Belcamp Park

Name: Belcamp Park
Address: Clonshaugh Road, Clonshaugh, Dublin 17, Dublin, IE
Telephone: 01 222 5278

Overview

Belcamp Park is a 25-hectare (62-acre) public park in Clonshaugh on Dublin's Northside, between Darndale, Priorswood and the N32. Run by Dublin City Council, it is one of the area's main places for sport, with GAA and soccer pitches, tennis courts, pitch and putt and a 7-a-side all-weather pitch, plus a children's playground and a network of walking paths.

The park is also a piece of Dublin history. It stands on the grounds of a 17th-century estate that was home to the Grattan family and was visited by Jonathan Swift, and in 1909 Countess Markievicz rented the house as a base for Fianna Éireann.

Sport and play

Belcamp Park is busiest with sport. It has GAA and soccer pitches, a 7-a-side all-weather pitch, tennis courts, a basketball court and a pitch and putt course, with changing facilities for teams.

For younger visitors there is a children's playground, and the open lawns are good for a kick-about, a picnic or flying a kite.

Walks

A network of paths runs through the park, making it popular for walking and jogging. Belcamp adjoins Darndale Park, with its pond and wetland habitats, so you can link the two parks for a longer loop.

History of Belcamp Park

The park takes its name from a house called Belcamp Park, probably built in the 1680s by Sir Humphrey Jervis, a Lord Mayor of Dublin who is remembered in the name of Jervis Street. The estate later passed to the Grattan family, and local tradition holds that the statesman Henry Grattan was born here in 1746; his father, James Grattan, sat in parliament as "of Belcamp Park". Jonathan Swift was a friend of the family and visited at least a dozen times between 1714 and 1734.

The Grattans left in 1770, and the house changed hands many times. In 1909 Countess Constance Markievicz and Bulmer Hobson rented it as a centre for Fianna Éireann, the nationalist youth movement, and an agricultural co-operative known as the "Belcamp Commune" was tried there for about a year. Dublin Corporation bought the estate in 1969. The house was damaged by fire in 1977 and later demolished, but some outbuildings and an old ice house survive.

Belcamp Park is not the same place as Belcamp Hall (also called Belcamp House), the Georgian house and former college off the Malahide Road in Balgriffin.

Opening hours

Like most Dublin City Council parks, Belcamp Park opens at 10am every day and closes around dusk, so closing time changes through the year:

January and December: 5pm
February and November: 5.30pm
March: 6.30pm, then 7.30pm once the clocks go forward
April and September: 8.30pm
May and August: 9.30pm
June and July: 10pm
October: 7.30pm, then 6.30pm once the clocks go back

Gates may start closing up to half an hour before these times.

Getting there

Belcamp Park is in Clonshaugh, Dublin 17, about 7km north of the city centre, just south of the N32 and close to the Malahide Road. Dublin Bus routes serve the Malahide Road and Darndale, a short walk from the park. Leisureplex Coolock and Coolock Library are nearby, and Father Collins Park in Clongriffin is a short drive away.