Greenhills

For other uses of Greenhills, see Greenhills (disambiguation).

Greenhills (Irish: Na Glaschnoic) is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It sits between Kimmage, Tallaght, Templeogue, Terenure and Walkinstown. It is generally understood to comprise the Greenhills Estate (the "saints" roads, e.g. St. Josephs's Road, St. James's Road, St. Peter's Road) as well as Greenpark, Limekiln and Temple Manor. Some would also include the estates of Fernhill, Mountdown, and Glenmurray in a broader definition. The postcode is Dublin 12.

Name and history

The area was mostly farmland until expansion in the 1950s and 1960s led to the building of new housing estates. However, Greenhills, situated just below the esker upon which the Greenhills Road now runs, is believed to have housed settlements as long ago as 1800 BC. An urn dating from that time, found in the late 1890s in the former quarry between the Greenhills Road and St. Columba's Road, is on display in the National Museum of Ireland.

The name comes from the sand-based hills that were formerly prevalent in the area. Most of these were excavated for building work; the last remaining hill,known locally as the "Horseshoe," was flattened in 2003. This was in fact artificially created when Greenhills Park was laid out, probably to create a playground area that was never built. It was located in the centre of Greenhills Park.

Landmarks and facilities

Tymon Park is situated in the old townland of Greenhills and is located to the south of the Limekiln estate. It is the second-largest park in Dublin, after the Phoenix Park, and the largest in the area administered by South Dublin County Council. Tymon is a particularly well-developed local park, with the local River Poddle and its associated man-made lakes providing a backdrop. The M50 motorway splits the Greenhills side of the park from Kilnamanagh and the Tymon North estate (both in Tallaght). A smaller park, Greenhills Park, colloquially known as "Comp Field," is also administered by the County Council and is used almost exclusively for football.

The Church of the Holy Spirit is the local Catholic church. It is noted for its verdigris copper roof. It stands beside a community centre, which was completed in the 1990s, and the clubhouse of the local football club, Greenhills AFC, formerly Greenhills Boy's AFC.

Local primary schools are St. Paul's Junior and Senior Girl's National Schools, and St. Peter's Boy's National School. Secondary schools are St. Paul's Secondary (girls) and Greenhills College VEC (boys). Greenhills College also provides Post Leaving Certificate courses and adult education in general. The local boy scouts unit is the 65th Greenhills.

The Traders is the only public house in Greenhills.

Communications

Walkinstown Roundabout

The Walkinstown Roundabout, or Walkinstown Cross, is a major junction which serves seven local roads - the Greenhills Road into Tallaght, Ballymount Road towards Ballymount and the M50, Walkinstown Avenue towards Ballyfermot, Walkinstown Road towards Drimnagh, Cromwellsfort Road towards Kimmage and Crumlin, Bunting Road towards Crumlin and St. Peter's Road towards Greenhills and Templeogue.

The area is served by Dublin Bus routes 9, 15A, 27, 77A, 77X, and Nitelink 77N.

Sport

The former Irish international football manager, Brian Kerr, lives in Greenhills, having been brought up close-by in Drimnagh. Michael Carruth, a gold-medal winner in the welterweight boxing division at the 1992 Summer Olympics, was from St. Peter's Road and retains close ties to the area. Football is one of the chief sports in the area, through clubs such as Greenhills FC and Manortown United, while Gaelic football is also popular, with clubs such as Crumlin GAA, Robert Emmets GAC, St. Jude's (Templeogue), Faughs (Templeogue) and St. James Gaels. Community Games athletics was also popular in Greenhills and Limekiln although, with the population of the area ageing, participation in all sports has dropped off. Rounders is also a popular sport in the Limekiln area with the Limekiln Rounders Club having won many trophies and medals, some of which are all-Ireland winning medals. Rounders is played in Tymon Park every week and groups of all ages enjoy playing.

Administration

Greenhills is in the north-west of the South Dublin County Council area, and in local government elections is part of the Tallaght Central local electoral area. As of 2009, the local representatives on the County Council were Eamonn Walsh (Fianna Fáil), Mick Duff (Labour), Colm Brophy (Fine Gael), Pamala Kearns (Labour), Sean Crowe (Sinn Féin) and Dermot Looney (Independent).

Greenhills is part of the Dublin South–West Dáil constituency. The Teachtaí Dála for the area are Paul Murphy (Anti-Austerity Alliance), Sean Crowe (Sinn Féin), Eamonn Maloney (Labour), and Pat Rabbitte (Labour).