Newcastle is a village in south-west South Dublin, Ireland. It is also a civil parish in the barony of the same name. It was the location of the castle of the barony, which in historical and official documents is described as Newcastle-Lyons. The area is still primarily rural in nature.
History
The gradual relaxation of the Penal Laws throughout the UK from 1778 onward culminated in the Relief Acts passed by the British Parliament Catholic Relief Act 1791 and the Irish Parliament in 1793. The eventual achievement of full Catholic Relief was secured during the administration of the Dublin-born hero of the Napoleonic war, the Duke of Wellington. Signed into law by George IV, it proclaimed wide Catholic Emancipation in 1829. This followed a very effective Irish campaign by Daniel O'Connell, 'the Liberator'. In the ensuing general Christian religious revival, it became possible for the reinstated Roman Catholic Church community to build a new church here in the 1830s. The existing pre-reformation Irish Church premises had continued in use as a place of worship by the established Church of Ireland following the schism caused by the divorce of the newly created King of Ireland, Henry VIII. The subsequent church Reformation in the 1550s under Edward and later under Elizabeth I during the Tudor reconquest and plantation of Ireland was only moderately successful. It did not succeed with the majority of the native Irish or Hiberno-Irish leaders or, as a consequence, with their few priests or their generally illiterate followers. The former residential tower fortification of the castle now forms part of the Church of Ireland church building. It was built originally in the late 14th century. There are remains of another 14th-century church in Colmanstown.
Location and population
Newcastle-Lyons is located at the junction of the R120 and the R405 regional roads. It lies approximately 3 km north of the N7 at Rathcoole, 6 km south-east of Celbridge, and 9 km west of Tallaght. The village lies west of Casement Aerodrome, the HQ of the Irish Air Corps. It features a public house and two churches. Peamount Hospital, a facility for long-term care, is 2 km north of the town centre on the R120. The 2001 census registered a village population of 1,160, but the surrounding area has grown rapidly since then, with the village population doubling by 2010.
Transport
Newcastle-Lyons is served by the number 311 bus which links it to Tallaght and the Luas Red Line, and the number 68 bus to the city centre.
Sport
Newcastle-Lyons is home to St Finian's GAA club which was founded in 1943. In 1949 the club won the Dublin Intermediate Championship. The club's men's adult team currently plays in division 4 of the Dublin league, with the adult ladies' team playing in the Junior league and championship. Newcastle-Lyons is also home to Peamount United F.C. which was founded in 1983, and is now based in a purpose-built facility in Greenogue. In the 2011–12 season Peamount United's ladies team became the first Irish club to qualify for the UEFA Women's Champions League. Peamount United's male adult team plays in the Senior 1 division of the Leinster Senior League. The ladies' team plays in the Women's National League. Elm Hall Golf Club in located near Newcastle at Hazelhatch. It features two 18-hole pitch and putt courses.
