placenamesCherrywood
Coill na Silíní
Development archaeology revealed a long sequence of settlement beneath this south Dublin district.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Coill na Silíní · Irish · main form · validated name
- Cherrywood · English · main form
Place & story
A burial ground became a settlement
Excavations reported by John Ó Néill at Cherrywood Science and Technology Park in 1999 traced repeated changes of use on a low hill. A prehistoric enclosure became a cemetery and was later occupied by buildings with Norse-associated finds. The sequence included a longhouse followed by two smaller structures, with a ringed pin, comb fragments and a decorated whalebone plaque among the discoveries. These remains give the modern development an older history of burial, farming and residence. [2]
Tully’s church and crosses
Tully Church survives within an oval enclosure. Its nave may date from the eleventh century, while the wider chancel was added in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century. The church is dedicated to Saint Brigid. Two high crosses remain nearby, and three Rathdown grave-slabs found at the site were moved into protection in 1989. The church and its monuments form a distinct historic focus within the wider Cherrywood landscape. [3]
The eighteenth-century military camp
The Lehaunstown or Loughlinstown military camp extended across parts of Laughanstown and Cherrywood. A council archaeological assessment describes construction beginning in 1795 and dispersal of the garrison in 1799. Its wooden huts housed militia and fencible units, while civilians came to watch manoeuvres and attend officers’ entertainments. The 1999 excavations also found possible hut platforms and cobbling from the camp phase, preserving small traces of a large temporary military presence. [4] [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Cherrywood. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- 1999:169, Cherrywood Science and Technology Park · John Ó Néill for Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
- Tully Church · Office of Public Works, Heritage Ireland
- Lehaunstown Development Archaeological Assessment, amended 13 February 2024 · Archaeological assessment published by Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-02-17. How this page was prepared.