Editing Swords, Dublin (section)

== History ==
[[File:Map of Swords.png|thumb|Map of Swords]]

===Origins and etymology===
The town's origins date back to 560 AD when it was reputedly founded by [[Saint Colmcille]] (521–567).<ref name=Sidwell_70>{{Citation |last= Sidwell|first=Keith|title= Reading Medieval Latin|page=70|year= 1995|location=Cambridge|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-44747-X}}</ref> Legend has it that the saint blessed a local well, giving the settlement its name, ''Sord'', meaning "clear" or "pure".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dil.ie/50473|title=? sord|website=eDIL - Irish Language Dictionary|access-date=27 July 2022|archive-date=27 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727155957/https://dil.ie/50473|url-status=live}}</ref> However, ''An Sord'' also means "the water source" and could indicate a large communal drinking well that existed in antiquity.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://swordsdublin.net/_dublin_history.html|title=History Of Swords Dublin|website=swordsdublin.net|access-date=28 May 2012|archive-date=24 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424144303/http://www.swordsdublin.net/_dublin_history.html|url-status=live}}</ref> St. Colmcille's Well is located on Well Road off Main Street. ''Sord'' may also refer to a "[[wikt:sward|sward]]", an "expanse of grass".<ref>{{cite book|last=Hickey |first=Raymond |date=2005 |title=Dublin English: evolution and change}}</ref> The most common landscape indicators of early Christian settlement are the ecclesiastical enclosures, and in the case of Swords, the street pattern has been influenced by the circular alignment of the settlement.

===Development===
The medieval town developed in a linear pattern along Main Street, in a roughly north–south direction. The [[Irish round tower|round tower]], 26m in height, is also an indicator of early Christian settlement. The [[List of High Kings of Ireland|Irish high king]] [[Brian Boru]] is said to have had his [[Requiem Mass]] offered at the church on Spittal Hill after he was killed at the [[Battle of Clontarf]]; this was of course before the hospital and even the Church of Ireland when there would have been a small chapel there along with the round tower.

In medieval times, the manor of Swords was [[English Crown]] property, and by tradition was granted to each [[Archbishop of Dublin]] for his lifetime.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

The [[parliamentary borough]] of [[Swords (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Swords]] elected two MPs to the [[Irish House of Commons]]. It was disenfranchised in 1801 by the [[Acts of Union 1800]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Swords |url=https://www.ancestryireland.com/history-of-the-irish-parliament/constituencies/swords/ |publisher=Ulster Historical Foundation |work=History of the Irish Parliament |access-date=29 November 2023 |archive-date=30 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230530163156/https://www.ancestryireland.com/history-of-the-irish-parliament/constituencies/swords/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

At the northern end of the street stands Swords Castle, 200m northeast of the ecclesiastical site, which was built in the early 13th century. A short distance north of the castle is the elevation known as Spittal Hill, where a hospital once stood.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fingalcoco.ie/media/2.4.3%20Barrysparks%20SEA%20Enviromental%20Report.pdf |title=Barrysparks Local Area Plan – Environmental Report |website=Fingal County Council |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131063318/http://www.fingalcoco.ie/media/2.4.3%20Barrysparks%20SEA%20Enviromental%20Report.pdf |archive-date=31 January 2014 }}</ref>

In 1994, Swords became the [[county town]] of the new county of [[Fingal]] after the abolition of [[County Dublin]] as an administrative county. In 2001, upon the completion of the County Hall, senior executive offices moved there from Parnell Square in Dublin city centre.

In June 2006, the [[Royal National Lifeboat Institution|RNLI]] Ireland officially opened a new all-Ireland headquarters at Airside Business Park, within greater Swords.<ref>{{cite news|title=Irish lifeboat HQ in Swords is opened by the President|url=http://www.independent.ie/regionals/fingalindependent/news/irish-lifeboat-hq-in-swords-is-opened-by-the-president-27766279.html|newspaper=The Independent|date=14 June 2006|access-date=4 April 2016}}</ref> The National Museum of Ireland operates its Collections Resource Centre (CRC) at a former Motorola factory site on the northern edge of the town. The size of two football fields, the CRC includes storage, archive, library and research facilities serving all branches of the museum.<ref name="IMA_NMI_CRC">{{cite web |title=National Museum of Ireland - Collections Resource Centre |url=https://irishmuseums.org/events/national-museum-of-ireland-collections-resource-centre |website=Irish Museums Association |access-date=5 February 2022 |archive-date=5 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205175548/https://irishmuseums.org/events/national-museum-of-ireland-collections-resource-centre |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Strategic vision===
Fingal County Council's "Strategic Vision" for Swords declared an aim of forming a sustainable "new city"; the council has referred to Swords as an "emerging city" and has projected that the population of Swords would rise towards 100,000 by the year 2035.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.fingalcoco.ie/media/2.4.3.A.9.1%20Yours%20Swords%20Document.pdf | title = Your Swords, an Emerging City, Strategic Vision 2035 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140131064426/http://www.fingalcoco.ie/media/2.4.3.A.9.1%20Yours%20Swords%20Document.pdf |archive-date=31 January 2014 | publisher = Fingal County Council}}</ref> As of 2023, the town is the [[List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland|eighth-largest urban area in the country]].{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

