Killester

Killester is located between Clontarf, Donnycarney, Raheny and Artane, on the Northside of Dublin. It is one of the smaller suburbs, with the entire civil parish just 228 acres in size. The village centre is on the Howth Road, about 5 kilometres from Dublin city centre, and the bulk of the area lies between the Howth and Malahide Roads, and Brookwood Avenue.

Killester has a rail station on the DART line (also on the Dublin-Belfast line but with no stopping of inter-city trains), and Dublin Bus routes H1, H2, H3, and 42A connect the district to the city centre and other suburbs to the east and north. The original Killester railway station opened on 1 October 1845[2] but closed after two years, re-opening on a new site about 200 m (656 ft) further north in 1923.

Edwardian-era houses in Killester, Dublin D05

Killester has been noted in city and church records going back many centuries, with variant spellings such as "Killtrsta" (St. Laurence O'Toole), "Quillestra" and "Kylestre", and was the site of both an early church and a convent or monastery. The name probably means "Church of (St) Stra". The ruins of a religious building can still be seen, and nearby there is a modern convent, with a school.

The manor of Killester was given to one Adrian le Brun in the twelfth century. In the seventeenth century it was owned by the White family, from whom it passed by inheritance to the St Lawrence family, Barons and later Earls of Howth. In the seventeenth century it went to the Cootes, a branch of the family of the Earls of Mountrath. By the 1830s the population was around 110, and there were several large houses, the principal being Killester House, others being Maryville, Woodville, Hollybrook House, Hollybrook Park and Killester Lodge.[3]

Killester is perhaps best known for its association with World War I veterans who were settled there in planned development from late 1922 onwards, organised by the Irish Sailors' and Soldiers' Land Trust.[4] The area is largely residential in nature.

Killester has a central shopping plaza on the Howth Road, with a supermarket, a pub, Lynch's chipper, Chinese take away, florists, estate agents, hardware, pharmacy, doctor, solicitors' offices, and other shops.[5] The local bank branch closed in October 2021 and is to be replaced with an American themed hamburger diner.[6] There is also a service station.[7]

St. Anne's Park lies just beyond Killester on the Raheny / Clontarf side, and there a number of small green spaces in the area.[8]

The primary schools in the area are St Brigid's national schools, both under Catholic patronage: on Howth Road for boys, and on St Brigid's Road for girls. Some children also attend Greenlanes (Church of Ireland/multi-denominational) and Belgrove (Catholic) national schools in Clontarf. Local secondary schools include St Mary's in northern Killester and St Paul's College, Raheny, right on the border of the district. Many children from the area also attend secondary schools in neighbouring districts and some commute to schools in the city centre. Killester is also the site of a third-level institution, Killester College of Further Education, formerly known as St Peter's College.[9]

Today there is a Roman Catholic Parish of Killester. The current Roman Catholic church, on the Howth Road, opposite St. Brigid's National School, was constructed from 1924, and was consecrated in 1926. For many years, it was the parish church for the combined parish of Killester and Raheny. It was extended in 1952. Alongside the church is a parish resource centre, opened in autumn 2004, with multiple rooms and a coffee shop overlooking the church's peace garden. Notably, the church holds a reputed relic of St. Brigid, one of Ireland's three patron saints; a fragment of her cheekbone was brought from Portugal, where her skull is stored, in 1928. The church's reliquary was stolen in 2012 but the relic was not in it at the time.[10]

The old Parish of Killester in the Church of Ireland (the Parish of St. Brigid) was merged with Clontarf Parish in 1686 (the parish church is located on Seafield Road, Clontarf), and the combined entity still serves the Anglican communities of both areas. A new parish centre was built beside the parish church in the 2000s, to serve the needs of parishioners and, as capacity allows, the wider community of all faiths.

Killester lies within the Clontarf local electoral area, and the Dublin Bay North national constituency.

• Gabriel Byrne, actor
• Brian Fenton, Gaelic footballer who bought a house in Killester[11]
• Paul Harrington, musician, Eurovision winner
• Cian Healy, rugby union player, including at international level
• Marty Whelan, DJ and presenter, born in Killester

• Garrett, Arthur; 2006 (new edition); Killester, Dublin: History of Killester Parish

• The History of Killester Facebook page
• Map showing the area