Greystones
|
Greystones Na Clocha Liatha
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Town | ||
Greystones from the north
|
||
|
||
| Motto: Gníomhach idir Carraig is Crúacha Active between rock and mountain peaks |
||
 Greystones
|
||
| Coordinates: 53°08′38″N 6°04′19″W / 53.144°N 6.072°WCoordinates: 53°08′38″N 6°04′19″W / 53.144°N 6.072°W | ||
| Country | Ireland | |
| Province | Leinster | |
| County | County Wicklow | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Town Council | |
| Elevation | 50 m (160 ft) | |
| Population (2011) | ||
| • Town | 17,080 | |
| • Urban | 10,112 | |
| • Environs | 4,457 | |
| Eircode (Routing Key) | A63 | |
| Irish Grid Reference | O297122 | |
Greystones (Irish: Na Clocha Liatha) is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies on Ireland's east coast, 8 km (5.0 mi) south of Bray and 27 km (17 mi) south of Dublin, with a population of 17,468 (2011) The town is bordered by the Irish Sea to the east, Bray Head to the north and the Wicklow Mountains to the west.
The town was named after a half mile or one-kilometre stretch of grey stones between two beaches on the sea front. The harbour area and the Greystones railway station are at the northern and southern ends respectively. The North Beach, which begins at the harbour, is a stony beach, and some of its length is overlooked by the southern cliffs of Bray Head, which are subject to erosion. The South Beach is a broad sandy beach about one kilometre long. It is a Blue Flag beach and receives many visitors and tourists, mainly in the summer.
In 2008, Greystones was named as the world's 'most liveable community' at the LivCom Awards in China.
Greystones is located south of the site of an ancient castle of the Barony of Rathdown. There was a hamlet which, like the castle, was known as Rathdown, and which appeared on a 1712 map. This site occupied an area now known as the Grove, north of Greystones harbour, but only the ruins of a chapel, St. Crispin's Cell, survive. Greystones is a much more recent settlement and is first mentioned in Topographia Hibernica, a 1795 publication. Here it is described as a "noted fishing place four miles beyond Bray."
In the early 19th century, there were some families scattered around the harbour, Blacklion, Windgates, Killincarrig and Rathdown. Delgany was a more substantial and longer established village. However, Greystones was put on the map with the coming of the railway in 1855, a difficult undertaking which was performed in consultation with Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the famous engineer. The railway station was built on the line dividing the properties of two landowners: the La Touche family of Bellevue House (now in ruins, near Delgany), and the Hawkins-Whitshed family of Killincarrig House (which is now Greystones Golf Club). It provided links with Bray and Dublin, and left room for development on the adjoining estates.
...
Wikipedia