Right at the north-eastern edge of Dublin city you’ll find the residential suburb of Donaghmede. Bordered by Baldoyle to the east, seaside suburb Portmarnock and Clongriffin to the north, Clarehall and Belmayne to the west and Kilbarrack to the south, Donaghmede is a relatively affordable area to buy or rent in, with a few other things going for it.
For one thing, it has its own circa 14th century ruin, Grange Abbey, which is situated next to Grange Road (hence the road’s name).
A more recent attraction is the excellent Father Collins Park, which was redeveloped to a very high standard before it reopened in 2009. Connectivity is good too, with two railway stations serving the area.
A proud working class suburb, residents past and present include singer Damien Dempsey, members of Boyzone and B*Witched, footballer Stephen Carr and jockey Cathy Gannon.
Fancy joining them? Here’s Donaghmede by numbers...
Population*
18,104, as of the 2016 census.
*Figure taken from CSO data for the Grange A, B and C electoral areas
Average house price 2019 H1*
€ 292,643
By house size**
1-bed: €201k
2-bed: €275k
3-bed: €381k
4-bed: €649k
5-bed: €717k
*Figure for Donaghmede provided by Perfect Property
**Figures for Dublin 13, according to the Daft 2019 Q4 house price report.
Most expensive house*
€475,000: 31 Grattan Lodge, Hole In The Wall Road, Donaghmede (6-bed semi-detached house)
*Correct according to Daft.ie as of 28/1/19
Least expensive house*
€230,000: 1 The Willows, Grattan Wood, Donaghmede (2-bed apartment)
*Correct according to Daft.ie as of 28/1/19
Availability*
19 properties for sale
*Correct according to Daft.ie as of 28/1/19
Services
Garda Station: Coolock Garda Station, 5 Oscar Traynor Rd
Post Offices: Donaghmede Post Office, Donaghmede Shopping Centre, Grange Road
Nearest Library: Donaghmede Library, Donaghmede Shopping Centre, Grange Road
No. of schools/creches*
Pre-schools: 3
Primary Schools: 4
Secondary Schools: 1
*Figures from education.ie and childcare.ie
Parks and playgrounds
Father Collins Park is an award-winning, landscaped park with woodland, wetlands, sports facilities, picnic areas, a playground and a skate park. It’s also self-sustainable, with electricity generated its own wind turbines, which have become emblematic of the area.
The original park was named after popular parish priest Father Joe Collins, and it was fully redeveloped in the late 2000s.
Elsewhere, Donaghmede Park is more basic, but can offer playing fields (including an all-weather pitch) and paths for walks. Grangemore Park, opposite Donaghmede Shopping Centre, has the paths but not the pitches.
Public transport links
There are two railway stations in the area - Howth Junction & Donaghmede, and Clongriffin. Both are on the Northern Commuter and DART lines.
Dublin Bus routes 15, 17A, 29A and 29N serve the area.
Time to city centre*
Driving: 28 minutes (traffic dependent)
Public Transport: 19 minutes (train), 31 minutes (bus)
Cycling: 33 minutes
Walking: 1 hour 54 minutes
*Times (except public transport) taken from Donaghmede Shopping Centre on Grange Road to O’Connell Bridge, according to Google Maps.
Food and drink
Mainly a residential area, there isn’t a wide range of restaurants in Donaghmede. Just four are listed on Yelp.ie, though this doesn’t include a number of lunch options within Donaghmede Shopping Centre – Café Sol, Kay’s Kitchen and Baxter & Greene. Café culture hasn’t reached this part of Dublin 13 yet either.
As for pubs and bars, there’s only one – The Donaghmede Inn at the shopping centre. Four Yelp.ie reviews at an average of 1.5 stars out of 5 don't provide much of a recommendation...
You might have better luck with takeaways – there are 47 options on Just Eat but only 8 on Uber Eats. Deliveroo haven't reached Donaghmede yet.
Shopping
You won’t need to go far for your essentials – Donaghmede Shopping Centre (above) is anchored by a large branch of Dunnes Stores, and there’s also a pharmacy, sports shop, books, fashions and more.
Yelp.ie lists three hairdressers in the area and one barber – Bren’s in nearby Clongriffin.
Sport and leisure
There are a number of GAA clubs in the area, including Trinity Gaels on Drumnigh Road on the border of Donaghmede and Portmarnock, Naomh Barróg in Kilbarrack and O’Toole’s in Ayrfield.
Soccer is played at Trinity Donaghmede, Carndonagh Athletic, Wyteleaf United and Grange Abbey Boys.
Trinity Boys Boxing Club is also well known in the area, while Trinity Sports and Leisure Club is a multi-sport centre in Father Collins Park.
The nearest cinema is the ODEON in Coolock.
