Harold's Cross

Harold's Cross
Urban village and Inner suburb
Memorial cross at Harold's Cross Park
Harold's Cross
Coordinates: 53°19′35″N 6°17′41″W / 53.32639°N 6.29472°W / 53.32639; -6.29472
Country	Ireland
City	Dublin

Harold's Cross (Irish: Cros Araild, meaning "Harold's Cross") is an urban village and inner suburb on the south side of Dublin, Ireland.

Harold's Cross is situated north of Terenure and Rathgar, west of Rathmines, east of Crumlin and Kimmage, and directly south from the Grand Canal at Clanbrassil Street. It lies within the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council, and straddles the boundary of Dublin 6, Dublin 6W and Dublin 12 postal districts.

One explanation of the origin of the name Harold's Cross is that it is derived from the name given to a gallows, which had been placed where the current Harold's Cross Park is situated. Harold's Cross was an execution ground for the city of Dublin during the 18th century and earlier. In the 14th century the gallows there was maintained by the Archbishop.

Harold's Cross stands on lands which formed, like those of Rathmines, part of the Manor of St. Sepulchre, and its name is said to have originated in a cross which marked the boundary of the lands of the Archbishop of Dublin, and warned the Harolds, the wild guardians of the border of the Pale near Whitechurch that they must not encroach. The De Meones family, who gave their name to Rathmines, also owned lands at Harold's Cross in the fourteenth century.