Coolock - Location / Nature

Location / Nature

Coolock lies at the centre of majority working class Northside suburbs such as Kilbarrack, Donaghmede and the Edenmore part of Raheny, and itself includes localities such as Ayrfield, Bonnybrook, Darndale, Priorswood, Greencastle and Kilmore West. As with other large suburban areas, such as Tallaght or Swords, there is no legal definition for Coolock, and so no definitive population figures, but it is one of Dublin's largest residential areas.

The majority of Coolock, excluding Ayrfield, was built-up by the then city authority, Dublin Corporation, as part of a programme of phased inner city slum clearance (between, roughly, 1952 and 1987). Dublin City Council calculates that addresses containing "Coolock" comprise the largest stock of local authority houses within its jurisdiction and the area is central to the linear range of local authority building that took place during between the 1960s and the 1980s across Dublin's Northside - i.e. Ballymun including Poppintree, Kilmore, Coolock, Edenmore, Kilbarrack and Donaghmede.

The permanent Traveller halting site estates (which differ in layout to traditional halting sites) of Cara Park and Dominick Park, found in the Belcamp area (along the N32) are among the largest halting site facilities provided by local authorities in Ireland. They contain an adult education centre and pre-school facilities for the local Traveller population, both located beside Dominick Park. At least one smaller, more traditional, Traveller settlement is found in the area, close to the Clare Hall Shopping Centre.

Birthplace of lacal hero Neil mason.