Swords (Ireland)
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Swords Sord
Sord Cholmcille
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| Town | |
North Street, Swords
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| Motto: Your Swords, an Emerging City | |
 Swords
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| Coordinates: 53°27′35″N 6°13′05″W / 53.4597°N 6.2181°WCoordinates: 53°27′35″N 6°13′05″W / 53.4597°N 6.2181°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| Region | Dublin |
| County | Fingal |
| EU Constituency | Dublin |
| Dáil Constituency | Dublin Fingal |
| Local Electoral Areas | Swords, Malahide |
| Founded | 560 |
| County Town | 1994 |
| Founded by | St Colmcille |
| Named for | (possibly) St Colmcille's Well |
| County Hall | Main Street, Swords |
| Electoral Divisions |
List
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| Government | |
| • Type | Local Authority |
| • Body | Fingal County Council |
| • Mayor | Mary McCamley (Labour) |
| • Deputy Mayor | Adrian Henchy |
| • County Manager | David O'Connor |
| • Deputy County Manager | Michael Lorigan |
| • Director of Planning | Gilbert Power |
| Area | |
| • Swords Local Electoral Area | 114.02 km2 (44.02 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 11.35 km2 (4.38 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 15.99 km2 (6.17 sq mi) |
| Area rank | 1 |
| • Swords CT | 10.21 km2 (3.94 sq mi) |
| • Kinsealy-Drinan CT | 1.14 km2 (0.44 sq mi) |
| Source: CSO Sapmap Viewer | |
| Dimensions | |
| • Length | 5.15 km (3.20 mi) |
| • Width | 4.04 km (2.51 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 60 m (200 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Swords Local Electoral Area | 68,583 |
| • Rank | 1 |
| • Density | 531/km2 (1,380/sq mi) |
| • Density rank | 1 |
| • Urban | 42,738 |
| • Urban density | 3,765/km2 (9,750/sq mi) |
| • Swords CT | 36,924 |
| • Swords CT density | 3,615/km2 (9,360/sq mi) |
| • Kinsealy-Drinan CT | 5,814 |
| • Kinsealy-Drinan CT density | 5,101/km2 (13,210/sq mi) |
| Source: Census 2011 | |
| Demonym(s) | Fingalian |
| Ethnic or Cultural Background | |
| • White Irish | 30946 |
| • White Other | 7089 |
| • Asian or Asian Irish | 1169 |
| • Black or Black Irish | 1142 |
| • White Irish Traveller | 96 |
| Religion | |
| • Roman Catholic | 34021 |
| • Orthodox | 1335 |
| • Protestant | 944 |
| • Other Christian | 850 |
| • Muslim | 569 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC0) |
| • Summer (DST) | WEST (UTC+1) |
| Postal Hub | DUBLIN K67 |
| Postal Sorting Office | SWORDS |
| Dialing Code | +353(0)1 |
| Geocode | O184469 |
| ISO 3166 code | IE-D |
| Vehicle registration | D |
Swords (from Irish: Sord or Sord Cholmcille) is the county town of Fingal in Ireland. At the 2011, census the total urban population of greater Swords was 42,738 but when local electoral area definitions are taken into account, the population is 68,583. It lies in Dublin's K67 postal code routing area (known as eircode in Ireland). It is variously defined as a suburb of the capital, as a satellite town and as an emerging city in its own right.
The name "Swords" is also applicable to the townland, to the civil parish or to the local electoral area.
The town's origins date back to 560 AD when it was founded by Saint Colmcille (521–567). Legend has it that the saint blessed a local well, giving the town its name, Sord, meaning "clear" or "pure". However, An Sord also means "the water source" and could indicate a large communal drinking well that existed in antiquity. St. Colmcille's Well is located on Well Road off Main Street. Sord may also refer to a "sward", an 'expanse of grass'. The most ubiquitous landscape indicators of Early Christian Settlement are the ecclesiastical enclosures. In Swords case the street pattern has been influenced by the circular alignment of the settlement. The medieval town developed in a linear pattern along Main Street in a north – south direction. Swords has one of the best examples of this settlement pattern in the Dublin region. The round tower, 26m in height, is also an indicator of early Christian settlement. At the northern end of the street stands Swords Castle, 200m northeast of the ecclesiastical site, which was built in the early 13th century. A short distance north of the Castle is an elevation known as Spittal Hill, where a hospital once stood.
In 1994, Swords became the county seat of the new county of Fingal after the abolition of the former County Dublin. In 2001, upon the completion of the County Hall, senior executive offices moved there from Parnell Square in Dublin city centre.
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