Swords (a self-contained town outside Historic Dublin County and modern Fingal County) has developed into the largest town in Ireland. The town's population boom began in the 1970s with the construction of the sprawling Rivervalley Estate, Ireland's largest private housing development, ahead of Kilnamanagh Estate in Tallaght North, and continued during the 1990s and 2000s, with many new residents moving to the area due to its proximity to their work at Dublin Airport. Swords is accessed by the R132 and the M1 motorway.
At the 2011 census the total urban population was 42,738, which makes it the largest town in Fingal, although not officially recognised. Unlike most large towns, Swords does not have a town council or any legal boundaries. Towns which do not have legal boundaries are classified as Census Towns for statistical reasons and are given borders by the Central Statistics Office. However, when they gave borders to the Swords census town they excluded the Drynam and Holywell housing estates, and considered them as a separate census town of "Kinsealy-Drinan". The "Swords" census town had a population of 36,924 (the third largest in Ireland), and the "Kinsealy-Drinan" census town had a population of 5,814. This contradicts their own guidelines which say that borders will be extended to include all occupied dwellings within 100 metres of an existing building.[1] According to the CSO's own SAPMAP viewer, there is definitely less than 100 meters between the two census towns, down to only 10 metres at one point.[2] The two census towns are part of the same urban area, and are both within the Swords development boundary, as defined by Fingal County Council.[3] When put together they have a total population of 42,738, well ahead of Irelands official largest town, Drogheda (38,578). The reason that two census towns were identified is probably because of an area of undeveloped land between them at Barryparks. This land has been left undeveloped because Fingal County Council has reserved it for commercial use to allow Swords develop its own city centre. This problem can't be resolved until at least the next census in 2016, although it could also be resolved by applying legal boundaries to Swords, covering the entire developed urban area.
Fingal County Council have referred to Swords as an "Emerging City", and expect that the town's (or city's) population will reach 100,000 by 2035.
The town is close to Dublin Airport, and is separated from the city by a narrow green belt around the airport.
Main Street c.1898.
The table below contains the population breakdown by Census Towns and Electoral Divisions (ED's) in Swords, taken from the 2011 census results.[4]
Swords is a socio-economically mixed area with the local housing stock being made up of private and local authority housing.
In 1999 the Seatown Villas area of Swords celebrated 50 years in existence, making it the oldest local authority housing estate in Dublin outside of the city limits.[citation needed] In 2005, Fingal County Council opened 138 council housing units in the Applewood development in Swords.[7] This is the first such public-private housing development to take place in Fingal where private development is inter-mixed with local authority housing. This successful pilot scheme has been replicated in the south of the town in the Boroimhe Estate and also in the Mulhuddart area.
A view from the 1790s.
showPrivate households by type of accommodation[5][6]
Type of accommodation
Households
Persons
House/Bungalow
11954
36293
Flat/Apartment
2516
5515
Bed-sit
13
33
Caravan/Mobile Home
8
20
Not stated
315
898
Total
14806
42759
showPermanent private households by year built[5][6]
Year Built
Households
Persons
Pre 1919
49
121
1919 to 1945
70
180
1946 to 1960
201
503
1961 to 1970
747
1996
1971 to 1980
1953
5607
1981 to 1990
2486
7730
1991 to 2000
2739
8782
2001 to 2005
4208
11437
2006 or later
1438
3544
Not stated
907
2839
Total
14798
42739
showPermanent private households by type of occupancy[5][6]
Type of occupancy
Households
Persons
Owner occupied with mortgage
7599
22694
Owner occupied no mortgage
2642
6624
Rented from Private Landlord
3517
10569
Rented from Local Authority
628
1823
Rented from Voluntary Body
123
354
Occupied free of rent
67
126
Not stated
222
549
Total
14798
42739
showPermanent private households by number of rooms[5][6]
Number of rooms
Households
Persons
1 room
138
261
2 rooms
907
1964
3 rooms
1619
4374
4 rooms
2025
4782
5 rooms
4267
12079
6 rooms
2609
8264
7 rooms
1737
5915
8 or more rooms
959
3707
Not stated
537
1393
Total
14798
42739
showPermanent private households by central heating[5][6]
Central heating type
Households
No central heating
54
Oil
2100
Natural Gas
11413
Electricity
887
Coal (including anthracite)
78
Peat (including turf)
7
Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG)
21
Wood (including wood pellets)
7
Other
15
Not stated
216
Total
14798
showPermanent private households by water supply[5][6]
Water supply
Households
Public main
13542
Group scheme with local authority source
688
Group scheme with private source
16
Other private source
10
None
0
Not stated
542
Total
14798
showPermanent private households by sewerage facility[5][6]
Sewerage facility
Households
Public scheme
13838
Individual septic tank
141
Other individual treatment
25
Other
53
No sewerage facility
10
Not stated
731
Total
14798
showOccupancy status of permanent dwellings on Census night[5][6]