Santry (Irish: Seantrabh, meaning 'Old tribe') is a suburb on the northside of Dublin, Ireland, bordering Coolock, Glasnevin, Kilmore and Ballymun.

The character of the area has changed in the last 100 years, from a district centred on a large estate, and later a small village, to a modern, rather dispersed, mixed-use suburb.

Much of the old village is gone and where there were once fields full of crops, and wild woodlands of all sorts, there are now housing estates, an athletics stadium, a shopping complex, industrial parks, and busy roads leading to Dublin Airport which is nearby.

[2] Santry is an anglicisation of the Irish placename Seantrabh[3] (IPA: [ˈʃanˠt̪ˠɾˠaw], approximately SHAN-trav) meaning "old tribe" with the name referenced as far back as 828 AD.

[citation needed] In 1581, the lands and title of Santry were awarded to William Nugent who then lost it after falling out of favour with the Crown because of his religion.

The Protestant Barry family (originally from Cork) took charge of the estate and tenants and became the Lords of Santry where they remained in title for three or four generations.

[6] Santry was the scene of violence in the early months of the Irish Rebellion of 1641, when a punitive expedition of Parliamentarians led by Sir Charles Coote mistakenly massacred a group of local farm labourers, who were sleeping in the fields there.

In the Irish Rebellion of 1798, United Irishmen from all over Fingal marched south towards Dublin city but were met by a company of local yeomanry (government militia) from Santry village and were massacred.

The bloodshed was so bad in this action that the area at the northern gateway to Santry Demesne (now near the Little Venice Restaurant) was known as "Bloody Hollows" for several years after.

Where the new Santry Demesne public park is situated, on part of the estate lands, was once a palatial old house and gardens, built in the 18th century.

[8] The house fell into disrepair, initially at the turn of the 20th century as the estate proved not to be economically viable but ultimately after the Domville family departed Ireland post-independence in 1921.

This plan was shelved by the start of World War II; the need to increase security around Dublin Airport meant it was used as an army depot, and part of the gardens as a firing range.

There are many theories locally about what happened next but it appears as if soldiers of the Irish army caused a fire and the house was severely damaged in 1947, followed by demolition shortly afterwards.

[citation needed] In 1972, part of the demesne was sold to Trinity College Dublin, and was developed with sports grounds, as well as a book storage facility for its library system.

While the last remaining cottage still stands in Santry, it is not in its original conception and the building was adapted into an office block in 1984 and today houses a pharmacy.

[11] Originally built as a mill circa 1700, on the Santry River, to the northwest of Santry Demesne, on the old Ballymun Road, the Charter School was established in 1744 by The Incorporated Society for Promoting English Protestant Schools in Ireland, supported by Dublin Corporation and on land sourced from Luke Gardiner, with a house provided by Archbishop Hugh Boulter.

[citation needed] There are also estates such as Magenta, Lorcan, as well as more recent developments such as Aulden Grange, Woodlawn, Oak, Larkhill, Knightswood and the apartment complexes of Northwood.

The citizens housing council released two reports in the 1930s that demonstrated the extent of the issue and Dublin Corporation were aware that the slums were not being cleared as rapidly as they wished.

The first phase of a housing programme for 1,500 homes over a five-year period was proposed, with construction beginning at Cabra West, Rutland Avenue, Donnycarney, Sarsfield Road, Crumlin, Ellenfield, Larkhill and Terenure.

Larkhill construction was relatively modest, and an independent development with straightforward access to the major thoroughfare, but local circulation was controlled to lessen through traffic.

While Blessed Margaret's (a chapel of ease for Whitehall church) was being developed, the St. Pappan's Parish Hall was used by the Catholic community for weekly mass.

[29] Santry has long[vague] been the location of a number of businesses and industries, from Chrysler and the Talbot factory on Shanowen Road (which became the Garda Station), to IT companies and logistic service providers associated with nearby Dublin Airport.