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Corkagh Park

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Corkagh Park spans  over 150 acres   between the Naas Road  and historic Clondalkin Village.  The park incorporates the lands  of Corkagh House which was demolished in  the early 1960s leaving only the stables and outbuildings visible today.  The estate was  bought by  Dublin County Council in 1983  and opened as a public park in 1986.   Corkagh has a long and interesting history with  much  to discover  as you wander its paths and tracks.  The name Corkagh comes from the Irish word for marshy land and indeed areas of the park  near the Camac have a tendency to become waterlogged during wet periods.   The river Camac which rises SE of Saggart flows through the park towards Clondalkin village, then on through Inchicore and Kilmainham before entering  the Liffey near Heuston  Station.  The Camac at Corkagh While the Camac seems little more  than a stream most of the time  it has  been known to become a raging torrent  after heavy rain.  Pier under water at the Fishing Lakes There hav

The Old House at Corkagh

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Corkagh House in the early 20th century (courtesy SDCC) For many centuries what we know as Corkagh Park was part of the lands under the control of the monastery founded by St Cronan Mochua at  Clondalkin  in the 7th century.   A burial enclosure and corn drying kiln dating from as early as the  8th century were discovered when 'Swan' Lake (behind the playground) was being created in 2001.  Twenty burials were removed before the area was covered in geotextile to preserve any remaining burials for investigation in the future. The Round Tower at Clondalkin is over 1200 years old.    Some of the finds associated with these burials indicated a Viking influence and indeed the Vikings under King Amhlaith (Olaf) founded a fort somewhere near the present townland of Deansrath in the 8th century.  That fort was attacked by the native Irish tribes who having killed the occupants paraded around Clondalkin with Vikings heads mounted on poles.  It is more than likely that the Gaels