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Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown

*Dún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin*
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown Dún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin
County
	Coat of arms
	Motto(s): Irish: Ó Chuan go Sliabh, lit. 'From Harbour to Mountain'
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
Region	Eastern and Midland
Established	1994
County town	Dún Laoghaire
Government
• Local authority	Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council
• Dáil constituencies	Dún Laoghaire; Dublin Rathdown
• EP constituency	Dublin
Area
• Total	125.8 km2 (48.6 sq mi)
Highest elevation (Two Rock)	536 m (1,759 ft)
Population (2022)
• Total	233,860
• Density	1,900/km2 (4,800/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC±0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (IST)
Vehicle index; mark code	D
Website	Official website

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown (Irish: Dún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin^[3]) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished in 1994. It is named after the former borough of Dún Laoghaire and the barony of Rathdown. Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 233,860 at the time of the 2022 census.^[2]

Geography and subdivisions

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown is bordered to the east by the Irish Sea, to the north by the city of Dublin, to the west by the county of South Dublin, and to the south by County Wicklow. With the city of Dublin, Fingal and South Dublin, it is one of four local government areas in the old County Dublin. Located to the south-east of the capital city of Dublin, the county town of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown is Dún Laoghaire. Since 2015, the county is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. University College Dublin and Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology are located in the county.

Towns, villages and suburbs

Administrative history

In 1986, the administrative county of Dublin was divided into three "electoral counties": Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Dublin—Fingal, and Dublin—Belgard.^[4] The city has been administered separately from County Dublin since 1548. An "area committee" for the electoral county was formed within Dublin County Council under the Local Government Act 1991,^[5]

On 1 January 1994, County Dublin and the Borough of Dún Laoghaire were abolished and the three electoral counties became the administrative counties of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Fingal, and South Dublin respectively.^[6] Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown comprises the former Borough of Dún Laoghaire and the south-eastern part of the former County Dublin. Additionally, the powers of the former Deansgrange Joint Burial Board were subsumed into the new authority. From 2002, all "administrative counties" in Ireland were redesignated as "counties".^[7] The three counties together with Dublin city constitute the traditional County Dublin.

Naming

The coastal town of Dún Laoghaire (called Dunleary until 1821 and then Kingstown until 1920) gave its name to the larger borough of Dún Laoghaire established in 1930. Rathdown was the south-easternmost barony in County Dublin, named after Rathdown Castle. When County Wicklow was created south of County Dublin in 1606, half of Rathdown was transferred to Wicklow, including Rathdown Castle, now a ruin. From the 1840s, the poor law union (PLU) of Rathdown covered all of the Wicklow barony and most of the Dublin barony, with part of Uppercross. From the Dublin and Wicklow sections of the PLU, the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 created rural districts respectively named Rathdown No. 1 and Rathdown No. 2, abolished in 1930 and 1925. Rathdown PLU survived as Rathdown Public Assistance District until 1960.^[8] Dún Laoghaire and Rathdown was a Dáil constituency created by the Electoral (Amendment) Act 1947 coterminous with the former Rathdown No. 1 rural district.^[9]^[10]

The name "Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown" was given to the electoral county created in 1985. Before its establishment as an administrative county, possible alternative names before deciding to retain "Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown".^[11] The Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 named it "Dun Laoghaire–Rathdown" in English, omitting the síneadh fada on the "u" of "Dun", and Dún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin in Irish.^[6] The 1993 act empowered Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) to apply to change the county's name, but this was not invoked.^[a]

The spelling in English as "Dun Laoghaire–Rathdown", without the síneadh fada, is used in the list of counties in the Local Government Act 2001^[13] (and as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014^[14]). However, in the Placenames Database of Ireland and the ministerial order under the Official Languages Act 2003, the name of the county in English is "Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown".^[3] This is followed by the County Council, with the síneadh fada used in English.^[b]

The placenames order also distinguishes between the use of "County" as a prefix for the traditional counties, but not in the case of "Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown" and other counties listed as "administrative counties".^[15]

Local government and politics

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council is the local authority for the county. There are six local electoral areas (LEAs) for the county which return a total of 40 councillors as follows: Blackrock (6), Dundrum (7), Dún Laoghaire (7), Glencullen–Sandyford (7), Killiney–Shankill (7), and Stillorgan (6).^[16]

For elections to Dáil Éireann, the county is split between the Dáil constituencies of Dún Laoghaire (4 TDs) and Dublin Rathdown (3 TDs), with the division generally running along the N11.^[17] These constituencies currently have three Fine Gael TDs, two Green Party TDs, one Fianna Fáil TD and one People Before Profit–Solidarity TD.

