History
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1821 | 1,162 | — |
| 1831 | 1,229 | +5.8% |
| 1841 | 562 | −54.3% |
| 1851 | 578 | +2.8% |
| 1861 | 552 | −4.5% |
| 1871 | 523 | −5.3% |
| 1881 | 691 | +32.1% |
| 1891 | 843 | +22.0% |
| 1901 | 972 | +15.3% |
| 1911 | 919 | −5.5% |
| 1926 | 849 | −7.6% |
| 1936 | 867 | +2.1% |
| 1946 | 1,029 | +18.7% |
| 1951 | 1,297 | +26.0% |
| 1956 | 1,594 | +22.9% |
| 1961 | 1,657 | +4.0% |
| 1966 | 2,100 | +26.7% |
| 1971 | 4,245 | +102.1% |
| 1981 | 11,763 | +177.1% |
| 1986 | 12,259 | +4.2% |
| 1991 | 13,931 | +13.6% |
| 1996 | 19,821 | +42.3% |
| 2002 | 33,272 | +67.9% |
| 2006 | 37,424 | +12.5% |
| 2011 | 45,861 | +22.5% |
In the Irish language, 'leamhcán' means 'place of the elm trees'. The name probably comes from a people that travelled by river, as Lucan is the first place that elm trees are encountered if travelling inland from the Liffey.
There is evidence of pre-historic settlement around Vesey Park, though not much archaeological investigation has been carried out in the area.
There is a suggestion that an ancient road that linked into the Tara network ran through what is now modern Lucan village, continuing up the hill towards Esker Cemetery.
When Oliver Cromwell came to Ireland, Lucan was a thriving village of 120 inhabitants.
Patrick Sarsfield, the Irish Jacobite leader, was born in Lucan and was granted the title Earl of Lucan by King James II.
Currently on the site of Sarsfield's castle beside the town is Lucan House, built around 1770 by Rt. Hon. Agmondisham Vesey, who had married into the Sarsfield family. The circular ground floor dining room is said to have been an inspiration for the Oval Office of the White House. The decorative plasterwork was carried out by Michael Stapleton. Over the years, the house passed out of the Vesey family and since 1947, has been the residence of the Italian ambassador to Ireland. In the grounds of the house is the spa, the waters of which attracted people to the town in previous times.
The influence of the Sarsfield and Vesey families on Lucan is still apparent in the locality. For example, the local Gaelic Athletic Association club is Lucan Sarsfields and a pub in the town bears the name 'The Vesey Arms' aka Kenny's.
The discovery of a sulphurous spa in Lucan in 1758 brought the district into prominence, and it became a mecca for weekend parties from Dublin and the surrounding countryside. A ballroom was erected and subsequently a hotel.
Most of the structures in Lucan Village were constructed as part of a large redevelopment of the town around 1815.
It is said that the oldest bridge in Ireland, King John's bridge, is in Lucan in Griffeen Park.
Read more about this topic: Lucan, Dublin
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