Mount Merrion (Cnoc Mhuirfean in Irish) is a predominantly middle class suburb roughly 5 miles (7km) south of Dublin City centre, Ireland, situated on and around the hill of the same name, which forms the first foothill of the Dublin Mountains. Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The Wicklow Mountains (Sléibhte Chill Mhantáin including at the northern end the Dublin Mountains) are a range of mountains in the southeast of Ireland Mount Merrion is situated two miles southwest of Merrion itself. The lands originally came into the possession of Fitzwilliam of Dundrum in the mid-late 14th century, and were built up as a residential area in the 1900s. Dundrum ( Dún Droma in Irish, the ridge fort) originally a Town in its own right is now a suburban village and district in the county of
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History
Mount Merrion the Old
Between the Convent of Mount Anville, above Dundrum, and the broad high road which leads to the village of Stillorgan, rises the wooded hill of Mount Merrion, the centre of the landscape over Dublin Bay, which gradually becomes defined as the opalescent mists of the Irish sunrise fade away.
It is a landscape known to every visitor to Ireland who has stood on deck as the Holyhead mail steamer passes the Kish lightship. Around the wood some 300 acres (1. 2 km²) of the richest grazing land in County Dublin slope gently to the high stone wall which surrounds the demesne. To the south and south-west the horizon is bounded by the swelling outline of the Wicklow and Dublin Hills. To the north the long low line of the Mourne Mountains, 60 miles (100 km) and more away, are clearly visible when recent rains have left the washed air clear, while the islands of Lambay and Ireland's Eye give an added beauty to the sea-scape which lies beyond the wind-blown causeway which leads on and up to the rhododendron covered slopes above the ancient castle of Howth.
A double avenue of beech trees shades the roadway which runs, straight as a rule, for a full quarter of a mile to the entrance gates on the Stillorgan Road. This roadway, whose immaculate pebbled surface was raked daily, had a broad border of century old shaven turf, the pride of the Scottish gardener; so tended, brushed and rolled was it in those days that the most careless visitor would have hesitated to sully the velvety perfection of the surface with a profane foot. Yet the gardener, his voice, with its rich Highland brogue quivering with fury at the bare recollection, would tell how a distinguished citizen of Dublin, having ridden to pay his respects to his lordship, had, on departing, cantered gaily down the sacred border, divots flying from his horse's heels; so that the whole length was scarred and pitted with hoofmarks, as though the plague had passed over it, and it was only after months of patient labour that the unbroken serenity of the surface was restored.
Sourced to "Mount Merrion the Old", by Sir Neville Wilkinson
Mount Merrion House
The Norman family of Fitzwilliam came to Ireland in the year 1210. Major Sir Nevile Rodwell Wilkinson, KCVO ( 26 October 1869 &ndash 22 December 1940) was a British officer of arms They built a castle on the lands which are today the property of the Sisters of Charity and St Marys Home and School for the Blind. Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity as part of their name In 1710, Merrion Castle was in such a bad state of repair that Richard, the Fifth Viscount Fitzwilliam, selected 100 acres (0. Year 1710 ( MDCCX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year 4 km²) on which he built Mount Merrion House, surrounded by an eight-foot high granite wall.
The house was completed in 1711 and served as a new seat by the 5th Viscount Fitzwilliam on the hill at Mount Merrion. Year 1711 ( MDCCXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Richard FitzWilliam 5th Viscount FitzWilliam, PC ( c 1677 &ndash 6 June 1743) was an Irish nobleman and politician The Fitzwilliam family left for England around 1726. Year 1726 ( MDCCXXVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Although the family no longer lived in Mount Merrion House, they retained possession of it, and rented the house out.
The next Fitzwilliam to take a major interest in Mount Merrion was Richard, the Seventh Viscount, who remained a bachelor all his life. It was he who willed 100,000 to build the Founders Museum in Cambridge, his former university. Prior to his death in 1816, he bequeathed his vast estates to his cousin, the 11th Earl of Pembroke. Year 1816 ( MDCCCXVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Mount Merrion was occupied for a time by Sidney Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Lea, and later by Sir Neville Wilkinson, from 1903 to 1914. Sidney Herbert 1st Baron Herbert of Lea ( 16 September 1810 – 2 August 1861) was an English Statesman. Major Sir Nevile Rodwell Wilkinson, KCVO ( 26 October 1869 &ndash 22 December 1940) was a British officer of arms Year 1903 ( MCMIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar or a Common year starting Year 1914 ( MCMXIV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year
Deer Park
Deer Park was landscaped by the 5th Viscount Fitzwilliam. Richard FitzWilliam 5th Viscount FitzWilliam, PC ( c 1677 &ndash 6 June 1743) was an Irish nobleman and politician The park lands are comprised of the area behind the site of Mount Merrion House. The park is now open to the public. It was created in 1971 from a collection of open public spaces and some acquisitions of private land. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. The park contains both sporting facilities (Soccer and Gaelic football pitches and Mount Merrion Tennis Club) and landscaped land for more informal leisure pursuits. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered Gaelic football ( Irish: Peil, Peil Ghaelach, or Caid) commonly referred to as " football " is a form of Football Tennis is a sport played between two players ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles) Its location and altitude also provide it with a great view of Dublin city, which is often used by photographers for panaromas and also by developers to assess the impact of development on the cityscape. Dublin (ˈdʌblɨn/ /ˈdʊblɨn or /ˈdʊbəlɪn/, bˠalʲə aːha klʲiəh or cliə(ɸ is both the largest city and capital of Ireland. Crowds also gather in Deerpark to look out at the annual Skyfest fireworks display around St. Patricks Weekend. Saint Patrick's Day (Lá ’le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig) colloquially St It is claimed that Strongbow's white stallion is buried somewhere in Deer Park. Richard de Clare 2nd Earl of Pembroke Lord of Leinster Justiciar of Ireland (1130 &ndash 20 April 1176) known as Strongbow, was a
