Blanchardstown Village,   circa   1900

At the turn of the century Blanchardstown Village in common with every other village in the country was a sleepy, rural community with- out the now familiar ‘middle class’ people.  There were the ‘big houses’ and the ‘cottages’, with the rich and the poor who depended on one another for survival.  Because the Royal Canal connected Dublin to the Shannon and ran through Blanchardstown, a number of industries were attracted to the area creating much needed employment.  Canal traffic was eventually replaced by the faster and more efficient railway which connected Blanchardstown to the rest of the country.

St Brigid’s Church and school in 1900 was managed by the Parish Priest Fr Patrick J. Tynan who worked tirelessly on the education of local children. There were 130 children on the roll in 1900 with just  99 in attendance.  Compulsory school attendance for children between the ages of 6 to 14 was not introduced until 1927.  Fr Tynam was way ahead of his time.  Another statistic informs us that 16 per cent of Blanchardstown Parish was illiterate at that time.  Local employment in 1900 depended on the well established Blanchardstown Flour Mills, Rathbornes candle making factory and services to the ‘big houses and estates.’  Rathbornes still trade to-day from Rosemount Business Park, Blanchardstown.