Sallins /ˈsælɪnz/ (Irish: Na Solláin)[2] is a town in County Kildare, Ireland, situated 3.5 km north of the town centre of Naas, from which it is separated by the M7 motorway. Sallins is the anglicised name of Na Solláin which means "the willows".
Sallins
Irish: Na Solláin | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Sallins marina | |
  Sallins Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 53°14′57″N 6°39′54″W / 53.24923°N 6.66503°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Kildare |
| Elevation | 96 m (315 ft) |
| Population | 6,269 |
| Time zone | UTC±0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (IST) |
| Eircode | W91 |
| Telephone area code | 045 |
| Irish Grid Reference | N888230 |
In the Central Statistics Office census of 2022, Sallins had a population of 6,269 people,[1] more than double the 2,922 inhabitants recorded in the 2002 census.[3] It is the tenth largest settlement in Kildare and the 80th largest in Ireland. Sallins grew as a result of its position on both the Grand Canal and the Dublin to Cork railway line. Historically, the major employers in the town were Odlums Flour Mills and a meat factory, although both have now closed.[4]
Theobald Wolfe Tone is buried near Sallins in Bodenstown graveyard. Each summer, Irish republicans of various political and paramilitary groupings congregate at Sallins to hold commemorations at Tone's grave.
History
editSallins developed as a village with the opening of the Grand Canal to traffic in 1779 and a passenger service in 1780.[5]
In the last decades of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century, Sallins was a popular spot for visitors to the grave of Wolfe Tone to congregate before marching to the gravesite. Many visitors would take the train from Dublin to Sallins and walk the 2.5 km to Tone's grave in Bodenstown.[6]
On 31 March 1976, a Cork to Dublin mail train was robbed and approximately £200,000 was stolen at a small farm crossing on the main train line near Sallins.[7]
In the 1990s and 2000s Sallins became a commuter town of Dublin. The population grew significantly and increased sevenfold between 1996 and 2022.[8]
Transport
edit| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1821 | 348 | — |
| 1831 | 419 | +20.4% |
| 1841 | 392 | −6.4% |
| 1851 | 308 | −21.4% |
| 1861 | 348 | +13.0% |
| 1871 | 452 | +29.9% |
| 1881 | 279 | −38.3% |
| 1891 | 318 | +14.0% |
| 1901 | 253 | −20.4% |
| 1911 | 291 | +15.0% |
| 1926 | 349 | +19.9% |
| 1936 | 276 | −20.9% |
| 1946 | 261 | −5.4% |
| 1951 | 259 | −0.8% |
| 1956 | 338 | +30.5% |
| 1961 | 420 | +24.3% |
| 1966 | 465 | +10.7% |
| 1971 | 631 | +35.7% |
| 1981 | 817 | +29.5% |
| 1986 | 774 | −5.3% |
| 1991 | 783 | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 854 | +9.1% |
| 2002 | 2,922 | +242.2% |
| 2006 | 3,806 | +30.3% |
| 2011 | 5,283 | +38.8% |
| 2016 | 5,849 | +10.7% |
| 2022 | 6,269 | +7.2% |
| [9][10][11][12][13][14][1] | ||
The village's railway station serves both Sallins itself and neighbouring Naas, as reflected in its official name of "Sallins and Naas". Originally named just "Sallins", it opened on 4 August 1846[15] and was the junction for the Tullow branch, which included the original Naas station. It closed in 1963, and was renamed Sallins & Naas upon re-opening in 1994,[16] as part of the Kildare "Arrow" commuter rail project. A feeder bus operates between the station and the centre of Naas (Poplar Square & Post Office). The station was the location of the Sallins Train robbery, Ireland's largest train robbery, which occurred on 31 March 1976. Several hundred thousand pounds were stolen from a CIÉ train. Several people were tried for the robbery and jailed and the case eventually was adjudged a significant miscarriage of justice.
Sport and amenities
editSallins GAA has its grounds in the centre of the village which include a championship sized pitch, a clubhouse, and dressing rooms. The GAA club has been in existence since 1885.
The village is also home to the soccer club Sallins Celtic, and the Sallins Dramatic Society.[17]
The canal near the village is used for fishing and boating. The Leinster Aqueduct is situated nearby, mid-way along the canal between Sallins and Caragh. This is the point where the Grand Canal crosses the River Liffey. In 2015, a passenger boat service began operating offering cruise excursions to Leinster Aqueduct and Digby Lock.[18]
Each year since 2004 during August, the Sallins Community Festival is held which includes some local activities, including a beauty contest called 'Queen of the Waterways'.[citation needed]
Sallins has one national (primary) school. As of 2020, Sallins National School (also known as St Laurences National School), had over 680 pupils enrolled.[19]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Census 2022 - F1015 Population". Central Statistics Office Census 2022 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland. August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
- ^ "Na Solláin / Sallins". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Sallins (Ireland) Census Town". City Population. Archived from the original on 13 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "Odlums closure to cost 26 jobs in Kildare". Irish Examiner. October 2008. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "The dry dock at Sallins". Irish Waterways History. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ Woods, C.J. "Pilgrimages to Tone's grave at Bodenstown, 1873–1922: time, place, popularity". History Ireland. 23 (3).
- ^ Murtagh, Peter (4 April 2015). "The drama and debacle of the Sallins train robbery". The Irish Times. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ O'Connell, Jennifer (29 June 2019). "Life in a commuter town: 'They call Sallins Dublin 28'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
- ^ "Server Error 404 - CSO - Central Statistics Office". Archived from the original on 20 September 2010. Retrieved 10 July 2007.
- ^ "histpop.org". University of Essex. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ "NISRA - Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (c) 2015". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
- ^ Lee, J. J. (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". In Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A. (eds.). Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press.
- ^ Mokyr, Joel; O Grada, Cormac (November 1984). "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850". The Economic History Review. 37 (4): 473–488. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x. hdl:10197/1406. Archived from the original on 4 December 2012.
- ^ "Sapmap Area - Settlements - Sallins". Census 2016. CSO. 2016. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ "Sallins station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
- ^ Bob Ayres. "Railways of Ireland" (PDF). .railscot.co.uk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "New Kildare drama group: Sallins Dramatic Society to stage Wake In The West". Kildare Live. August 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ "BargeTrip: Canal Cruising Ireland". bargetrip.ie. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
- ^ "School Detail - St Laurences National School, Sallins, Co. Kildare". education.ie. Department of Education. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021.