Tallaght - Definition and Overview

Tallaght (Tamhlacht in Irish) is a large suburban area in the administrative county of South Dublin, Ireland. Institute of Technology, Tallaght is a large Regional Technical College located in the area. Tallaght is Middle Irish for "plague grave", and is mentioned in Lebor Gabála Érenn (or Book Of Invasions) as being the burial place of thousands of Partholonians who died from a plague. Tallaght was a leading monastic settlement in Celtic times, centered around the monastery founded by Saint Mael Ruain. St Mael Ruain founded a monastery here sometime before his death in 792 AD and the monastery became famous for a number of reason. The Stowe Missal was written in this monastery about 800AD and religious scholars came from far afield to study in Tallaght.

At this time Tallaght and Finglas were considered centers of learning and were also known as the ‘Eyes of Ireland’. The monastery was later burned down by the Vikings in 811AD. Since the early 1970s, Tallaght has developed from a small village into a huge suburban area, which now has all the characteristics (size, infrastructure, residential and business areas) of a self-generating new town with a population of 71,705 (bigger than Galway - 57,095 and Limerick - 52,042). Tallaght is connected to Dublin city centre by the Red Line of the Luas light rail system, opened in September 2004.

Currently Tallaght has a bad name, and would be more known for urban misplanning and decay than for educational achievements. Although on the southside of Dublin, it shares more similarities with northside towns.

See also: List of towns in the Republic of Ireland