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Fairview (or Fionnradharc as Ghaeilge) is a district on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland, in the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council. It is part of Dublin 3.

Location and access

Fairview Park

The district is bordered to the southwest by the River Tolka and East Wall, to the west by North Strand, to the north by Marino, on the east by Clontarf, and on the southeast additionally by the DART railway line to Howth. Fairview is reached on a main road artery from Dublin city via North Strand, which continues on as the Malahide, Howth and Clontarf Roads. Fairview is served by the Clontarf Road DART station. The area can also be reached by way of several Dublin Bus routes from the city centre, including the following routes : 128 | 129 | 130 | 20b | 27 | 27b | 27c | 27x | 29a | 29n | 31 | 31b | 31n | 32 | 32a | 32b | 32x | 42a | 42n | .

Interestingly, the Irish name seen on street signs opposite Fairview Park is Baile Bocht, rather than Fionn Radharc - which tells that this area was originally part of Ballybough. In fact, most of Ballybough was where Fairview lies now, and it was only later it moved across the river. Fairview really only began to emerge when the building of Annesley Bridge in 1797 opened up access to it, Clontarf and adjacent areas; there was previously (from 1488) no crossing of the Tolka below Ballybough Bridge.

Administratively, Fairview and Marino were part of the old townland of Clonturk, which also included Drumcondra.

Fairview Strand was originally known as Philipsburgh Strand.

Amenities

The main commercial areas are Fairview, a busy road alongside Fairview Park, and Fairview Strand, a narrower commercial strip running from Edge’s Corner around to the Luke Kelly bridge.

St. Vincent’s Hospital was founded by the Daughters of Charity in 1857. Located on the Richmond Road, it provides psychiatric services for the North East quadrant of the city.

One of the area’s main features, Fairview Park, built on reclaimed land, was reduced in size in recent years due to the development of the Dublin Port Tunnel, whose entrance is just beyond the old park perimeter. Dublin City Council have promised a full restoration of the park, which is expected to be completed by 2008.

The area also includes Dublin’s first 50-metre swimming pool, at the West Wood Club adjacent to Fairview Park.

Points of note

Fairview Park from helicopter (Ken Finlay, early 1980s)

Bram Stoker, creator of Dracula, was a resident of The Crescent, a quiet street around a small near-circular park, near Fairview’s border with Clontarf. A museum has opened to commemorate this.

Fairview is also the location of St. Joseph’s Primary School & Secondary School. Famous alumni include former Taoiseach, the late Charles Haughey.

Maureen Potter grew up off Philipsburgh Avenue, and attended St. Mary’s Primary School for girls, also off Philipsburgh Ave.

On Fairview Strand, near Luke Kelly bridge, is Dublin’s oldest Jewish Cemetery. The graveyard was built in 1718, with a mortuary chapel added in 1857 (the Hebrew date 5618 is inscribed on the front) and contains more than 200 graves. The last burial there was in 1958.

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(Thanks to Wikipedia for much of this information.)

See also:

• History of Fairview & Marino, from “5618-and-all-that”
• History of Fairview & Marino, by Dillon Cosgrove 1909
• 1911 Census records
• History of Mud Island, by Weston St. John Joyce