Sitting in the foothills of the Dublin mountains, this southwestern suburb has grown from a collection of small hamlets and mills to a vibrant district offering a mix of rural and city atmosphere.

Firhouse sits on the River Dodder, and grew with the building of the Great Weir as the Rivers waters were diverted to supply the growing city of Dublin. The area only started to grow with the development of Tallaght further to the North, as the population grew out of Rathfarnham and Templeogue.

Firhouse weir

Dodder Valley Park is a long linear park running the length of the river through Firhouse and offers great facilities for ramblers and dog walkers and runs all the way into Ballsbridge, connecting the mountains to the Sea.

Firhouse’s social hubs are the Community and Sports Centre and The Park Community Centre which provides facilities for a range of local teams and cultural events. Firhouse Carmel Football club has over 20 teams catering for a range of ages for boys and girls.

Dubber valley park firhouse

For GAA, St Annes is the biggest team in the area, and there is an active Basketball club resident in the Community centre.

The proximity to the Dublin mountains and the Bohernabreena Reservoir provide many outdoor activities including water sports and Mountain biking.

Firhouse shopping centre

supervalu firhouse shopping

Shopping, pubs and restaurants are clustered around the Firhouse Shopping Centre, offering a Supervalue, pharmacies and other local shops. The Bite Cafe and China House restaurants are well regarded, and the Speaker Connolly is a fine pub with a good reputation for food.

scholars firhouse

Schools in Firhouse

Local schools such as Scoil Carmel, Holy Rosary and Firhouse Educate Together cater for all ages, with National and Gaelscoil options available. Firhouse Community College provides second-level education and the Nearby ITT offers excellent third-level education to Postgraduate level.

Educate together Firhouse

Population

Firhouse residents tend to be settled families with older children, reflecting the fact that there are more houses than in Tallaght, which is more appealing to first-time buyers. Homes tend to be more settled and established. 60% of were built before the turn of the century, as boomtime development focused on Tallaght.

All in all, Firhouse has a much more family-focused, local appeal than nearby Tallaght.