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
Domhnach Bat· Irish · main form · validated name
Donabate· English · main form
Place & story
People & connections
Charles Cobbe and James Gibbs
Charles Cobbe arrived in Ireland in 1717 as a chaplain and began buying land around Donabate in 1736. He became Archbishop of Dublin in 1743. The present Newbridge House was designed by Scottish architect James Gibbs and completed in 1752. Fingal’s heritage account corrects an older attribution to Richard Castle. The house, farmyard, walled garden and designed grounds preserve a substantial estate beside the village.[2]
A church with medieval fabric
Saint Patrick’s Church of Ireland was built in 1758 on the medieval parish church site. Its porch incorporates a pointed medieval doorway, while the Cobbe family had a burial crypt in the tower and an ornate private gallery pew. A monument commemorates Patrick Barnewall and Begnet de la Hoyde, who died in 1592. Excavation beyond the churchyard identified an early medieval ditch and later structures, showing occupation extending outside the present enclosure.[3]
George O’Connor and Harry Clarke
The Catholic Saint Patrick’s Church belongs to a separate building campaign. George O’Connor designed the red-brick Gothic church of 1903, using brick from Portmarnock and a red-tiled roof. Its interior includes a Carrara-marble high altar. In 1925 Harry Clarke designed a two-light window depicting Christ with children, Saint Joseph and supporting biblical scenes. The Men’s Sodality raised £100 for the commission, giving the artwork a documented community history.[4]
Both counts use the 2016 settlement boundary, allowing like-for-like comparison. CSO supplies the 2022 count on this older boundary for comparison only. The official 2022 Built Up Area has different boundaries.
View population figures
Donabate — Census 2016 settlement footprint — census population
These are the historical areas published in the 2006 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
Donabate, Fingal — Census town, CSO 2006 report — census population
These are the historical areas published in the 1996 census report. Boundaries may differ between censuses and from modern settlements. Legal towns, environs and suburbs are shown separately; none has been combined into a modern settlement total.
View population figures
Donabate, Fingal — Census town, CSO 1996 report — census population
Figures cover the historical town area printed in the 1986 report. Boundaries may have changed between censuses. Legal town, environs and suburb totals remain separate and differ from modern settlement boundaries.
View population figures
Donabate, Dublin — Census town, CSO 1986 report — census population
These figures use different area definitions. Read the boundary note before comparing them.
Donabate, Fingal
Published census settlement populations
7,443people · 2016
Settlement boundaries changed during this period. Differences may reflect boundary changes as well as population change. Where a 2011 legal-town-and-environs count is shown, it has not been recalculated onto the 2016 settlement boundary.
Newbridge House, Donabate, County Dublin illustration: based on a Newbridge House, Donabate, Co. Dublin (1) by Mike Searle. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
placenames