Lucan Leamhcán
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Village and Suburb | |
Location in Ireland | |
Coordinates: 53°21′16″N 6°26′55″W / 53.3544°N 6.4486°WCoordinates: 53°21′16″N 6°26′55″W / 53.3544°N 6.4486°W | |
Country | Ireland |
Province | Leinster |
County | Dublin |
Council | South Dublin Fingal |
Dáil Éireann | Dublin Mid-West |
European Parliament | Dublin |
Population (2016) | |
• Urban | 49,279 |
Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
• Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
Irish Grid Reference | O029352 |
Website | www |
Lucan (Irish: Leamhcán, meaning "place of elms") is a village and suburb mostly in South Dublin but is also partially in Fingal. It is roughly located 13 km from Dublin city centre and is situated on the River Liffey and River Griffeen. It is located just off the N4 road and is close to the county boundary with Kildare, located close to the towns of Leixlip and Celbridge
In the Irish language, 'leamhcán' means 'place of the elm trees'. Another interpretation "Place of the Marshmallows" is mentioned in Francis Elrington Ball's "History of the County Dublin" (1906), marshmallow being the flower and not the confectionery. "The name probably comes from a people that travelled by river, as Lucan is the first place that elm trees are encountered if travelling inland from the Liffey.
There is evidence of pre-historic settlement around Vesey Park, though not much archaeological investigation has been carried out in the area. There is a suggestion that an ancient road that linked into the Tara network ran through what is now modern Lucan village, continuing up the hill towards Esker Cemetery.
When Oliver Cromwell came to Ireland, Lucan was a village of 120 inhabitants.
In 1566 Sir William Sarsfield acquired Lucan Manor, and the property became closely associated with the Sarsfield family. Patrick Sarsfield, the Irish Jacobite leader, was born in Lucan and was granted the title Earl of Lucan by King James II.
Currently on the site of Sarsfield's castle beside the town is Lucan House, built around 1770 by Rt. Hon. Agmondisham Vesey, who had married into the Sarsfield family. The circular ground floor dining room is said to have been an inspiration for the Oval Office of the White House. The decorative plasterwork was carried out by Michael Stapleton. Over the years, the house passed out of the Vesey family and since 1947, has been the residence of the Italian ambassador to Ireland. In the grounds of the house is the spa, the waters of which attracted people to the town in previous times.