It is part of the 4-seat Dublin constituency in European Parliament elections.^[18]

County motto

The motto on the insignia of the County Council reads, Ó Chuan go Sliabh, Irish for "From Harbour to Mountain". The crown in the device is that of Lóegaire mac Néill, a legendary 5th-century High King of Ireland and the eponymous Laoghaire of "Dún Laoghaire".

Demographics

Main immigrant groups, 2016^[19]
Nationality	Population
United Kingdom	11,927
Poland	3,120
United States	2,181
India	1,919
Philippines	1,325
China	1,223
France	1,178
Spain	1,024
Romania	953
Germany	926

Transport

The Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) system runs through the eastern coast of the county and connects to Dublin city centre to the north as well as other points north and south on the Iarnród Éireann railway system, with connections to Intercity and commuter trains. The Luas Green Line runs through the centre of the county.

There is a medium-sized harbour at Dún Laoghaire, with now discontinued ferry crossings to and from Holyhead in North Wales; this was a popular route for tourists travelling across the Irish Sea from Britain. This service was suspended indefinitely in September 2014.

Footnotes

^ Section 9 of the 1993 act was repealed by the Local Government Act 2001 without having been invoked.^[12] Since then the default provisions for placename changes apply, requiring a plebiscite of voters rather than a resolution of councillors.
^ See for example Annual Reports since 2007

References

^ "Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Progile" (PDF). Maynooth University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Census 2022 - F1004A - Population". Central Statistics Office Census 2022 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland. August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Dún Laoghaire-Ráth an Dúin/Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown". Logainm.ie (in English and Irish). Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
^ Local Government (Reorganisation) Act 1985, s. 12: Establishment of Dublin Electoral Counties (No. 7 of 1985, s. 12). Act of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 December 2021.
^ Local Government Act 1991, s. 18: Establishment of area committees (No. 11 of 1991, s. 18). Enacted on 18 May 1991. Act of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 December 2021.
^ ^a ^b Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993, s. 9: Establishment and boundaries of administrative counties (No. 31 of 1993, s. 9). Act of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 December 2021.; Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 Commencement Order 1993 (S.I. No. 400 of 1993). Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 December 2021.
^ Local Government Act 2001, 2nd Sch.: Construction of Certain Terms in Other Enactments (No. 37 of 2001, 2nd Sch.). Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book.
^ Health Authorities Act 1960, s. 15 (No. 9 of 1960, s. 15). Act of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 December 2019.
^ "Electoral (Amendment) Bill, 1947—Second Stage". Seanad Éireann (5th Seanad) debates. Oireachtas. 19 November 1947. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
^ Electoral (Amendment) Act 1947, 1st Sch.: Constituencies (No. 31 of 1947, 1st Sch.). Enacted on 27 November 1947. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 19 November 2021.
^ "Private Members' Business — Local Government (Dublin) Bill, 1993; Report Stage: (Resumed)". Dáil Éireann (27th Dáil) debates. Oireachtas. 7 December 1993. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
^ "Local Government (Dublin) Act 1993 [Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act]". Irish Statute Book. 15 May 2019. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
^ Local Government Act 2001, 5th Sch. (No. 37 of 2001, 5th Sch.). Act of the Oireachtas. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 30 May 2019.
^ "Local Government Act 2001, Schedule 5 Part 1 [as amended]". Revised Acts. Law Reform Commission. 16 April 2019. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
^ Placenames (Provinces and Counties) Order 2003 (S.I. No. 519 of 2003). Signed on 30 October 2003. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 14 January 2022.
^ County of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Local Electoral Areas Order 2018 (S.I. No. 615 of 2018). Signed on 19 December 2018. Statutory Instrument of the Government of Ireland. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 9 February 2019.
^ Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017, Schedule (No. 39 of 2017, Schedule). Enacted on 23 December 2017. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 8 August 2021.
^ European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Act 2019, s. 7: Substitution of Third Schedule to Principal Act (No. 7 of 2019, s. 7). Enacted on 12 March 2019. Act of the Oireachtas. Retrieved from Irish Statute Book on 21 December 2021.
^ "Population Usually Resident and Present in the State 2011 to 2016 by Sex, Aggregate Town or Rural Area, Birthplace, County of Usual Residence and CensusYear - StatBank - data and statistics". CSO. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2019.