Adamstown, County Dublin

Adamstown Irish: Baile Adaim
County Dublin
The Adamstown Obelisk
Location
Grid reference:	O031333
Location:	53°20’25"N, 6°27’8"W
Data
Population:	3,000  (2012)
Postcode:	K78
Local Government
Council:	South Dublin
Dáil constituency:	Dublin Mid-West

Adamstown is an urban village in the new town style in County Dublin: the first such development planned in the Republic of Ireland since Shannon Town in 1982. The new town is being developed ten miles from Dublin city centre, on a site of 544 acres just south of Lucan, west of the Griffeen River and north of the Grand Canal.

Development began in 2005. As of 2017, it had about 3,500 residents, of a planned population of 25,000.

Location and access

A train approaches Adamstown station

Adamstown stands beside the Dublin-Kildare railway line The new and privately funded railway station opened on 10 April 2007, with 5 platforms.

The town stands beside the N4 national primary route. Weston Airport is nearby.

History

Adamstown originated with the Development Plan in 1998, which envisaged the creation of several "new towns", of which only Adamstown made it to the development stage. The provision of a new railway station was an integral part of its development, together with the provision of new schools, shopping and sporting facilities within walking distance in the neighbourhood. The new settlement was designed to promote public transport and reduce car dependency.

Infrastructure works officially commenced on 7 February 2005, and on 16 February 2006 the first houses went on the market.

Plans

It was intended that after an initial ten years of development the development would have around 10,000 homes, and about 25,000 people. It has in the event been much slower.

The homes built in Adamstown were to be familiar types of house and apartment block but with a layout dissimilar to other later 20th century developments in Ireland in that they were to incorporate modern urban design concepts. These avoid the common cul de sac layouts. The street plan was designed to reduce car usage. The design, combined with ease of access to the railway station, is intended to promote walking and cycling. There is a strict limit on high-rise buildings, three to four storeys being the norm.

Development slowed after the initial phases were complete, and parts of the proposed settlement remain boarded off. The railway station and two schools, and a few retail facilities, are now operating.

Layout

Through the new town flows the Tobermaclugg, a tributary stream of the River Liffey. The brook is planned to be used as the centrepiece of a public park.

Adamstown's first neighbourhood shopping centre including a Londis small supermarket, a hair and beauty salon, and a café / pizzeria is open in the Sentinel Building. Nearby are a Supervalu shopping centre on the Newcastle Road and a short distance further is Lucan village. Some distance away is Liffey Valley shopping centre.

Sport

• Football: Adamstown Football Club, established in November 2005
• Gaelic Athletics: Adamstown GAA, with hurling, and camogie clubs, created in 2007

A new structure, Club Adamstown, is being put in place by the local council to offer sporting opportunities, including cricket, to local children.

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Adamstown, County Dublin)

• BBC report on Adamstown, May 2012