Church of Ireland church.[123] Jehovah's Witnesses meet at a Kingdom Hall on Kettles Lane.[124]

Islam

The Dublin Welfare Society manage a makeshift mosque in a Swords industrial estate[125]

Local politicians

Swords is part of the Dublin Fingal constituency. The five TDs that serve the area are as follows:

Seven councillors serve the Swords local electoral area of Fingal County Council. They are:

Council members from 2019 election
Local electoral area Name Party
Swords Darragh Butler Fianna Fáil
Dean Mulligan Inds. 4 Change
James Humphreys Labour
Ian Carey Green
Brigid Manton Fianna Fáil
Joe Newman Independent
Ann Graves Sinn Féin

Notable residents

See also

References

Notes

From "Irish Placenames Database". logainm.ie (in English and Ga). from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2016.:

  1. ^ "Sord/Swords". Logainm.ie.
  2. ^ "Diméin Shoird/Swords Demesne". Logainm.ie.
  3. ^ "An Chrois Íochtarach/Nethercross". Logainm.ie.
  4. ^ "Diméin Shoird/Swords Demesne". Logainm.ie.
  5. ^ "An Ghléib/Glebe". Logainm.ie.

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External links

  • Local website

swords, dublin, swords, irish, sord, sˠoːɾˠd, sord, cholmcille, county, town, fingal, large, suburban, town, east, coast, ireland, situated, kilometres, north, dublin, city, centre, town, reputedly, founded, located, ward, river, swords, features, swords, cast. Swords Irish Sord N 1 sˠoːɾˠd ˠ or Sord Cholmcille the county town of Fingal is a large suburban town on the east coast of Ireland situated ten kilometres 10 north of Dublin city centre The town was reputedly founded c AD 560 Located on the Ward River Swords features Swords Castle a restored medieval castle a holy well from which it takes its name a round tower and a Norman tower Facilities in the area include the Pavilions shopping centre one of the largest in the Dublin region a range of civic offices some light industries the main storage facility and archive of the National Museum of Ireland and several parks Dublin Airport is located nearby Swords Sord Sord CholmcilleSuburban townClockwise from top Main Street Swords Ward River Valley Park interior of Swords PavilionsSwordsLocation in Dublin areaCoordinates 53 27 35 N 6 13 05 W 53 4597 N 6 2181 W 53 4597 6 2181 Coordinates 53 27 35 N 6 13 05 W 53 4597 N 6 2181 W 53 4597 6 2181CountryIrelandProvinceLeinsterRegionEastern and MidlandCountyFingalEP constituencyDublinDail constituencyDublin FingalLocal electoral areasSwordsHowth MalahideFounded560County Town1994Founded bySt ColmcilleNamed for possibly St Colmcille s WellCounty HallMain Street SwordsElectoral divisions 1 List Swords LissenhallSwords GlasmoreSwords ForrestSwords VillageSwords SeatownSwords ManorHoly wellApplewoodBrackenstownCloghranAirportGovernment 2 TypeLocal authority whole county not just Swords BodyFingal County CouncilArea 3 Urban 4 11 35 km2 4 38 sq mi Metro 5 15 99 km2 6 17 sq mi Source CSO Sapmap ViewerHighest elevation 6 60 m 200 ft Lowest elevation 7 0 m 0 ft Population Urban 8 42 738 Urban density3 765 km2 9 750 sq mi Swords CT36 924 Swords CT density3 615 km2 9 360 sq mi Kinsealy Drinan CT5 814 Kinsealy Drinan CT density5 101 km2 13 210 sq mi Source Census 2011Ethnic or cultural background 9 White Irish30 946 White Other7 089 Asian or Asian Irish1 169 Black or Black Irish1 142 White Irish Traveller96Time zoneUTC0 WET Summer DST UTC 1 WEST Postal HubK67Postal Sorting OfficeSWORDSDialing Code 353 0 1GeocodeO184469ISO 3166 codeIE DVehicle registrationDWebsiteSwords on fingal ieThe name Swords is also given to a townland N 2 a civil parish within the old County Dublin and to the local electoral area Contents 1 History 1 1 Origins and etymology 1 2 Development 1 3 Strategic vision 1 4 Quality of life 2 Geography 2 1 Landscape 2 2 Townlands and baronies 2 3 Urban layout 2 4 Postal designation 2 5 Climate 2 6 Demographics 3 Transport 3 1 Roads 3 2 Bus 3 3 Rail 3 4 Metro 3 5 Dublin Airport 3 6 Knocksedan Heliport 4 Features and historical attractions 4 1 Swords Castle 4 2 St Colmcille s Well 4 3 St Columba s Church Belfry amp Round Tower 4 4 Old Borough School 4 5 St Colmcille s RC Church 4 6 Courthouse 4 7 Lord Mayors 4 8 Fingal County Hall 5 Leisure and cultural facilities 5 1 Swords library 5 2 Historical society 5 3 Ward River Valley Park 5 4 Swords Town Park with Swords Castle 5 5 Balheary Park 5 6 Broadmeadow River Linear Park 5 7 National Show Centre 6 Sports 6 1 Boxing 6 2 GAA 6 3 Golf 6 4 Rugby 6 5 Soccer 6 6 Other sports 7 Events 7 1 Fingal Horticultural Show 7 2 Flavours of Fingal Agricultural Show 7 3 Dog shows 7 4 Fingal 10k Road Race 8 Economy 8 1 Retail 8 2 Aviation 8 3 Logistics 8 4 Pharmaceutical 8 5 Food and horticulture 9 Education 9 1 Primary 9 2 Secondary 9 3 Third level and further education 10 Religion 10 1 Christianity 10 2 Islam 11 Local politicians 12 Notable residents 13 See also 14 References 14 1 Notes 14 2 Sources 15 External linksHistory Edit Map of Swords Origins and etymology Edit The town s origins date back to 560 AD when it was reputedly founded by Saint Colmcille 521 567 11 Legend has it that the saint blessed a local well giving the settlement its name Sord meaning clear or pure 12 However An Sord also means the water source and could indicate a large communal drinking well that existed in antiquity 13 St Colmcille s Well is located on Well Road off Main Street Sord may also refer to a sward an expanse of grass 14 The most common landscape indicators of early Christian settlement are the ecclesiastical enclosures and in the case of Swords the street pattern has been influenced by the circular alignment of the settlement Development Edit The medieval town developed in a linear pattern along Main Street in a roughly north south direction The round tower 26m in height is also an indicator of early Christian settlement The Irish high king Brian Boru is said to have had his funeral at the church on Spittal Hill after he was killed at the Battle of Clontarf this was of course before the hospital and even the Church of Ireland when there would have been a small chapel there along with the round tower The parliamentary borough of Swords elected