placenamesGlasnevin
Glas Naíon
Literary neighbours, scientific collections and new glasshouses shaped different parts of Glasnevin’s parish landscape.
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
- Glas Naíon · Irish · main form · validated name
- Glasnevin · English · main form
Place & story
Helsham and Delany at the Glen
Francis Elrington Ball records a lease dated 1 May 1719 by which Dorothy Berkeley let the Glen to Richard Helsham and Patrick Delany, both fellows of Trinity College. The property became Delville, associated with Delany and later his wife Mary. Ball distinguishes the two original tenants: Helsham was a physician and professor, while Delany became known as a biographer of Jonathan Swift. [2]
A scientific garden from 1795
The Dublin Society took possession of the Glasnevin grounds in 1795 after Walter Wade's campaign for a public botanic garden. The institution initially demonstrated plants useful for food, medicine and dyes. Botanical research became increasingly prominent during the following decades. Curator Ninian Niven's work from 1834 established paths and garden features that helped give the grounds their lasting layout. [3]
David Moore and the glasshouses
David Moore succeeded Niven in 1838 and developed accommodation for the expanding plant collections. Dublin ironmaster Richard Turner supplied the curvilinear glasshouse range, begun in 1843 and opened in 1849. The gardens' official history also dates Moore's observation of potato blight at Glasnevin to 20 August 1845. Botanical collecting, glasshouse engineering and agricultural investigation thus met within the same institution. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Civil parish
- County
- Dublin
- Barony
- Coolock
- Barony
- Dublin City
- Coordinates
- 53.37965, -6.27299
- Mapped area
- 3.98 km²
- Logainm ID
- 846 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Glasnevin. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- The parish of Glasnevin: A History of County Dublin, volume VI · Francis Elrington Ball
- History of the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin · National Botanic Gardens of Ireland, Office of Public Works
- The Curvilinear Range at the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, as photographed in 1981 illustration: based on a Curvilinear Range, National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin by Dr Charles Nelson. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2024-06-28. How this page was prepared.