Summerhill, Dublin
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Summerhill () is a mainly residential area of
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Ireland, on the
Northside Northside or North Side may refer to: Music * Northside (band), a musical group from Manchester, EngIand * NorthSide, an American record label * NorthSide Festival (Denmark), a music festival in Aarhus, Denmark * "Norf Norf", a 2015 song by Vince ...
of the city. It is located roughly in the area bordered by
Gardiner Street Gardiner Street () is a long Georgian architecture, Georgian street in Dublin, Ireland. It stretches from the River Liffey at its southern end via Mountjoy Square to Dorset Street, Dublin, Dorset Street at its northern end. The The Custom House, ...
in the west,
Mountjoy Square Mountjoy Square () is a garden square in Dublin, Ireland, on the Northside of the city just under a kilometre from the River Liffey. One of five Georgian squares in Dublin, it was planned and developed in the late 18th century by Luke Gardine ...
,
Ballybough Ballybough () is an inner city district of northeast Dublin city, Ireland. Adjacent areas include the North Strand and Clonliffe. Location Ballybough is an inner city district of northeast Dublin. Neighbouring districts include Drumcondra to ...
in the north, northeast and east, and
Talbot Street Talbot Street (; ) is a city-centre street located on Dublin's Northside (Dublin), Northside, near to Dublin Connolly railway station. It was laid out in the 1840s and a number of 19th-century buildings still survive. The Irish Life Mall is on t ...
and Amiens Street in the south and southeast. The name derives from the eponymous street of Summerhill Parade. It is one of the most densely populated and economically deprived areas of the city.


History

Prior to wholesale redevelopment in the second half of the 18th century, Summerhill Parade formed one of the main routes through and out of the city to the north from the Bridge of Dublin to the bridge at
Ballybough Ballybough () is an inner city district of northeast Dublin city, Ireland. Adjacent areas include the North Strand and Clonliffe. Location Ballybough is an inner city district of northeast Dublin. Neighbouring districts include Drumcondra to ...
over the
River Tolka The River Tolka (; , "the flood"), also once spelled ''Tolga'', is one of Dublin's three main rivers, flowing from County Meath to Fingal within the old County Dublin, and through the north of Dublin city, Ireland (the other main rivers are t ...
.


18th century

The area was mostly developed in the last quarter of the 18th century around the same time as the development of Mountjoy Square with terraces of large four-storey over basement red brick
Georgian houses Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...
along streets such as Summerhill Parade,
Buckingham Street Buckingham Street is a street in Dublin running from Summerhill to Amiens Street. It is divided into Buckingham Street Lower (south end) and Buckingham Street Upper (north end). History Buckingham Street was named for George Nugent-Temple- ...
and Gardiner Street. The northern side of Summerhill Parade was developed first.


19th century

In the later 19th century, the area became known more for tenement housing and the
Monto Monto was the nickname for the one-time red light district in the northeast of Dublin, Ireland. The Monto was roughly the area bounded by Talbot Street, Amiens Street, Gardiner Street and Seán McDermott Street (formerly Gloucester Street) in ...
red-light district.


20th century

In the second half of the 20th century, the large Georgian houses were mostly replaced with large-scale
social housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...
schemes. Streets such as Summerhill Parade were entirely demolished (about 40 five-storey Georgian houses) and replaced with social housing. In 1981, approximately 120 Georgian houses were demolished in Summerhill. In 1992, the sculpture ''Summerhill Group'' was unveiled. It is a bronze work on
Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...
limestone by Cathy Carman and was commissioned by
Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660–1661, even more si ...
as part of the Per Cent for Art Scheme. The work invokes the history of the street, before its redevelopment into a dual carriageway, when children would play on the street.