two MPs to the Irish House of Commons It was disenfranchised in 1801 by the Acts of Union 1800 At the northern end of the street stands Swords Castle 200m northeast of the ecclesiastical site which was built in the early 13th century A short distance north of the castle is the elevation known as Spittal Hill where a hospital once stood 15 In 1994 Swords became the county town of the new county of Fingal after the abolition of the former County Dublin as an administrative county In 2001 upon the completion of the County Hall senior executive offices moved there from Parnell Square in Dublin city centre In June 2006 the RNLI Ireland officially opened a new all Ireland headquarters at Airside Business Park within greater Swords citation needed The National Museum of Ireland operates its Collections Resource Centre CRC at a former Motorola factory site on the northern edge of the town The size of two football fields the CRC includes storage archive library and research facilities serving all branches of the museum 16 Strategic vision Edit Fingal County Council s Strategic Vision for Swords is reputedly to create a sustainable new city The council has referred to Swords as an emerging city and has projected that the population of Swords would rise towards 100 000 by the year 2035 17 The town is the seventh largest urban area in the country and the third largest in County Dublin after Dublin City and Tallaght The Swords Cultural Quarter Masterplan by Fingal County Council proposed to redevelop the centre of Swords surrounding the castle 18 Quality of life Edit A middle class housing estate on the southern side of Swords In 2012 Swords was named the third best town in Ireland to live in The survey conducted by Retail Excellence Ireland took into account safety retail dining entertainment events car parking and the overall attractiveness of the town 19 Swords has seen steady regeneration of shop fronts 20 public buildings and footpaths and the restoration of Swords Castle since the mid 1990s Households in Swords have the seventh highest median incomes in the state among distinct towns a comparison excluding most other suburbs of the city 21 A 2011 Irish Business Against Litter IBAL survey declared Swords to be the second cleanest town in Ireland 22 This came just eight years after an IBAL survey had scored the town as the worst litter blackspot in the country 23 In the 2019 survey An Taisce who carry out the surveys on behalf of IBAL stated A stellar showing for this large urban area Swords is a model for others to follow 24 Geography EditLandscape Edit Swords Main Street lined with London Plane trees August 2022 Swords is situated roughly in the centre of the modern county of Fingal and the ancient barony of Nethercross The Ward River coming from County Meath runs west to east to near the centre of the town and then turns to run north before flowing into the Broad Meadow Water or Broadmeadow River to the east of the town across the former northern road A small stream joins the Ward near the town centre and the holy well The Broadmeadow also flowing from Meath borders the north of the town It runs from Dunshaughlin in the west and across the north of Swords before receiving the Ward and flowing into the wide Broadmeadow Estuary then into the Irish Sea past Malahide The estuary is crossed by a railway embankment and bridge from Malahide 25 Swords is surrounded by a protected green belt Dublin Airport has prevented the town from expanding further south and the large Broadmeadow Estuary and Malahide beyond limit expansion further east To the north and west of Swords there is sparsely populated relatively flat farmland Townlands and baronies Edit The civil parish of Swords mainly lies in the ancient barony of Nethercross N 3 Swords Demesne is the name of the townland in the heart of the urban town of Swords N 4 It is one of 58 such geographic units in the civil parish However a single parcel of land 5 acres in extent is situated in the barony of Coolock N 5 as an exclave of the civil parish proper There are 10 townlands in the electoral division of Swords which is not coterminous with the civil parish Urban layout Edit A Credit Union on North Street St Columcille s Court Swords The main retail area is located in the centre of the town and includes the town s wide tree lined Main Street and the Pavilions and Swords Central combined shopping centres There are also two smaller retail developments Swords Plaza and Swords Town Mall Most civic facilities are also in this central area with some subsidiary shopping and civic centres in surrounding housing areas The west of the urban area is mainly residential with the neighbourhoods of Applewood Rathbeale and Brackenstown to the north of the Ward River and Knocksedan River Valley Rathingle Highfields and Boroimhe to the south side of the river The main business and industrial areas are located to the east of the town centre along the R132 dual carriageway These include Balheary Industrial Park Swords Business Campus Swords Business Park and the Airside campus Business Park Retail Park and Motor Park The neighbourhoods of Seatown Lissenhall Holywell and Drynam are also to the east of the town core citation needed Postal designation Edit Swords has a postal address of County Dublin and an eircode routing key of K67 citation needed Climate Edit The climate of Swords is like the rest of Ireland classified as a maritime temperate climate Cfb according to the Koppen climate classification system It is mild and changeable with abundant rainfall and a lack of temperature extremes The hottest months of the year are June July and August with temperatures of around 17 20 degrees Swords gets rainfall all year round and the wettest months are October to January Climate data for Swords Dublin Airport 1981 2010 averages Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high C F 16 5 61 7 16 2 61 2 17 2 63 0 20 5 68 9 23 5 74 3 25 7 78 3 27 6 81 7 28 7 83 7 24 6 76 3 21 0 69 8 18 0 64 4 16 2 61 2 28 7 83 7 Average high C F 8 1 46 6 8 3 46 9 10 2 50 4 12 1 53 8 14 8 58 6 17 6 63 7 19 5 67 1 19 2 66 6 17 0 62 6 13 6 56 5 10 3 50 5 8 3 46 9 13 3 55 9 Daily