Blanchardstown

Blanchardstown (Baile Bhlainséir in Irish) is a sprawling suburb of Dublin, Ireland. Originally a town in its own right, it is now the largest urban area in the County of Fingal, and serves as a regional service centre for the county along with Swords. The area is located 10km north-west of Dublin City.

Etymology

The town's name means "estate of a family called Blanchard, an Anglo-Norman surname. The name was recorded in 1385 as villa de Blanchard.

Population

The 2006 Census recorded a population of 90,952 in Blanchardstown and its immediate environs. The suburb is the location of Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown as well as some prominent multinational companies like IBM, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and E-Bay. The area covers most of the An Post postal district Dublin 15.

Amenities

The Blanchardstown Centre

The Blanchardstown Centre opened in October 1996 and was Ireland's second major shopping centre at its completion (it followed The Square in Tallaght) and was the country's largest shopping centre until Dundrum Town Centre opened. It is owned by Green Property Limited, and located near the junction of the M50 motorway and N3 road.

The anchor tenants in the centre are Dunnes Stores and Debenhams. An extension added Penneys (Primark), and a second extension, known as the Red Mall, added Marks and Spencer. A number of smaller retail units, including Dixons, HMV, Virgin Megastores, French Connection, Topshop, and others are also present. A multiplex cinema and a number of restaurants (including McDonald's, Burger King, Eddie Rockets, and Pizza Hut) are also present.

The centre environs feature a leisureplex (bowling alleys, arcades and quazar), a library, theatre, gym, pub/nightclub, office blocks and several larger outlying retail units (including PC World and Currys).

Transport

Most areas in Blanchardstown are still served by the same bus networks (routes 38 and 39) that have been in place since the 1970s, when its population was a fraction of what it is today. Although some concessions have been made with plans to electrify the current rail service (something that was suggested almost 15 years ago), and the extension of the METRO line (due sometime in 2012), it seems too little, too late. Blanchardstown railway station opened on 1 September 1848.^[1]

The average journey time for the 6 mile trip to the city centre for most commuters from the greater Blanchardstown area peaks at up to 2 hours, which is disproportionately higher than the European average. This same journey took 30 minutes in 1970. Curiously, of the two more frequent services running to and from Blanchardstown, only one goes through the shopping centre. The buses that pass through the Blanchardstown centre are the 39, 39c, 39x, 236, 237, 239, 70, 76a, 220 and 270. The 38 bus comes into quite a close location without having to enter the actual centre. The privately owned URBus also travels through the centre going to and from Swords via Dublin Airport.

The majority of delays on this route are close to the village of Blanchardstown and the by-pass. Whilst some will call for greater amount of buses, the real problem can be seen as the reality of too many cars on too small roads and the capacity of the main roads cannot handle the ever increasing amount of traffic.

Clubs and Societies

External links

References

^ Blanchardstown station. Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved on 2007-09-12.

Coordinates: 53°23′N, 6°23′W

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