No-one seems to know the origin of the name Harold’s Cross, though there are several competing stories that are likely to provoke a vigorious discussion in local pubs.
One explanation is that comes from a stone cross that stood at what is now the Kenilworth junction on Harold's Cross Road, marking lands owned by the Harold family of Danish Vikings from Rathfarnham, but we don’t know for sure.
Whatever the reason for the name, this appealing suburb is just south of the Grand Canal, between Crumlin to the west and Rathmines to the east, with Kimmage and Terenure to the south and south-west.
It's dominated by the huge Mount Jerome cemetery, but it’s also home to Mount Argus church, a small city park, an attractive range of pubs and restaurants and a former greyhound stadium.
Residents past and present include artist Jack Butler Yeats, playwright J.M. Synge and the comedian and actor Niall Tóibín.
Fancy joining them? Here’s Harold’s Cross by numbers...
Population*
3,043, as of the 2016 census.
*Figure taken from CSO data
Average house price 2019 H2*
€ 491,763*
By house size**
1-bed apartment: €260k
2-bed terrace: €347k
3-bed semi-detached: €493k
4-bed bungalow: €844k
5-bed detached: €899k
*Figures provided by Perfect Property
**Figures for Dublin 6W, according to the Daft 2020 Q1 house price report.
Most expensive house*
€950,000: 33 Kenilworth Park, Harold's Cross (5-bed terraced house)
*Correct according to Daft.ie as of 19/5/20
Least expensive house*
€199,500: Apt. 20, Parkview, 113 Harold’s Cross Road (1-bed apartment)
*Correct according to Daft.ie as of 19/5/20
Availability*
29 properties for sale
*Correct according to Daft.ie as of 19/5/20
Services
Garda Station: Rathmines Garda Station, 196 Rathgar Rd, Rathmines
Post Offices: Harold’s Cross Post Office, 67 Harold's Cross Road
Nearest Library: Rathmines Library, Lower Rathmines Road
No. of schools/creches*
Pre-schools: 0
Primary Schools: 2
Secondary Schools: 0
*Figures from education.ie and childcare.ie
Parks and playgrounds
Harold’s Cross Park is a compact but very pleasant sliver of green between Harold’s Cross Road and Kimmage Road. There’s a café, a kids’ playground and plenty of space for little ones to run around.
It’s also worth mentioning the very large Mount Jerome Cemetery, which has occupied much of the area since it was founded in 1836. A peaceful spot for contemplative walks, it also has a coffee shop.
Eamonn Ceannt Park is another large facility, in Crumlin but not far away. There you will find sports pitches, mature trees, an athletics track, playing fields, tennis courts, a children's playground and even a modern velodrome for cycling.
Public transport links
There are no rail or Luas links in this part of Dublin, but Harold’s Cross Road is a major bus corridor that is served by numbers 16, 16C, 16D and 49. On the Kimmage Road, you’ll find the 9 and 54A.
There’s also the cross-city 18 route, operated by Go-Ahead Ireland, while the 83 and 83A between Harristown and Kimmage skirt the southern edge of the area.
Time to city centre*
Driving: 9 minutes (traffic dependent)
Public Transport: 13 minutes (bus)
Cycling: 10 minutes
Walking: 37 minutes
*Times (except public transport) taken from Peggy Kelly’s pub on Harold’s Cross Road to College Green, according to Google Maps.
Food and drink
Yelp.ie lists a total of 11 restaurants on Harold’s Cross, mainly on Harold’s Cross Road. You’ll find modern Irish fare at Craft, pub grub at Rosie O’Grady’s and Indian food at Poppadom.
In addition, 10 different pubs and bars are listed – highlights include McGarry’s, a nice traditional pub with live sport and a beer garden, MVP at the canal which focuses on cocktails and private parties (and is dog-friendly) and the aforementioned Rosie O’Grady’s.
As for cafés and coffee shops, there’s Noshington at Harold’s Cross Park, Five Points which is jointly run by 3fe coffee, and HX46 which is an unusual hybrid of “café and pan-Asian casual dining”.
Shopping
There’s a something of a village main street feel on Harold’s Cross Road, just south of the park – lot of small local shops and services like dry cleaning, a dentist, ladies’ fashions and convenience stores.
For larger supermarkets and more choice, Rathmines and Terenure are both a short distance away, and there’s always the city centre for everything else. Harold’s Cross is very convenient.
Sport and leisure
There are a number of GAA clubs in the area, though none within Harold’s Cross itself – Templeogue Synge Street, Portobello, St James Gaels and Crumlin clubs are all nearby.
Harold's Cross YFC is a soccer club based at Kenilworth Park, just off the Harold’s Cross Road.
Harold’s Cross is still well known for its greyhound stadium – which was also home five League of Ireland soccer teams at various times, including St Patrick’s Athletic and Shelbourne – but it closed in 2017.