mean C F 5 3 41 5 5 3 41 5 6 8 44 2 8 3 46 9 10 9 51 6 13 6 56 5 15 6 60 1 15 3 59 5 13 4 56 1 10 5 50 9 7 4 45 3 5 6 42 1 9 8 49 6 Average low C F 2 4 36 3 2 3 36 1 3 4 38 1 4 6 40 3 6 9 44 4 9 6 49 3 11 7 53 1 11 5 52 7 9 8 49 6 7 3 45 1 4 5 40 1 2 8 37 0 6 4 43 5 Record low C F 9 5 14 9 6 7 19 9 7 9 17 8 4 0 24 8 1 6 29 1 2 1 35 8 4 6 40 3 2 4 36 3 1 2 34 2 3 3 26 1 8 4 16 9 12 2 10 0 12 2 10 0 Average rainfall mm inches 62 6 2 46 48 8 1 92 52 7 2 07 54 1 2 13 59 5 2 34 66 7 2 63 56 2 2 21 73 3 2 89 59 5 2 34 79 0 3 11 72 9 2 87 72 7 2 86 758 0 29 84 Average rainy days 17 15 17 15 15 14 16 16 15 17 17 17 191Average snowy days 4 6 4 2 2 8 1 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 2 9 16 6Average relative humidity 80 6 75 7 71 0 68 3 68 0 68 3 69 0 69 3 71 5 75 1 80 3 83 1 73 3Mean daily sunshine hours 1 9 2 7 3 5 5 3 6 2 5 8 5 3 5 1 4 3 3 3 2 4 1 7 3 9Source Met Eireann 26 Demographics Edit See also Demographics of Swords Historical populationYearPop 18211 727 18312 537 46 9 18411 788 29 5 18511 294 27 6 18611 296 0 2 18711 008 22 2 18811 088 7 9 1891983 9 7 1901944 4 0 1911907 3 9 1926839 7 5 1936838 0 1 1946703 16 1 19511 136 61 6 19561 629 43 4 19611 816 11 5 19661 892 4 2 19714 133 118 4 198111 138 169 5 198615 312 37 5 199117 705 15 6 199622 314 26 0 200227 175 21 8 200637 762 39 0 201142 738 13 2 Swords has developed into one of the largest urban areas in Ireland The town s population boom began in the 1970s with the construction of the sprawling Rivervalley Estate then Ireland s largest private housing development ahead of Kilnamanagh Estate in Tallaght North It continued during the 1990s and 2000s with many new residents moving to the area due to its proximity to work at Dublin Airport and various industrial estates At the 2011 census the total urban population of greater Swords was 42 738 This wider area of Swords had a population density in 2011 of 3765 km2 making it the most densely populated urban area in Ireland 27 Fingal County Council has referred to Swords as an Emerging City and has suggested that the overall area s population may reach 100 000 by 2035 Transport EditSee also Transport in Dublin Roads Edit Failte Sord 2018 sculpture Swords has good road links due to its proximity to Dublin city which is the main focus of the Irish road network The M1 Dublin Belfast motorway passes along the eastern edge of the town and is the main route to from Dublin City Drogheda Dundalk Newry and Belfast The M50 Dublin semi orbital motorway passes to the south of the town and provides connections with all of the other main roads out of Dublin N2 N3 N4 N7 N81 and M11 The R132 dual carriageway bypasses the centre of Swords and runs south to Dublin Airport and north to Balbriggan The proposed Swords Western Ring Road dual carriageway is due to run from the M1 at Lissenhall north of Swords along the western edge of Swords to the M2 motorway at Cherryhound Other main roads from Swords include the R106 to Malahide and Portmarnock R108 to Ballyboughal and Naul R125 to Ashbourne and the M2 motorway R126 to Donabate and Portrane and R127 to Lusk and Skerries Bus Edit The town s Main Street is served by Dublin Bus and Go Ahead Ireland routes 33 33A 33B 33N 41 41B 41C 41X 43 102 and 142 as well as Bus Eireann routes 101 and 101n and Swords Express routes 500 500x 501 501x and 502 Buses operate between Swords and Dublin city centre approximately every 5 minutes throughout the day through a combination of Dublin Bus routes 33 41 41B 41C 41X amp 43 28 with a journey time of about an hour Swords Express 29 operate express services through the Dublin Port Tunnel which take about 35 minutes Other bus routes serving Swords include the 102 to Malahide Portmarnock and Sutton route 33b to Donabate and Portrane routes 33 and 33a to Lusk Rush Skerries and Balbriggan and Bus Eireann route 101 to Balbriggan Julianstown and Drogheda Connect Bus and Coach operate route H1 every 20 minutes between Dublin Airport and the Travelodge Hotel in Swords There are a number of long distance bus services from the Atrium Road and coach park in Dublin Airport 30 to various locations throughout the country operated by Bus Eireann 31 and other private companies including 50 daily services to Belfast route 1 X2 amp Aircoach 32 12 to Derry route 33 amp John Mc Ginley 33 11 to Letterkenny route 32 amp John Mc Ginley 9 to Donegal route 30 3 to Sligo route 23 1 to Ballina route 22 52 to Galway route 20 Citylink 34 amp gobus 35 14 to Limerick route 12 amp JJ Kavanagh 36 24 to Cork GoBe amp Aircoach 6 to Clonmel JJ Kavanagh 21 to Waterford route 4 X4 amp JJ Kavanagh and 31 to Wexford route 2 Ardcavan 37 amp Wexford Bus 38 Rail Edit Swords has no railway services The nearest railway stations are at Malahide and Donabate Malahide is served by the frequent DART service to Bray through the city centre Both Malahide and Donabate are served by Dublin Drogheda commuter services Swords is the only Dublin county town not to be served by rail as Tallaght in South Dublin is served by the Luas light rail system and Dun Laoghaire is served by the DART and Irish Rail services Metro Edit The Plaza Swords There are proposals for a light rapid transit line MetroLink to run from St Stephen s Green to Swords via the Mater Hospital Drumcondra Railway Station Dublin City University Ballymun and Dublin Airport In 2015 the Government announced that Metro North would be redesigned to a cheaper cost Construction of the line was proposed to begin in 2021 and be completed by 2026 Three stops have been proposed within or near Swords at Estuary Swords Central Fosterstown with another at the airport between Terminals 1 and 2 A further three stops were originally proposed but were refused planning permission citation needed Dublin Airport Edit Dublin Airport the busiest airport in Ireland is located at Collinstown several kilometres to the south of Swords The airport has direct flights to Britain Europe North America North Africa and the Middle East In 2019 32 9 million passenger journeys were recorded 39 and it is by far the busiest of the airports by total passenger traffic in Ireland As of 2014 Dublin London was the world s second