Dublin
South City
The County of South Dublin (Irish: Contae
Átha Cliath Theas) is a county in Ireland, with
its county seat located in Tallaght. South Dublin achieved
county status in the 1993 Local Government (Dublin)
Act, and more formally in the 2001 Local Government
Act. It was created along with two other counties from
the former County of Dublin.
The coat of arms for South Dublin reads
"This We Hold In Trust" in both English and
Irish, while incorporating elements of the history,
geography, and present day infrastructure of the area.
South Dublin is the last county in Ireland
to have any alterations made to its boundary, these
being made in 1993 to accommodate the M50 motorway.
It is also the last county to undergo a name change,
its original name of "Belgard" (An Bealach
Ard) being changed to South Dublin when the area was
altered from being an Electoral County to an Administrative
County in 1994 (Fingal and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown's
boundaries and names were both set in 1985). The name
of Belgard did have a historical association with the
area, being the designation of one of the border fortresses
of the Pale which existed in that area. It was altered
however under the view that the name Belgard would create
associations to certain areas of modern development
in Tallaght that now also use that name. The county
is still identified as Belgard by certain Government
departments1 to differentiate it from the geographical
area of south Dublin. Representations can be made at
any time by the elected members of the County Council
to the Government requesting a legal name change.
The area of South Dublin covers 222.74
square kilometres and lies 15 km south west of the capital.
It is bounded by the Dublin Mountains to the south and
stretches from the River Liffey at Lucan through Palmerstown,
Clondalkin, south to Newcastle, Rathcoole, Saggart.
It includes Tallaght West, South and Central and stretches
east to Templeogue and Rathfarnham. South Dublin is
bordered by the Counties of Kildare, Wicklow, Fingal
and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, as well as Dublin City.
The Institute of Technology, Tallaght is located within
the county.
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