Dunshaughlin Dún Seachlainn
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Town | |
Location in Ireland | |
Coordinates: 53°30′42″N 6°32′22″W / 53.5118°N 6.5395°WCoordinates: 53°30′42″N 6°32′22″W / 53.5118°N 6.5395°W | |
Country | Ireland |
Province | Leinster |
County | County Meath |
Elevation | 105 m (344 ft) |
Population (2016) | |
• Urban | 5,840 |
Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
• Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
Irish Grid Reference | N965526 |
Dunshaughlin (Irish: Dún Seachlainn (Seachlann's fort - Secular place name though there are no records of a fort here) or locally Irish: Domhnach Seachnaill (St Seachnall's Church) is a town in County Meath, Ireland.
It is named after Saint Seachnall, who established a church there in the 5th century.
Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill was an ancestor from which the principal family of Brega, Ó Maoilsheachlainn, is descended. Dunshaughlin (or more specifically, the townland of Lagore) is famous for an ancient crannóg or settlement from the 7th century where a number of Irish antiquities were discovered.
Approximately 1.6 km south of the village is a preserved workhouse from An Gorta Mór which was abolished by the Irish State in the early twenties. The workhouse is currently under private ownership and is not open to the public.
Dunshaughlin is 29 km from Dublin on the R147, formally the N3 road but renamed after the M3 was opened. It is a growing satellite town of the Dublin. It has grown considerably over the last 20 years, the population in 1996 was 2,139, it was 3,063 by the census of 2002 and had risen to 3,384 by 2006.
Several housing estates centre on a main street with multiple retail units consisting of newsagents, pubs, take away food outlets, clothing stores and banks. There is also a business park on the outskirts of the town.
Dunshaughlin houses numerous public amenities, including a library, Meath County Council civic offices, a large community and sports centre, home to most of the town's organisations as well as a health centre. Equilibrium, a piece of public art by Orla de Bri is displayed at the county council offices. In 2006, a town park was opened by president Mary McAleese.