John Hutton and Sons

For almost 140 years a successful
coachbuilding A coachbuilder manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles. The trade of producing coachwork began with bodies for horse-drawn vehicles. Today it includes custom automobiles, buses, motor coaches, and railway carriages. The word ...
enterprise existed at Summerhill, originally established on nearby Great Britain Street in 1779 by 22-year-old John Hutton, the son of a tannery owner. In 1788 the
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
ordered two new
mail coach A mail coach is a stagecoach that is used to deliver mail. In Great Britain, Ireland, and Australia, they were built to a General Post Office-approved design operated by an independent contractor to carry long-distance mail for the Post Office. ...
es to be built by Hutton as models, adhering to the design of the patent mail coaches used all over England at the time, effectively granting the company the entirety of the Irish mail coach contract. On the strength of this lucrative contract, the company was enabled to move to larger premises on Summerhill, which it did in 1789. At the time, relocating to Summerhill was considered by many to be a bold move owing to its distance from the great thoroughfares of the city and the inevitable lack of trade and business potential. In 1791 the
Lord Mayor of Dublin The Lord Mayor of Dublin () is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The incumbent, since December 2024, is Fine Gael councillor Emma ...
's coach was built, which was still used on ceremonial occasions as of 2004. The business thrived nonetheless, providing
coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...
to the aristocracy and great families of Ireland before the
Acts of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of G ...
shifted the focus of the Irish high society from Dublin to London and new carriages were not required as often. In 1821
George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...
granted a
royal patent Letters patent ( plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title or statu ...
to the company, followed by a
royal warrant A royal warrant is a document issued by a monarch which confers rights or privileges on the recipient, or has the effect of law. Royal warrant may refer to: * Royal warrant of appointment, warrant to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a r ...
issued by
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
in 1836 and confirmed by
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
in 1837. The introduction of the railways as well as the Great Famine led to a decline in the business. Possibly one of the most famous coaches produced by the firm at this time was the
Irish State Coach The Irish State Coach is an enclosed, four-horse-drawn carriage used by the British royal family. It is the traditional horse-drawn coach in which the British monarch travels from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster to formally ope ...
, ordered by Queen Victoria in 1852, which is still used today by the reigning British monarch whenever they travel from
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
to the
Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...
to formally open the new legislative session of the UK Parliament. The company adapted to producing
motor car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one bil ...
s in the late 1800s. In the early 1920s Huttons turned down the option to take control of the
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
franchise for the whole of the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, an error which contributed to Huttons having to file for voluntary
liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...
in 1925. The premises at Summerhill was sold to the Dublin United Tramway Company soon after and is now a depot of
Dublin Bus Dublin Bus () is an Irish State-owned enterprise, state-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 145 million passengers in 2023. It is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann ...
.


People

Former or current residents of the area have included: *
Todd Andrews Christopher Stephen "Todd" Andrews (6 October 1901 – 11 October 1985) was an Irish republican and later a public servant. He participated in the Irish War of Independence and the Civil War but never stood for election or held public office. ...
, political activist and public servant *
John Keegan Casey John Keegan "Leo" Casey (1846 – 17 March 1870), known as ''the Poet of the Fenians'', was an Irish poet, orator and Irish Republicanism, republican who was famous as the writer of the song "The Rising of the Moon" and as one of the central figu ...
, poet, orator and republican famous for writing the song "
The Rising of the Moon "The Rising of the Moon" is an Irish ballad recounting a battle between the Society of United Irishmen, United Irishmen, led by Wolfe Tone, against British forces during the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Description The ballad's singer is told th ...
" *
Bill Cullen William Lawrence Cullen (February 18, 1920 – July 7, 1990) was an American radio and television personality whose career spanned five decades. Known for appearing on game shows and later as a prolific game show host, he hosted 23 shows, ear ...
, businessman and media personality * Thomas Farrell, sculptorObituary, Irish Times, Dublin, 5 July 1900 *
Kellie Harrington Kellie Anne Harrington OLY (born 11 December 1989) is an Irish retired amateur boxer. During her career she was double Olympic gold medalist, winning at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024, and 2018 World champion. Harrington also won gold medals at t ...
, amateur boxer and Olympic gold medallist who grew up in nearby Portland Row *
Peadar Kearney Peadar Kearney ( ; 12 December 1883 – 24 November 1942) was an Irish republican and composer of numerous rebel songs. In 1907 he wrote the lyrics to "A Soldier's Song" (), now the Irish national anthem. He was the uncle of Irish writers Bren ...
, republican and composer *
Barry Keoghan Barry Keoghan ( ; born 18 October 1992) is an Irish actor. His accolades include a BAFTA Award, along with nominations for an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2020, he was listed at number 27 on ''The Irish Times'' list of Ireland ...
, actor *
Richard Edmund Meredith The Rt. Hon. Richard Edmund Meredith PC, QC (18 November 1855 – 26 January 1916), was the Master of the Rolls in Ireland, a Privy Councillor and Judicial Commissioner of the Irish Land Commission. Career Born at Summerhill, County Dublin, Me ...
(1855–1916),
Master of the Rolls in Ireland The Master of the Rolls in Ireland was a senior judicial office in the Irish Chancery under English and British rule, and was equivalent to the Master of the Rolls in the English Chancery. Originally called the Keeper of the Rolls, he was respon ...
, Privy Councillor and Judicial Commissioner of the
Irish Land Commission The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to "inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower ...
* Kathleen Mulhall, mother of Irish murderers Linda and Charlotte Mulhall, who lived in Richmond Cottages, Summerhill in 2005 * Cornelius O'Brien, politician and Member of Parliament * Clementina Robertson, miniature-painter * Terence Wheelock, 20-year-old who died on 16 September 2005, from alleged injuries received in the custody of An Garda Síochána (police)


See also

*
List of streets and squares in Dublin This is a list of notable streets and squares in Dublin, Ireland. __NOTOC__ References Notes Sources * External linksStreetnames of DublinaArchiseekArchitecture of Ireland– English-Irish list of Dublin street names aLeathanach baile Sh ...


External links


Image of Hutton motor works


References

{{Streets in Dublin city, state=autocollapse Towns and villages in Dublin (city)