Editing Swords, Dublin (section)

===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>