Swords, Dublin

Swords (Sord Cholm Cille in Irish) is a suburb of Dublin City in the Republic of Ireland. The town has seen unprecedented growth in the last 15 years, and has the highest projected future growth for the next 20 years of any town in the Dublin Region. The town and Dublin Airport have been effectively swallowed by the city's urban sprawl. In 1994 Swords became the county town of the newly established County Fingal, and in 2001 it became the administrative centre for the county upon the completion of the €12m Fingal County Hall.

It is an ancient settlement dating back to 560, having been founded by St Colmcille (521-567). Legend has it that the saint blessed a local well, giving the town its name Sord meaning "clear" or "pure". The castle of Swords is reputed to have held the body of Brian Boru after he was killed in the Battle of Clontarf in 1014.

Swords (Sord Cholm Cille in Irish) is an outlying town in the hinterland of Dublin City in the Republic of Ireland. The present Population is thought to be 40,000 having experienced unprecedented growth in the last 15 years, and has the highest projected future growth for the next 20 years of any town in the Dublin Region. The town while growing as a result of housing demand in Dublin is not in fact contiguous to urban Dublin since the airport lands cut it off from the rest of the urban sprawl in the city. In 1994 Swords became the county town of the newly established County Fingal, and in 2001 it became the administrative centre for the county upon the completion of the €12m Fingal County Hall.

It is an ancient settlement dating back to 560, having been founded by St Colmcille (521-567). Legend has it that the saint blessed a local well, giving the town its name Sord meaning "clear" or "pure". However, An Sord also means "the water source" and could indicate a large communal drinking well that existed in antiquity.

The castle of Swords is undergoing a significant redevelopment and will become a centre of leisure and tourist attraction. While it is popularly thought that Brian Boru's body was brought there after the battle of Clontarf recent evidence would suggest that this was Swords Abbey which lies at slightly to the West of the Main St.

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