busiest international air route behind Hong Kong Taipei 40 Knocksedan Heliport Edit Knocksedan Heliport is a private heliport on the western side of Swords run by Celtic Helicopters The heliport has four hangars and they provide a helicopter wash facility and Jet A1 Fuel 41 Irish Helicopters also use the heliport They provide aerial crane filming and survey services helicopter charter and maintenance spraying and special project services 42 Features and historical attractions EditSome historical attractions are listed below Many of these are promoted by Swords Historical Society 43 Swords Castle as seen from Swords Town Park Swords Castle Edit Main article Swords Castle Swords Castle was built as the manorial residence of the 1st Archbishop of Dublin John Comyn around 1200 or a little later in Swords just north of Dublin It was never strong in the military sense but covers a large pentagonal walled area of nearly 1 5 acres 6 000 m2 with a tower on the north and a gateway complex on the south The adjoining chapel built in the late thirteenth century was probably used as the Archbishop s private oratory citation needed Other buildings recorded in an inquisition in 1326 have now vanished including the great hall on the east side of the enclosure The Archbishop abandoned Swords once a new palace was built at Tallaght in 1324 The stepped battlements suggest some form of occupancy during the fifteenth century but by 1583 when briefly occupied by Dutch Protestants it was described as the quite spoiled old castle It was used as a garden in the nineteenth century and sold after the Church of Ireland was disestablished Swords Castle has undergone restoration and is open as a tourist attraction The castle was used as a film location for the production of TV series The Tudors in spring 2010 44 St Colmcille s Well Edit St Colmcilles Well On Well Road also known as St Columb s Well In a locked chamber Reputed to be where Swords got its name when St Colmcille blessed the well of clear water Sord being the Irish for clear or pure St Columba s Church Belfry amp Round Tower Edit St Columba s Church and round tower The round tower is the surviving remnant of St Colmcille s monastic settlement The only remaining relic of the medieval church is its belfry from c 1300 which is open to the public in the summertime The original church is said to have fallen into ruin sometime in the seventeenth century The new church of early Gothic style was built in 1811 on the foundations of the old 45 The Sexton s Lodge was built in 1870 The body of Brian Boru was said to have been brought there in 1014 to be waked after the Battle of Clontarf while on the way to be buried in Armagh 46 Old Borough School Edit Located on Main Street the building was designed by the architect Francis Johnston In 2015 Wetherspoon bought the premises and now operates The Old Borough as a public house St Colmcille s RC Church Edit On Chapel Lane a pre Catholic Emancipation church built in 1827 on a site donated by James Taylor of Swords House The graveyard contains the headstones of nationalist politician Andrew Kettle who was known as Parnell s Righthand Man Courthouse Edit Swords Courthouse Designed by Alexander Tate Swords Courthouse is located on North Street and was built in 1845 in Classical style Lord Mayors Edit Founded in 1668 the 350 year old Lord Mayors is a Swords landmark The thatched roof pub is the oldest structure in the village 47 The Lord mayors closed for business in April 2019 48 leaving the premises vacant with some locals questioning the plan to build 172 apartments on the site of the historic structure 49 Fingal County Hall Edit Fingal County Hall The modern Fingal County Hall by Bucholz McEvoy Architects is located at the northern end of Main Street It is built on the site of Swords House the home of the Norman family the Taylors of Swords Records show the family arrived there in the 13th century and built a Mansion House in 1403 citation needed Leisure and cultural facilities EditSwords library Edit Swords library located on Rathbeale Road offers typical library services and runs cultural activities for children and adults citation needed Historical society Edit Swords Historical Society founded in 1982 is supported by volunteers who have worked to record promote and preserve the heritage of the greater Swords area The society s Museum and Heritage Centre at the Carnegie Library on North Street is run by volunteers and is open on weekday afternoons The society s oral history project has produced an annual Swords Voices publication which chronicles the memories of local people 43 Ward River Valley Park Edit The Ward River Valley Park is a linear park on the banks of the Ward River approaching town It covers an area of 89 ha 220 acres between Swords town centre and Knocksedan Bridge Features include some 12th century fortifications woodland habitats wetlands and rolling grassland There are viewing points picnic sites sports pitches and tennis courts 50 The park is known locally as The Jacko which is a nickname that is thought to have originated in the 1960s 51 Swords Town Park with Swords Castle Edit Swords Town Park with Ward River on left Swords Town Park is a small park situated in the centre of the town of Swords along the Ward River 52 It has tennis courts and a playground Swords Castle lies within the park It is the former residence of the Archbishop of Dublin and it is the only fortified residence of the Archbishop to survive in a reasonable state today see above Balheary Park Edit Balheary Park is north of the town centre near the confluence of the Broadmeadow River and the Ward River which flow to the northern and southern edges of the park It meets Swords Business Campus Balheary Business Park on three sides and has some playing pitches which are used by the Fingallians GAA club In mid 2006 Fingal County Council built a skatepark and adjoining basketball courts football court in Balheary Park The park contains a bowl a vert wall a spine some quarterpipes and a section of boxes in the middle of the park Broadmeadow River Linear Park Edit The Broadmeadow Linear Park is a small park north of Applewood