CLONTURK, or DRUMCONDRA, a parish, in the barony of COOLOCK, county of DUBLIN, and the province of LEINSTER, 1 mile (N.) from Dublin, on the roads to Howth, Malahide, and Swords; containing 2713 inhabitants.
The river Tolka bounds the parish on the south, a woollen mill on which was washed away in 1834 by a flood, but was rebuilt in 1836; there is also a brass foundry. The city police have a station on the strand.
There are many beautiful seats, the chief of which is Marino, that of the Earl of Charlemont; it is entered from the Strand road, near Fair View, by an elegant semicircular gateway of hewn granite, which attracted the notice of his late Majesty, George IV., who pronounced it to be the most perfect structure of the kind in his dominions. The demesne contains above 100 acres and is well wooded. The mansion, which contains some elegant apartments, is of a plain and unpretending exterior; but this want of embellishment is fully compensated by the Temple or Casino. This fine imitation of Grecian architecture crowns the summit of a gentle eminence in the centre of the demesne. It rises from a square platform, ascended on the north and south sides by broad flights of marble steps. Contiguous to the Casino, which was erected by the late Lord Charlemont, from a design by Sir W. Chambers, is an extensive pleasure ground surrounding a small but beautiful sheet of water, supplied from a copious fountain gushing from a rock-work grotto.
The other residences are:
- Drumcondra Castle (b.1560) of Richard Williams, Esq. (formerly inhabited by Sir James Galbraith).
- Belvidere House (b.1660 aka Belvedere House) that of Sir John C. Coghill, Bart.; (formerly occupied by Lord Chancellor Lifford)
- Clonturk House aka Drumcondra House (b.1726) of General Sir Guy Campbell, K.C.B., (erected by the late Earl of Charleville, and formerly inhabited by William Stewart Hamilton Esq.) in whose grounds are the remains of an ancient building
- Hampton Lodge, of Mrs A. Williams (widow of Thomas Williams Esq, secretary to the bank of Ireland)
- Upton Lodge, formerly the residence of Major Upton
- Sion Hill the residence of Mrs Courtney (formerly occupied by Colonel Mason)
- High Park, of Robert Gray, Esq. a respectable merchant in Linenhall Street (formerly owned by Master Ball and major Brownrigg)
- Hartfield (erected by Colonel Hart, passed to Hugh Hamill of Dominick St Esq.) of P. Twigg, Esq.; (formerly the residence of Neal John O'Neil Esq.)
- Thorndale the residence of David Henry Sherrard Esq. (formerly occupied by Mrs Twigg of Merrion Sq).
- Bellfield House lately occupied by the Hon. Major Jones
- Elm Park the residence of Hutton Esq.
- Donnycarney, of Abel Labertouche, Esq.;
- Richmond Castle, of A. Williams, Esq.;
- Annadale, of W. Hone, Esq.;
- Union Lodge, of J. English, Esq.;
- Well Park, of W. Kirwan, Esq.;
- Woodbine Lodge, of H. Yeo, Esq.;
- Richmond House, of P. Birch, Esq.;
- Tokay Lodge, of M. Kerr, Esq.;
- Mary Ville, of J. J. Finn, Esq.;
- Rosemount, of W. Butler, Esq.; and
- Sally Park, of W. Mathews, Esq.
The living is a perpetual curacy, in the diocese of Dublin, and in the patronage of the Corporation of Dublin, in which the rectory is impropriate.
- The church is a small plain building, erected in the early part of the last century by the Coghill family, and was repaired and decorated by the corporation in 1833, at an expense of £500. On its north side is a large tomb, erected to the memory of Marmaduke Coghill, Chancellor of the Exchequer for Ireland, on which reclines his effigy in his official robes, with figures of Minerva and Religion below.
- On the south side of the churchyard are interred the remains of Francis Grose, Esq., the distinguished antiquary, who died in Dublin, in May 1791; and T. Furlong, a native poet, was buried here in 1827.
In the R. C. divisions, the parish is in the union or district of Clontarf, and has a chapel near Annesley bridge.
The parochial school is in the village of Drumcondra; and an infants' school was established in 1829, at Philipsburgh strand; there is also a girls' school at the Richmond convent. This nunnery is of the Presentation order, and is surrounded with grounds tastefully laid out, and has a chapel annexed. In the village of Drumcondra is an asylum for poor women, called the Retreat.
Annesley bridge, and the causeway connected with it, were erected by act of parliament in 1796 and 1797 at an expense of about £6000: they cross a portion of ground overflowed by the tide, at the confluence of the Tolka with the Liffey. Higher up, on the left, the Tolka is crossed by the old bridge of Ballybough. Philipsburgh strand extends from one bridge to the other.
To the east of Annesley bridge is a cluster of buildings, called Fair View; and beyond them, between the Malahide and Howth roads, is Marino Crescent, consisting of large handsome houses, with an enclosed lawn in front, which extends to the road bounding the strand; it commands fine views, and is very convenient for sea-bathing.
