Sandyford

Sandyford () is a suburb of Dublin, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland.

Sandyford Business District makes up much of the suburb and encompasses 4 business parks: Sandyford Business Park, Stillorgan Business Park, Central Park and South County Business Park. Some of the multinational companies based in the area include Google, Facebook, Microsoft and AIB.

Location and access

Sandyford is part of the Dáil Éireann constituency of Dublin-Rathdown. Sandyford village (sometimes referred to in Irish as ''Taobh na Coille'', meaning 'woodside', the townland in which it is situated) is 9 km south of Dublin city centre, just south of the M50 motorway, accessed from the R117 road or M50 junctions 13 and 14, while ''Sandyford Business District'' is just north of the motorway.

An Aircoach service links the area with Dublin Airport 24 hours a day. Dublin Bus routes 11, 44, 44B, 47, 116 and 118 link the area to other parts of the city.

Luas

The Luas '' Green Line'' was built through the Business District and the '' Kilmacud'', ''Stillorgan'', '' Sandyford'' and ''Central Park'' stops serve the area, the middle two lying along the eastern edge of the original district. All four of these stops are in the ''Sandyford Business District''. Sandyford was the Green Line terminus until the extension to Cherrywood opened in October 2010. The depot for the Green Line is located on the eastern edge of the Business District.

Metrolink

While a 2018 public consultation document proposed that the MetroLink project could have its southern terminus at Sandyford, by February 2019 it was proposed that the line would not serve Sandyford and instead stop at Charlemont.

History

Sandyford House, a pub in the centre of the village, has been an inn and coach house since the 1690s. For 200 years it was a stopping place for travellers en route to Enniskerry. From 1803 onwards, the Chatham Street to Enniskerry mail coach (a two-hour journey) stopped and deposited the region's mail at the inn, which acted as the local post office.

Sandyford Business District

Sandyford Business District spans one of the biggest business parks in Ireland, consisting of over 1,000 companies employing approximately 26,000 people. It was officially opened in June 1967 on a site of 120 acres and for 50 years was known as the "Sandyford Industrial Estate"; 85 acres allocated to light industry and the rest to offices.

The area includes several separate business parks and sites, including Sandyford Business Park, Stillorgan Business Park, Central Park, and South County Business Park.

A proposal to establish a ''Sandyford Business District'' area, to include the core Sandyford Business Park as well as the other areas, resulted in the establishment of the Sandyford Business Improvement District Company (SBID) in January 2017. The area has capacity for 17,500 more employees, 350,000 sq m of commercial floor space and 1,000 residential units.

Companies in the business district include American Airlines, Barclaycard, Canon, Microsoft, Novell, and Vodafone Ireland. The Irish Management Institute also has its headquarters in northern Sandyford. The Irish Mint, a division of the Central Bank of Ireland, is located in Sandyford, west of the M50 and north of the village.

The Beacon Hospital is located in the area.

People

Notable residents of Sandyford include radio personality Ray D'Arcy, singer/songwriter Paul Brady, and comedian Hal Roach (1927–2012), while David Kennedy, the former Formula 1 driver and commentator lived for many years on Sandyford Road. Other residents have included:
* Frank Aiken, a founder member of Fianna Fáil, lived in Sandyford, and a local housing development called ''Aiken's Village'' is built on what was his land.
* Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British Ambassador to Ireland, was killed by the IRA on ''Murphystown Road'' in Sandyford while leaving his residence, Glencairn House, on 21 July 1976.
* Máire Comerford, Republican activist, lived at her home, St. Nessan's, in Sandyford from 1935 to 1982.

Sports

Sandyford is home to the Meteors Ladies' Basketball Club. The club was founded in 1965 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016.

Naomh Olaf Gaelic Athletic Association Club is located in Sandyford. Founded in 1981, the club has teams from under eight up to senior level, and operates an academy for boys and girls from four through seven years of age.

Sandyford Cricket Club has a cricket team which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2014.

Arts and culture

In the centre of Sandyford village is a monument to the working men of the village, ''Pater and Ned''.''Pater and Ned''
, 1996, is a bronze sculpture by the Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie, standing 2.4m tall.

From series 3 onwards, children's TV series ROY was produced in Sandyford.

See also

* List of towns and villages in Ireland.

References

{{Dublin residential areas

Economy of the Republic of Ireland
Financial districts