along the Broadmeadow River Fingal County Council plan to extend the park eastwards to Balheary Park and westwards into the proposed Swords Regional Park 53 National Show Centre Edit A little south of Swords near Dublin Airport the National Show Centre is an exhibition and conference venue owned by the Irish Kennel Club 54 The venue is used as a counting centre during elections for the Dublin Fingal constituency Sports EditBoxing Edit Swords Boxing Club is based at Sluagh Hall a former military facility which is shared with Fingallians GAA clbu 55 Fingal Boxing Academy which is affiliated with the Irish Amateur Boxing Association and located in Rivervalley Swords was the first boxing club in Ireland to train female boxers and has trained several national champions citation needed GAA Edit There are three Gaelic Athletic Association clubs local to Swords and one more with pitches These include Fingallians based at Lawless Memorial Park St Finian s Rivervalley and St Colmcille s Holybanks Glen Ellan Road in the Applewood neighbourhood citation needed Golf Edit There are several golf courses close to the town namely Swords Open Golf Course Forrest Little Golf Club Roganstown Golf and Country Club and Balheary Par 3 Golf Course There are also several driving ranges in the area with the Drynam Golf Centre being the first driving range in Ireland with automated tees citation needed Rugby Edit Swords RFC are a rugby union team playing in Division 3 of the Leinster League The club is based out of ALSAA Sport Complex beside the airport and has 2 Men s teams and 1 Women s team citation needed Soccer Edit Swords Celtic established in 1962 fields DDSL NDSL LSL and MGL schoolboy and schoolgirl teams citation needed The main pitch and clubhouse are located at Balheary Swords and include dressing rooms an eleven a side and two seven a side pitches with floodlights citation needed Swords Manor FC established in 1995 fields NDSL DDSL MGL and UCFL schoolboy and schoolgirl teams citation needed The main pitch and clubhouse are located on Brackenstown Road citation needed River Valley Rangers AFC was established in 1981 It fields NDSL schoolboy girl teams and its pitch and clubhouse are located in Ridgewood Park citation needed Columbas Rovers FC was established in 2002 It uses the ALSAA sports centre near the airport citation needed A former club Swords Rovers FC founded in 1993 was disbanded in 2015 56 Other sports Edit Fingal Orienteers have created orienteering maps of the Ward River Valley park and the surrounding estates of Swords Manor Brackenstown River Valley and Knocksedan and regularly hold events in the area 57 Racquet sports clubs include Forest Badminton Club River Valley Badminton Club and Swords Tennis Club based at Swords Town Park Swords Hockey Club is a ladies club based in ALSAA Sports Grounds citation needed Events EditFingal Horticultural Show Edit The Fingal Horticultural Society holds their annual flower show in Swords every August 58 It includes competition classes in Cut Flowers Hanging Baskets Pot Plants Flower Arranging Fruit Vegetables Cookery Wine Making Photography Painting and Handcrafts as well as special classes for children The Fingal Horticultural Society also hold an annual Garden Competition Allotment Competition and Pub Frontage Competition in Swords Flavours of Fingal Agricultural Show Edit The first Flavours of Fingal Show took place in July 2012 in Newbridge House near Donabate The farm section of the two day show featured a program of livestock and sheep competitions equestrian contests and other agricultural displays Separately the walled garden of Newbridge House hosted the food producers section of the show During the festival family and musical entertainment walks and other events were held 59 Dog shows Edit In 2012 over 80 dog shows were held in the National Show Centre 60 including the Celtic Winners Dog Show held on St Patrick s Day original research Fingal 10k Road Race Edit The first Fingal 10k Road Race took place on 22 July 2012 on the roads around Swords It was part of the Dublin Race Series a series which culminates in the Dublin Marathon Over 4200 people entered the first race and the event has since been run annually 61 Economy Edit A concourse area in Pavilions Swords Retail Edit Swords is the home to a large retail and business park called Airside Retail and Business Park on the southern fringe of the town hosting many employers including the European Headquarters of Kellogg s Ingersoll Rand also has its corporate headquarters in the Airside Business Park 62 East of the town running parallel to Swords bypass lies the large Swords Business Park where The Hertz Corporation have a Shared Services Centre Swords also has a large shopping centre the Pavilions Swords off the R132 which has a multi screen cinema and branches of SuperValu and Dunnes Stores Aviation Edit Empennages of an Aer Lingus and Ryanair planes at Dublin Airport near Swords Swords is the closest town to Dublin Airport and the two share the same Eircode routing area key of K67 The airport has long provided employment to the area In 2011 Dublin Airport handled over 18 7 million passengers and served over 171 routes with 62 airlines 63 The airport serves as an operating base for Aer Lingus Aer Lingus Regional Air Contractors CityJet Ryanair and Thomson Airways and as a maintenance base for Aer Lingus CityJet Dublin Aerospace 64 Eirtech Aviation 65 Etihad Airways 66 and Ryanair The Irish Aviation Authority 67 operate the Dublin Air Traffic Control Centre on the airport The headquarters of the Dublin Airport Authority and Ireland s four largest airlines are located in or near Swords The Dublin Airport Authority who manage Dublin Cork and Shannon Airports employ over 3 000 people and have their headquarters on the airport campus 68 Aer Lingus 69 Ireland s flag carrier have their headquarters on the Dublin Airport campus CityJet part of the Air France KLM group has its headquarters in Swords Business Campus 70 and Air Contractors part of the ASL Aviation group has its head office on the Malahide Road in Swords 71 In 2014 Ryanair moved into a new 20m 100 000 sq ft Dublin Head