Artane, Dublin

In 1534, when Silken Thomas appeared in Dublin, the citizens, feeling unable to defend the city, allowed his troops to enter and lay siege to Dublin Castle. Among those who had taken refuge in the Castle was John Alen, Archbishop of Dublin. He had incurred the enmity of the FitzGeralds (also known as the Geraldines) by zeal in promoting Wolsey's plans and now dreaded their vengeance. He tried to escape by sea, but his ship was driven ashore at Clontarf. He sought refuge at Artane Castle, the home of his friend and fellow councillor Thomas St. Lawrence: St. Lawrence willingly took him in, but his hiding place was betrayed and he was captured. When brought before Silken Thomas, he implored the Earl to spare his life, but the young lord turned away with contempt, saying "Beir uaim an bodach" ("take the fellow away").[6] These words were interpreted as an order to put him to death and he was murdered in cold blood. For this crime, Silken Thomas was excommunicated by the Pope and thus lost many of his adherents. A slab bearing his name is still to be seen in the Archbishop's cemetery. In this old cemetery, there is also the 18th-century tomb of Richard Hollywood of Elm Park and the ruins of the 13th-century parish church, dedicated to St. Nicholas , it was a Chapel of the Medieval Finglas Church,[7] the church was alter transferred to Coolock parish.

Artane Castle was used as a garrison during the 1641 Rebellion for a small army under the command of Luke Netterville of Corballis. The army raided two vessels at Clontarf led by the Commander of the Garrison of Dublin, Sir Charles Coote. They then battled in an area called Bloody Hallow, south of Swords.[8] The Castle was pulled down in 1825 and using material from the castle a house was built on the site by Matthew Boyle.[9] Boyle was a wealthy linen merchant which a business on Mary Street.[8]

Artane Industrial School c. 1900

The Artane Industrial School was set up in 1871 in Artane House by the Congregation of Christian Brothers. Industrial Schools were established to take in orphaned or abandoned boys or those who were involved in petty crime, and even such a minor offence as skipping school could be enough for a boy to be sent there.[10] It has been said that about 5% of the children in Artane, indeed in all Industrial Schools, were actually orphans. Most of the incarcerated children were from families that had broken down and as separation was not allowed either, the children of these broken marriages were incarcerated and the religious institution in whose charge the children were put were paid one-third of a labourer's wage to feed, educate and clothe each child. In today's money, this would be equal to about €120 per child per week.

The school housed around 900 boys at any one time and they stayed there until they were 16 years of age.[11] More than 15,000 youngsters passed through the gates of the school from 1871 to its closure in 1966.[12] Subsequently, many allegations of abuse of boys at the school emerged.[13]

St. David's Primary School, BNS, began operations on the lower floors of the old industrial school in 1969. St. David's Secondary School, CBS, moved into the upper floors of the industrial school building in 1974 from the pre-fabricated buildings on Kilmore Road which it had occupied since 1966. The school building today is solely St. David's Secondary School, with grass playing fields, an all-weather pitch, sports hall, and exercise room, among its sports facilities, also science labs, computer rooms, metalwork and wood workrooms, art and a music room. St. David's CBS won the Leinster Colleges Senior Football Championship in 1986. They had been runners-up in 1984.

Dancing Couple memorial in Stardust Memorial Park

The Stardust was a popular nightclub located near the Artane end of Kilmore Road leading from Artane to Coolock. In the early hours of 14 February 1981, a fire took place at a disco. Forty-eight people lost their lives and 214 were injured. More than 800 people had attended the disco that night. The site of the disaster is today a business park which houses (amongst other things) a pub, opposite Artane Castle Shopping Centre. On the site was originally the factory of Scotts Foods, making jams and jarred vegetables.

On 14 November 2008, a second fire occurred at the same site as the Stardust, which had been used as a children's play centre. However, no one was in the building at the time, and there were no injuries. Once the fire was put out, firefighters found cancer-causing asbestos hanging from the roof.[14]

The area is served by a number of Dublin Bus routes, including: 14, 15, 27, 27B, 27X, 42, 42A, 42B 43, 104, 27a. The Artane roundabout bus stop is nearly always occupied by passengers.

Artane is close to two Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) stations: Harmonstown railway station, which divides Artane and Harmonstown, and Killester railway station.