The ''Swords Cultural Quarter Masterplan'' by the county council proposed to redevelop the area surrounding the castle into the ''Swords Cultural Quarter'', and to build a new Cultural Centre within this area.<ref name="masterplan">{{cite web|url=https://www.fingal.ie/swords-cultural-quarter-masterplan|title=Swords Cultural Quarter Masterplan|website=Fingal County Council|access-date=28 April 2020|archive-date=14 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514002130/https://www.fingal.ie/swords-cultural-quarter-masterplan|url-status=live}}</ref> Enabling work on the Cultural Centre began in April 2023, during which two medieval wells were discovered under the existing car park. The wells were removed by archaeologists and preserved for potential display at a later date.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.fingal.ie/news/medieval-wells-swords-cultural-centre-site | website = fingal.ie | title = Medieval Wells at Swords Cultural Centre site | date = 15 September 2023 }}</ref> Construction of the building began in February 2025 and, at that time, was expected to complete in early 2027.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reporter |first=Gazette |date=2024-10-27 |title=Foundation stone for new Cultural Centre |url=https://dublingazette.com/dublinlocalmatters/news/swords-fingal-housing-55533/ |access-date=2025-03-07 |website=Dublin Gazette Newspapers - Dublin News, Sport and Lifestyle |language=en-ie}}</ref> The development is due to include a new library, art gallery, 165-seat theatre and café. If implemented as planned, the masterplan would also change the layout of the roads surrounding the castle.<ref name="masterplan"/>

===Quality of life===
[[File:Highfields2.jpg|thumb|A [[middle class]] [[housing estate]] on the southern side of Swords]]
In 2012, Swords was named the third-best town in Ireland to live in. The survey conducted by Retail Excellence Ireland took into account safety, retail, dining, entertainment, events, car parking and the overall attractiveness of the town.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retailexcellence.ie/images/uploads/downloads/Sunday_Independent_Supplement_-_Best100_Towns__Cities.pdf|title=Retail Excellence Ireland Survey 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025222056/http://www.retailexcellence.ie//images//uploads//downloads//Sunday_Independent_Supplement_-_Best100_Towns__Cities.pdf|archive-date=25 October 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Swords has seen steady regeneration of shop fronts,<ref>{{Cite web|last=County Council|first=Fingal|date=2015|title=SWORDS CASTLE CULTURAL QUARTER|url=https://www.fingal.ie/sites/default/files/2020-02/re-swords-masterplan_draft_a_rev17-_13042015.pdf|access-date=1 January 2022|website=Fingal.ie|archive-date=23 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220223054007/https://www.fingal.ie/sites/default/files/2020-02/re-swords-masterplan_draft_a_rev17-_13042015.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> public buildings, and footpaths and the restoration of [[Swords Castle]] since the mid-1990s. Households in Swords have the seventh-highest median incomes in the state, among distinct towns (a comparison excluding most other suburbs of the city).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Gleeson|first=Colin|title=Households in Malahide enjoy highest incomes in State|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/households-in-malahide-enjoy-highest-incomes-in-state-1.3932426|access-date=2021-10-22|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en|archive-date=23 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023004417/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/households-in-malahide-enjoy-highest-incomes-in-state-1.3932426|url-status=live}}</ref>

A 2011 Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) survey declared Swords to be the second cleanest town in Ireland.<ref name="ibal.ie">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ibal.ie/press_releases/2012/PressRelease(1).pdf|title=Irish Business Against Litter Survey 2011|access-date=10 January 2012|archive-date=15 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115235423/http://www.ibal.ie/press_releases/2012/PressRelease(1).pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> This came just eight years after an IBAL survey had scored the town as the worst "litter blackspot" in the country.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ibal.ie/press_releases/2003/pressrelease2003(2).pdf|title=Irish Business Against Litter Survey 2003|access-date=10 September 2012|archive-date=10 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010230341/http://www.ibal.ie/press_releases/2003/pressrelease2003(2).pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 2019 survey, [[An Taisce]], who carry out the surveys on behalf of IBAL, stated: "A stellar showing for this large urban area. Swords is a model for others to follow."<ref name="2019 IBAL">{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/regionals/fingalindependent/news/mayor-congratulates-swords-on-ibal-results-38857584.html|title=Mayor congratulates Swords on IBAL results|website=independent|date=18 January 2020|access-date=27 July 2022|archive-date=27 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727160209/https://www.independent.ie/regionals/fingalindependent/news/mayor-congratulates-swords-on-ibal-results-38857584.html|url-status=live}}</ref>