A slideshow of photos I took during my visit to Donabate in County Dublin on Wednesday 7th August 2013. Donabate (Irish: Domhnach Bat), is a small suburban coastal town in the administrative county of Fingal, within the traditional County Dublin. It is about 20 km north-northeast of Dublin City. The town is on a peninsula on Ireland's east coast, between the Rogerstown Estuary to the north and Broadmeadow Estuary to the south. 2km East of Donabate is the village of Portrane. The Donabate peninsula forms a distinctive hammer-head shape. This is because each of the mouths of both estuaries surrounding the peninsula are partially closed by large sand spits stretching north to south. The northern spit contains Portrane beach which almost touches Rush South Beach but for a narrow channel entering the Rogerstown esutary. A stretch of low limestone cliffs to the south of Portrane beach leads to Donabate Beach which is the east face of the southern spit. The southern Broadmeadow estuary is likewise almost completely enclosed and is fed by the broadmeadow river. The shelter provided by the spits had made the estuaries important wildlife habitats and both are protected under the international Ramsar Convention. Donabate is reported to have had a population in 1912 of 734 persons living in 150 houses, and it remained a small village for more than a century. In recent years, however, because of the area's easy access to Dublin (improving roads and the presence of a railway station in the village), the population has begun growing quickly. In the 1996 census, the village's population was 1,868; by the time of the 2002 census it had doubled to 3,854, and by the 2006 census it was 5,499. In 2016, Donabate had a population of 7,443. Donabate has a fine historical "Big House and Estate" at Newbridge Demesne, located west of the town. Newbridge House is a Georgian mansion built for Charles Cobbe, Archbishop of Dublin in 1736. It sits on 370 acres (150 ha) of eighteenth century landscape parklands with perimeter woodland belts and fine vistas across lawns and wildflower meadows. The estate was bought by Fingal County Council in a unique arrangement with the Cobbe family in 1985 and is now a public park, playground and model farm, while the family continue to maintain an apartment within the main building on a part-time basis. The park is a popular recreational area all year round, and also contains playing pitches used by local sports clubs. Newbridge House was a location for the 1965 film The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (film). In 2009 a previously unrecognised rare portrait of William Shakespeare was found to have been hanging in the drawing room of the house. The Farm at Newbridge can be found to the west and north of Newbridge House and beside the Walled Garden. Between 1989 and 1990 the County Council Parks Department undertook the renovation, reconstruction and restoration of the Courtyard, Haggard and adjoining buildings restoring it to its 19th-century Victorian character. A wide range of farm animals and fowl are now housed here, including many rare or show breeds, and it is a popular visitor attraction. Donabate railway station is along the Dublin to Belfast railway line. The town is served by Northern Commuter Line trains between Dublin and Dundalk. Donabate is located 4km north east of the M1 Motorway. Donabate has a Catholic Church, Church Of Ireland, Presbyterian Church, Boys National School, Girls National School, a mixed Educate Together Primary School, a mixed Secondary School, a community and leisure centre, scout centre, 2 soccer clubs, a GAA club, a Karate club, a Tae-Kwon Do club, a snooker club, a Historical and Folklore Society, Tidy Towns Committee, a Bridge club, a Community centre 5 golf courses, a hockey club and many other amenities and clubs and societies. St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Donabate was built in 1903. It was designed by George Luke O'Connor and was built using red brick. The Suffer Little Children stained glass window in this church was made by Harry Clarke in 1926. St. Patrick's Church of Ireland in Donabate was built in the 17th Century and was extended in the 18th Century.

• published: 10 Jun 2020
• views: 1932