"Perhaps the most interesting remaining part of the 18th century development is the landscape element. The present Deerpark is a public park to the west of the house and included a wooded area which corresponds exactly to the walled woodland area laid out with radial paths shown on the earliest map (1757). The position of the 'gazebo' is now a platform with an assembly of cut stone elements lying on the ground, the origin of the material is not known to me. I believe that the radial form of the landscape can still be detected and consider that this may offer scope for an exercise in landscape conservation. " (From historical research, carried out by Denis Cogan, 1999)
Recent history
The estate at Mount Merrion started to be sold off to property developers Mount Merrion Estates c. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) 1925, as this area of Dublin rapidly built up with suburban housing in mid-20th century. Year 1925 ( MCMXXV) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The twentieth century of the Common Era began on Mount Merrion House itself was sold to the Catholic church 1936. Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The main house was converted for use as a Catholic church, and a new church was built beside it in 1956. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Much of the house was demolished in the late seventies. However, the front block of the house was retained and a new community centre was built onto the back of it. The plans for recent construction work on the community centre originally involved demolition of the house, however the plans were amended due to protests. The stables survive, beside the church. The original granite gateway were salvaged and now stands as the entrance to Willow Park School on the Rock Road (ironically Willow Park's own original gateway on Booterstown Avenue was later removed). Part of the estate eventually became the prestigious men's only Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club[1] on the Appian Way. Deer park
"Between the Convent of Mount Anville, above Dundrum, and the broad high road which leads to the pretty village of Stillorgan, rises the wooded hill of Mount Merrion, the centre of the landscape over Dublin Bay, which gradually becomes defined as the opalescent mists of the Irish sunrise fade away”.
It is a landscape known to every visitor to Ireland who has stood on deck as the Holyhead mail steamer passes the Kish lightship. Around the wood some three hundred acres of the richest grazing land in County Dublin slope gently to the high stone wall which surrounds the demesne. To the south and south-west the horizon is bounded by the swelling outline of the Wicklow and Dublin Hills. To the north the long low line of the Mourne Mountains, sixty miles and more away, are clearly visible when recent rains have left the washed air clear, while the islands of Lambay and Ireland's Eye give an added beauty to the sea-scape which lies beyond the wind-blown causeway which leads on and up to the rhododendron covered slopes above the ancient castle of Howth.
A double avenue of beech trees shades the roadway which runs, straight as a rule, for a full quarter of a mile to the entrance gates on the Stillorgan Road. This roadway, whose immaculate pebbled surface was raked daily, had a broad border of century old shaven turf, the pride of the Scottish gardener; so tended, brushed and rolled was it in those days that the most careless visitor would have hesitated to sully the velvety perfection of the surface with a profane foot. Yet the gardener, his voice, with its rich Highland brogue quivering with fury at the bare recollection, would tell how a distinguished citizen of Dublin, having ridden to pay his respects to his lordship, had, on departing, cantered gaily down the sacred border, divots flying from his horse's heels; so that the whole length was scarred and pitted with hoofmarks, as though the plague had passed over it, and it was only after months of patient labour that the unbroken serenity of the surface was restored. "
These opening paragraphs of "Mount Merrion the Old" by Sir Neville R. Wilkinson show at once how much and how little things have changed. The present 18 hectares of Deerpark, Mount Merrion would have been the nucleus of this "three hundred acres of richest grazing land" now largely covered with buildings and roads, but vigilance is still required to limit the depredations of the modern equivalent of the horse and rider!
These lands were part of the Fitzwilliam and later Pembroke Estates. Recent historical research carried out by Denis Cogan has shown that maps such as John Roques (1760) and Barkers Estate Maps (1762) show much of what is now Deerpark as a formal walled garden and many of the prominent avenues and boundaries of the nearby Mount Merrion House lands form the basis of the present local road network.
"Perhaps the most interesting remaining part of the 18th century development is the landscape element. The present Deerpark is a public park to the west of the house and included a wooded area which corresponds exactly to the walled woodland area laid out with radial paths shown on the earliest map (1757). The position of the 'gazebo' is now a platform with an assembly of cut stone elements lying on the ground, the origin of the material is not known to me. I believe that the radial form of the landscape can still be detected and consider that this may offer scope for an exercise in landscape conservation. " (Denis Cogan, 1999)
The present Deerpark was opened to the public in 1971. It was created through the assembly of a number of parcels of public open space lands and from local acquisitions. It has formal sports activities such as football pitches and tennis courts run by the very active Mount Merrion Tennis Club as well as ample space for informal leisure pursuits
Sport
Mount Merrion Youths Football Club
Mount Merrion Youths Football Club is a community based club that has endeavoured over the past 30 years to provide sporting access and facilities for the youth of Mount Merrion and its adjacent neighbourhoods. The club first represented Mount Merrion at the 1974 Community Games. In 2007 the club established its first representative all-girls team. All representatives of the club operate on a voluntary basis. The club proposes to build a flood lit all-weather pitch in the Deer Park. .
In 2005 the club recorded its biggest success to date when its under 18s representatives won the Leinster Football Association Youths' Cup. The side met Sheriff YC in the final and were victorious 4-1 on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
See also
External links
- http://www.compapp.dcu.ie/~humphrys/FamTree/Fitzwilliam/mt.merrion.html - (link currently invalid) very heavily relied on for this article. Titania's Palace is a castle that was hand-built by James Hicks & Sons Irish Cabinet Makers who were comissioned by Sir Neville Wilkinson from 1907 to 1922
- www.mountmerriondeerpark.com - Details of proposed changes to the park
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