Office in Airside Business Park 72 The building was officially opened in April 2014 Logistics Edit In 2007 Tesco Ireland opened their new 70 million distribution centre in Lanestown between Swords and Donabate With a building footprint of over 68 000 m2 and a total volume of 1 55 million m2 the Tesco Ireland distribution centre is the largest building on the island of Ireland and one of the 10 largest building in the world The building is over half a kilometre long and could fit 16 jumbo jets It has 106 loading bays and supplies 106 stores up to 6 times a day 73 Pharmaceutical Edit Swords is the home to several international chemical producers and pharmaceutical giants including Opec Merck Sharp amp Dohme formally Organnon employ over 500 people in their facility in Drynam which manufactures women s health anaesthesiology and mental health products 74 Bristol Myers Squibb employ over 400 people in their Swords Laboratories bulk pharmaceutical plant on Watery Lane 75 The Lonza Group employ 45 people in their European manufacturing facility for personal care and industrial biocides also on Watery Lane 76 Food and horticulture Edit Swords is located in the centre of Fingal and is surrounded by farms growing crops like potatoes wheat and barley However unlike the rest of Fingal a lot of the food distributed from Swords has been imported from abroad citation needed As of 2018 FoodCentral marketed as Ireland s national food park was being developed south west of Swords 77 78 The Keeling s Group who employ over 1700 people have their headquarters in FoodCentral and use a lot of land around Swords 79 The Keeling s Farms division annually grow 2 500 tonnes of soft fruits berries from 5 hectares of glasshouse tunnel and field crops in Swords They grow Bramley apples in 139 acres of orchards and lettuce in 8 acres of glasshouses Their glasshouses also produce 1 500 tonnes of red orange yellow and green peppers annually 80 Keeling s also operate a large banana ripening facility for Chiquita which ripens over 3 million bananas each week They also have separate ripening rooms for other fruits 81 82 Total Produce Ireland s largest agribusiness 83 operates two facilities in Swords 84 Its facility in Swords Business Park includes a distribution and ripening centre for Fyffes 85 Cape Outspan Green Ace and TOP Fruit products Their Uniplumo facility on the Rathbeale Road 86 has 46 000 square metres of glasshouses for growing plants flowers and tomatoes Education EditPrimary Edit The town is served by more than 10 primary schools These include several gaelscoils 87 a number of Educate Together schools 88 89 90 and mixed and gender specific national schools 91 92 The latter includes both Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic schools 93 94 95 96 97 A number of other primary schools are in planning or under construction 98 99 Secondary Edit The secondary schools serving the town include Loreto College all girls school River Valley 100 Colaiste Choilm C B S all boys school Dublin Road 101 Fingal Community College Seatown Road 102 St Finian s Community College Castlefarm 103 and Swords Community College Rathbeale Road 104 Third level and further education Edit Land has been reserved for a potential university campus at Lissenhall in north Swords 105 needs update The National Learning Network Fingal Adult Education Service and Swords Youthreach each have a presence in the area 106 107 108 There is also the Fingal Adult Literacy and Education Centre 109 Religion EditPopulation by religion Census 2011 110 PersonsRoman Catholic 34 021Orthodox Greek Coptic Russian 1 335Church of Ireland England Anglican Episcopalian 944Apostolic or Pentecostal 201Presbyterian 195Other Christian religion 454Total Christian religions 37 150Muslim Islamic 579Other stated religions 1 003No religion 3 006Not stated 1 000Total Population 42 738Christianity Edit Christianity is the predominant religion in Swords and Roman Catholicism is the predominant denomination The town has six Roman Catholic churches St Colmcille s the Church of the Visitation and Our Lady Queen of Heaven are all within Swords parish 111 112 113 St Cronan s and St Finian s each belong to distinct parishes while the Church of the Immaculate Conception lies within Donabate parish 114 115 116 There are also a further eight Christian churches and a retreat centre 117 These include St Columba s Church of Ireland church on Church Road 118 and Baptist churches which meet in St Finian s Community College and at Seatown West 119 120 Other Protestant and evangelical communities include the Apostolic Faith Church and Churchtown Trust 121 122 The Syriac Orthodox Church meets as the St Ignatius Jacobite Congregation in St Columba s Church of Ireland church 123 Jehovah s Witnesses meet at a Kingdom Hall on Kettles Lane 124 Islam Edit The Dublin Welfare Society manage a makeshift mosque in a Swords industrial estate 125 Local politicians EditSwords is part of the Dublin Fingal constituency The five TDs that serve the area are as follows TDs from 2020 electionDail constituency Name PartyDublin Fingal Alan Farrell Fine GaelJoe O Brien GreenDuncan Smith LabourLouise O Reilly Sinn FeinDarragh O Brien Fianna FailSeven councillors serve the Swords local electoral area of Fingal County Council They are Council members from 2019 electionLocal electoral area Name PartySwords Darragh Butler Fianna FailDean Mulligan Inds 4 ChangeJames Humphreys LabourIan Carey GreenBrigid Manton Fianna FailJoe Newman IndependentAnn Graves Sinn FeinNotable residents EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed December 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Saint Colmcille founder of Swords Gruffudd ap Cynan 1055 1137 Welsh King of Gwynedd reared in Swords as a close relative of the Hiberno Norse Kings of Dublin and grandson of King Brian Boru Robert FitzRery Attorney General for Ireland from 1450 to 1463 came from a long established Swords family which claimed descent from Gruffudd ap Cynan 126 Eleanor Ambrose Catholic heiress is from Swords Conan Byrne Irish footballer for Glenavon F C Ed Byrne comedian is from Swords Jason Byrne comedian lives in