Belcamp Park
53°24′25.46″N 6°12′36.13″W / 53.4070722°N 6.2100361°W / 53.4070722; -6.2100361
Belcamp Park[1] (Irish: Páirc Belcamp[2]) is a public park in Clonshaugh, Dublin 17, within the broad Coolock area, near Darndale and Priorswood. The park runs south of the N32, along the northern boundary of the city. It is owned by Dublin City Council and operated by the Council's Parks and Landscape Division.
History
The origins of the park lie in the lands surrounding a house named Belcamp Park in the 17th century.[3] The then Lord Mayor of Dublin, Sir Humphrey Jervis, built a house on a property in what was then a rural area, probably in the 1680s, though he never lived there, dying in debtors prison in 1707. The estate was then sold to the Grattan family, and local tradition holds that Henry Grattan was born there in 1746. Jonathan Swift was acquainted with the Grattans, and their cousins the Jacksons at the nearby Woodlands estate in Clonshaugh, and is known to have visited at least a dozen times between 1714 and 1734. Laetitia Pilkington also stayed at the house in 1730 and later documented anecdotes of this visit concerning Swift in her Memoirs. The Grattan ownership of the estate ended in 1770 and it passed through many hands over the following centuries.[4]
Countess Markievicz rented the property in 1909, to utilise it as a centre for the Fianna Eireann.[1] The centre was known as the 'Belcamp Commune' when an agricultural cooperative was built and operated for a year. The cooperative was not a success, due to problems such as lack of electricity, poor water supply, damp conditions, and overgrown fields and gardens.[5]
The estate was bought in 1969 by Dublin Corporation. Belcamp Park house was damaged by fire in 1977 and subsequently demolished, leaving behind some outbuildings and an ice house.[4]
Belcamp Hall and Belcamp
Belcamp Park should not be confused with the nearby Belcamp Hall, which is also sometimes referred to as Belcamp House. A later nearby house, also confusingly named Belcamp,[6] survived until the 2000s but was demolished to make way for industrial buildings.
Facilities
The park accommodates pitch and putt, tennis, and basketball facilities, as well as playing fields, children's play facilities, and it has an extensive network of pathways for walkers.[1]
Belcamp Park adjoins Darndale Park, another Dublin City Council facility, which also contains an angling pond.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b c "Belcamp Park". Dublin City Council. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
- ^ "Páirc Belcamp/Belcamp Park".
- ^ "Belcamp Park History". Dublin City. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ a b Coyle, Eugene A. (2010). "The Belcamp Park Story: The Swift-Grattan-Markievicz Connection". Dublin Historical Record. 63 (1): 54–67. JSTOR 41429569.
- ^ "Belcamp Park". Fianna Eireann History. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
- ^ "Belcamp House, BELCAMP". Buildings of Ireland. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
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(Northside)
- Albert College Park
- Ardgillan Castle and Demesne
- Ardmore Park
- Ashington Park
- Balgriffin Park
- Beaumont Woods
- Belcamp Park
- Beresford Park
- Blessington Street Basin
- Bram Stoker Park
- Bull Island
- Charlie Moore Memorial Park
- Chancery Park
- Clontarf Promenade
- Coolock Lane Park
- Corduff Park
- Crescent Park
- Croppies' Acre
- Darndale Park
- Donahies Field
- Edenmore Park
- Eileen McLoughlin Park
- Ellenfield Park
- Fairview Park
- Farmleigh Estate Gardens
- Father Collins Park
- Garden of Remembrance
- Griffith Park
- Hartstown Park
- Hazelbury Park
- Johnstown Park
- Kildonan Park
- King's Inns Park
- Lady's Well Park
- Lanesborough Park
- Littlepace Park
- Malahide Castle and Demesne
- Mayfield Park
- Mellowes Park
- Mount Bernard Park
- Mountjoy Square
- Botanic Gardens
- Newbridge Park
- Oscar Traynor Park
- Our Lady's Park
- Phoenix Park
- Pope John-Paul II Park
- Poppintree Park
- Portrane Park
- Rivervalley Park
- Rockfield Park
- Royal Canal Park
- Saint Anne's Park
- St. Anne's Road Pocket Park
- St. Catherine's Park
- St. Michan’s Park
- Santry Park
- Seabury Park
- Seagrange Park
- Spencer Dock Park
- Stardust Memorial Park
- Tolka Valley Park
- Tyrrelstown Park
- Waterville Park
- Wolfe Tone Square
(Southside)
- Ballawley Park
- Bancroft Park
- Belgrave Square
- Blackrock Park
- Brickfield Park
- Bridgefoot Street Park
- Bushy Park
- Cabbage Garden
- Cabinteely Park
- Carysfort Park
- Corkagh Park
- Dartmouth Square
- Deerpark
- Dillon's Park
- Dodder Park
- Éamonn Ceannt Park
- Eaton Square Park
- Fernhill Park and Gardens
- Fitzsimon's Wood
- Fitzwilliam Square
- Grattan Crescent Park
- Griffeen Valley Park
- Herbert Park
- Hermitage Park
- Herzog Park
- Irish National War Memorial Gardens
- Irishtown Nature Park
- Iveagh Gardens
- Jim Mitchell Park
- Kenilworth Square
- Killbogget Park
- Killiney Hill Park
- Lansdowne Valley Park
- Loreto Park
- Markievicz Park
- Marlay Park
- Merrion Square
- Moran Park
- Mount Pleasant Square
- Oscar Square
- Palmerston Park
- Peace Park
- Pearse Park
- Pearse Square
- People's Park
- St. Audoen's Park
- Saint Enda's Park
- St Kevin's Park
- St Patrick’s Cathedral Park
- Saint Stephen's Green
- Sandymount Green (park)
- Shanganagh Park
- Sorrento Park
- Thomastown Park
- Tranquila Park
- Turvey Park
- Tymon Park
- Waterstown Park
- Weaver Park
- Willsbrook Park
- Wilton Park