Swords Bill Cullen businessman presenter of the TV show The Apprentice owns and works at Europa Academy in Swords Duncan Campbell video artist won 2014 Turner Prize grew up in Swords Paul Flynn Dublin and Fingallians GAA player lives in Swords Chris Newman actor known for his roles in Song for a Raggy Boy and Red Rock Ronan Keating singer songwriter lived in the Highfields residential development on the town s southern side Richard Montgomery hero of the American Revolution born in Swords Blessed Francis Taylor former Mayor of Dublin martyr born in Swords Kodaline a popular band come from Swords Matt Doherty Irish footballer for Tottenham Hotspur F C Peter Kioso footballer for Luton Town born in Swords Sean Roughan footballer for Lincoln City born in Swords Zachary Elbouzedi Irish footballer for AIK Fotboll Keith Ward footballer for Bohemian FCSee also Edit Ireland portalList of abbeys and priories in County Dublin List of towns and villages in IrelandReferences EditNotes Edit From Irish Placenames Database logainm ie in English and Ga Archived from the original on 22 April 2010 Retrieved 11 December 2016 Sord Swords Logainm ie Dimein Shoird Swords Demesne Logainm ie An Chrois Iochtarach Nethercross Logainm ie Dimein Shoird Swords Demesne Logainm ie An Ghleib Glebe Logainm ie Sources Edit County of Fingal Local Electoral Areas Order 2018 S I No 618 of 2018 Signed on 19 December 2018 Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland Irish Statute Book Fingal County Council Archived from the original on 18 October 2012 Retrieved 6 October 2012 Swords Total Area Swords Local Electoral Area Archived 12 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine Central Statistics Office Swords Urban Area Swords and Kinsealy Drinan Census Towns Archived 12 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine Central Statistics Office Swords Metro Area Swords Development Boundary permanent dead link Fingal County Council Swords Max Elevation Archived 29 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine Ordnance Survey Ireland Swords Min Elevation Archived 29 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine Ordnance Survey Ireland Swords Urban Population Swords and Kinsealy Drinan Census Towns Archived 13 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine Census 2011 Swords Ethnic or Cultural Background Census 2011 Note The centre of Swords is 12 3 km north of the GPO in Dublin but the district s southernmost point is indeed c 10 km north of the GPO Sidwell Keith 1995 Reading Medieval Latin Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 70 ISBN 0 521 44747 X eDIL Irish Language Dictionary dil ie History Of Swords Dublin swordsdublin net Hickey Raymond 2005 Dublin English evolution and change Barrysparks Local Area Plan Environmental Report PDF Fingal County Council Archived from the original PDF on 31 January 2014 National Museum of Ireland Collections Resource Centre Irish Museums Association Retrieved 5 February 2022 Your Swords an Emerging City Strategic Vision 2035 Archived 31 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Fingal County Council Swords Cultural Quarter Masterplan fingal ie Retail Excellence Ireland Survey 2012 PDF Archived from the original PDF on 25 October 2012 County Council Fingal 2015 SWORDS CASTLE CULTURAL QUARTER PDF Fingal ie Retrieved 1 January 2022 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Gleeson Colin Households in Malahide enjoy highest incomes in State The Irish Times Retrieved 22 October 2021 Irish Business Against Litter Survey 2011 PDF Irish Business Against Litter Survey 2003 PDF Mayor congratulates Swords on IBAL results independent Doyle Joseph W 1 December 2013 Ten Dozen Waters The Rivers and Streams of County Dublin 8th ed Dublin Ireland Rath Eanna Research pp 8 10 ISBN 978 0 9566363 8 6 Dublin 1981 2010 averages www met ie Census 2011 Population Density Timetables Dublin Bus www dublinbus ie Home Swords Express www swordsexpress com Coach and Airport Bus Services To and From Dublin Airport www dublinairport com Bus Eireann View Ireland Bus and Coach Timetables amp Buy Tickets www buseireann ie Archived from the original on 28 July 2012 Aircoach timetables Archived from the original on 5 July 2012 John McGinley Coaches www johnmcginley com Citylink timetables Archived from the original on 8 July 2012 Direct Galway to Dublin City amp Dublin Airport Bus Service Free Wi Fi Power Sockets On board Toilets Non Stop Dublin to Galway Coach Service Gobus Great Fares from only 12 www gobus ie Archived from the original on 17 July 2012 Retrieved 10 July 2012 JJ Kavanagh timetables Archived from the original on 18 June 2012 Ardcavan timetables PDF Archived from the original PDF on 13 September 2012 Wexford Bus timetables Dublin Airport passengers numbers up 4 to record high of 32 9 million RTE News RTE Retrieved 11 March 2020 Dublin to London is second busiest international air route in world report The Irish Times Celtic Helicopters Knocksedan Heliport permanent dead link Limited Art Department Aberdeen 13 November 2017 PDG Aviation Services Helicopter Lifting Filming amp Charter Archived from the original on 28 April 2012 Retrieved 12 September 2012 a b swordsheritage www swordsheritage com Swords Castle The Tudors Evening Herald St Columba s Round Tower Archived 12 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine Fingal Tourism Around Swords History homepage eircom net Lyne Laura 28 April 2019 Iconic 350 year old North Dublin pub set to close its doors for good dublinlive Retrieved 24 April 2020 350 year old Lord Mayors pub in Swords set to close its doors for good www msn com Retrieved 24 April 2020 O Brien Mark 27 February 2020 Plan to build apartments on pub site turning town into concrete jungle dublinlive Retrieved 24 April 2020 Ward River Valley Regional Park www fingalcoco ie Fingal County Council Archived from the original on 8 March 2012 Retrieved 13 July 2012 The Jacko The Ward River Valley Swords Swords County Dublin Retrieved 2 November 2021 Swords Castle www fingalcoco ie Fingal County Council Archived from the original on 30 April 2008 Retrieved 13 July 2012 Broadmeadow Linear Park permanent dead link Section 3 1 2 Home National Show Centre NSC Boxing club win fight for new home Fingal Independent Independent News amp Media 20 May 2017 Retrieved 27 April 2021 End Of An Era northcountyleader ie 29 September 2015 Fingal Orienteers fingal orienteering ie Fingal Horticultural Society amp Flower Show Swords North Dublin Ireland Gardening growing and horticulture in Fingal www fingalhorticulturalsociety com Flavours of Fingal Flavours of Fingal Irish Kennel Club Show Dates search Cloghran SSE Airtricty Dublin Marathon 2015 SSE Airtricty Dublin Marathon 2018 Archived from the original on 22 July 2012 Retrieved 22 July 2012 Contact Us Archived 2 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine Ingersoll Rand Retrieved on 18 January 2011 Global Headquarters 170 175 Lakeview Drive Airside Business Park Swords Co Dublin Ireland Live Flight Information and Status Updates Dublin Airport www dublinairport com Home Dublin Aerospace Eirtech Aviation Archived from the original on 5 February 2012 News Etihad Airways Etihad Global Irish Aviation Authority Archived from the original on 6 January 2012 Retrieved 12 July 2012 Company Profile daa Archived from the original on 5 July 2012 Contact Us Aer Lingus www aerlingus com CityJet CityJet Contact Us www cityjet com Air Contractors Archived from the original on 17 July 2012 Ryanair Official website News Article permanent dead link Tesco Ireland Case Study Pallet Racking Mesh Shelving Mesh Partitioning www euromech ie MSD Ireland Archived from the original on 29 January 2013 Bristol Myers Squibb Global Biopharmaceutical Company www bms com Lonza Swords Archived from the original on 12 June 2012 Oakland expands to FoodCentral independent ie Independent News amp Media 5 July 2018 Retrieved 27 April 2021 FoodCentral Homepage www foodcentral eu Keeling s Group Archived from the original on 8 January 2013 Keeling s Farms Archived from the original on 27 March 2013 Retrieved 20 October 2012 Keeling s Multiples Archived from the original on 27 March 2013 Chiquita Bananas Archived from the original on 9 September 2012 The Top Agribusiness Companies on Top1000 ie Top 1000 Total Produce Archived from the original on 21 August 2014 Fyffes Swords Archived from the original on 8 June 2012 FPC Newsdesk www freshproduce org uk Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 Retrieved 15 July 2012 Gaelscoil Bhrian Boroimhe Failte Welcome www gsbb ie Swords Educate Together National School www swordseducatetogether ie Thornleigh Educate Together National School Archived from the original on 13 July 2012 Home Holywell Educate Together National School Holywell Educate Together National School St Cronan s Junior National School Brackenstown Swords St Cronan s Junior National School Brackenstown Swords Scoil Chronain St Cronan s Senior National School Swords Scoil Chronain St Cronan s Senior National School Swords St Colmcille s B N S Swords homepage eircom net St Colmcille s Girls N S Failte chuig suiomh idirlion Scoil Cholmcille na gCailini www stcolmcillesgns scoilnet ie Archived from the original on 26 June 2012 Retrieved 12 July 2012 Holy Family Junior National School www hfjns scoilnet ie Archived from the original on 17 July 2012 Retrieved 12 July 2012 Holy Family Senior National School Archived from the original on 18 June 2009 Scoil An Duinninigh Mol an oige agus tiocfaidh si Proposed Mooretown Primary Schools permanent dead link Page 2 Fosterstown Primary School Archived 26 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine Page 39 Loreto College Swords Colaiste Choilm Swords Colaiste Choilm Swords www colaistechoilmswords ie College Fingal Community Fingal Community College Fingal Community College St Finian s Community College Colaiste Fhionain stfinianscc ie College Swords Community Colaiste Pobail Sord Colaiste Pobail Sord Potential Lissenhall University Campus Archived 31 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine page 89 National Learning Network Home www nln ie Home adult and further education Balbriggan Swords Fingal Adult Education Skerries Rush Lusk Stamullen Gormanston The Naul Swords Donabate Portmarnock Garristown and North Dublin www fingaladulteducation ie Archived from the original on 11 October 2013 Retrieved 16 November 2013 Swords Youthreach www iol ie a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a first missing last help Adult Education Services Balbriggan amp Swords Literacy Back to Work Skills AES Balbriggan amp Swords Census 2011 Central Statistics Office St Colmcille s Church Archived from the original on 21 August 2012 Church of the Visitation Archived from the original on 21 August 2012 Our Lady Queen of Heaven Chapel Archived from the original on 21 August 2012 St Cronan s Church Archived 6 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine St Finian s Church Archived from the original on 17 May 2013 Churches Donabate Portrane amp Balheary Parish www donabateparish ie Emmaus Retreat and Conference Centre Archived from the original on 3 November 2012 St Columba s Parish Swords St Columba s Parish Swords Church in Swords Dublin Swords Baptist Church Church community meeting in The Riasc Centre Feltrim Rd Swords Co Dublin www swordsbaptistchurch com 低用量ピルを購入するなら 断然通販がお得 www missinganswer org Archived from the original on 15 April 2013 Welcome to Apostolic Faith Church www apostolicfaith org uk Churchtown Trust permanent dead link Churchtown Trust Prayer Room Jacobite Church Swords Ireland www jacobitechurchswords com Kingdom Hall Kettles Lane Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 8 December 2018 Ireland s largest mosque gets approval from An Bord Pleanala The Irish Times Curtis E 1921 The FitzRerys Welsh Lords of Cloghran Co Dublin Journal of the County Louth Archaeological Society Vol 5 p 13 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Swords Dublin Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Swords External links EditLocal website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Swords Dublin amp oldid 1130090055, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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