Ирландияның Скерриес қаласы және аралдары

Small coastal town in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland

Skerries is a coastal town in Fingal, in the north of County Dublin, Ireland. Skerries was historically a fishing port and later a centre of hand embroidery. These industries declined in the early 20th century, however, and it became both a resort town and a commuter town for Dublin City, located approximately to the south. Offshore from the town are several islands, one of which is a nature reserve, Rockabill.

The name Skerries comes from the Old Norse word sker (sceir), referring to a skerry − a small rocky island or reef which may be covered during high tide. In Irish this is pluralised as na sceirí. separated by a narrow channel. There is also Red Island, which is a tied island. Rockabill has the largest number of breeding roseate terns in Europe. It is also the farthest set of islands from the town and has a lighthouse which is 4 miles from the nearest path on the mainland at Red Island. The Martello tower on Shenick Island is one of a number of defensive towers erected during the Napoleonic Wars along the Irish coast by the British. The tower is situated 1 mile from the great windmill and a similar distance from both the Monument on Strand Street and the other Martello tower on Red Island. This forms an almost perfect arc through the major tall secular structures in the town with the Martello tower on Shenick at the centre. Shenick Island is accessible on foot at the lowest tides, but potentially problematic, due to turning tides. The other islands are harder to reach, but it is possible by boat. St Patrick's Island is so called because Saint Patrick is reputed to have landed on the island.

Early writers tell how an island off Skerries was used as a landing place for an invasion, which happened in the second century C. E. This island was either Shenick or Red Island, which would have been a tidal island at the time. When the invaders landed, they formed ranks and at low tide marched to the mainland, where they were promptly defeated at the ancient settlement of Knocknagin, north of Balbriggan. The islands were previously known as the Islands of Cor possibly after the original inhabitants. As noted, in AD 432, St. Patrick landed on Church Island, and according to the Annals of Inisfallen Saint Mochonna founded a monastery shortly afterwards. In AD 797, the Vikings (or Danes) carried out one of their earliest raids in Ireland when they plundered the monastery on Church Island. At this time, Skerries was the property of the monastery of Holmpatrick and was known as the Port of Holmpatrick.

In 1565, after the Reformation, the monastery and its lands became the property of Thomas Fitzpatrick. In the autumn of 1583, while the Catholic Church was illegal and underground, Archbishop Dermot O'Hurley arranged for a sea captain to smuggle him into Ireland from the French port of Le Croisic and drop him upon Holmpatrick Strand in Skerries. Archbishop O'Hurley, who later became one of the 24 Irish Catholic Martyrs, was met at Skerries by a priest named Fr. John Dillon, who accompanied him to Drogheda. Later it became Gentours Children's Holiday Camp. In the late 1940s, a family holiday camp was built on Red Island by the Quinn family, founders of the Superquinn chain of supermarkets. The camp had 250 bedrooms all under one roof, along with dining and entertainment areas. In this respect, the accommodation at Red Island differed from more typical chalet facilities at other camps, such as Butlin's. The holiday business closed in the early 1970s. The ballroom continued in use as a concert venue, until all the buildings were demolished in the 1980s. Much of the Red Island site is now laid out as a public park. the Skerries Mills consists of two restored and working windmills, a watermill, a museum and coffee shop. Now operated as a local amenity and tourist attraction, the sails on one of the windmills were damaged during storms in January 2007, but subsequently repaired. In common with much of Dublin's hinterland, Skerries saw growth in residential property and associated prices during the late 1990s and early 21st century.

The town has one second level institution, Skerries Community College, originating from a merger in 1982 of the De La Salle College, Skerries Vocational School, and the local Holy Faith convent school. It is a co educational school, unlike the institutions from which it formed. There are four primary schools in the town: Réalt na Mara National School, St. Patrick's National School, Holmpatrick National School and Educate Together Skerries National School.

The town is served by Skerries railway station, with most services terminating at Connolly and Pearse stations, Drogheda, and Dundalk. The 33 and 33A bus routes (operated by Dublin Bus and Go Ahead Ireland respectively) pass through Skerries. The M1 motorway is the nearest major road to the town.

The two Martello towers in Skerries, at Red Island and Shenick Island, are part of a chain of 29 Martello towers in the Greater Dublin Area constructed in the early 19th century. They were built by the British, along the Irish and English coasts. They were to serve as protection from Napoleonic French armies (in the scenario of an invasion) and as an early warning system against an attack. The tower on Red Island was used as part of the Red Island Holiday Camp. Since that was demolished in the 1980s, the tower has stood alone.

In Flann O'Brien's book The Dalkey Archive, Skerries is the location of the narrator's meeting with James Joyce. The narrator has heard a rumour that Joyce has returned from the continent and is working in a small country pub. He tracks him down to a place on the outskirts of Skerries, but Joyce denies all knowledge of "that filthy book" Ulysses. Casey, one of Reegan's subordinate officers in John McGahern's first novel, The Barracks, is described as having previously been stationed in Skerries where he also met his wife, Teresa. In conversation with Elizabeth Reegan, the novel's protagonist, Casey describes his "great life there, near the city; the market gardening, places you couldn't throw a stone without breaking glass", while Teresa recalls the evening she met her husband: "You could still hear the music from the pavilion and it was comin' across from Red Island too, Mick Delahunty playing there that night. There was a big moon over the masts of the fishin' fleet. I knew he was mad for a court".

Musicians from Skerries range from Tony Keeling and the Graduates in the showband days, through to extreme metal band Primordial which was formed in Skerries in the 1980s. Singer songwriter Ryan O'Shaughnessy originates from Skerries, and represented Ireland in the 2018 Eurovision Song Contest.

Skerries has received several awards for its scenery, culture, and community activities. For example, Skerries came second in the 2014 Best Place to Live in Ireland awards. The town is also the only place to have won an award as an entire community at RTÉ & Rehab's People of the Year Awards in 2011. In 2016, Skerries was named Ireland's Tidiest Town by the Supervalu National Tidy Towns competition. Skerries was rated as one of Europe's ten most beautiful cities by the Eating Europe Food Tours blog.

Local sports clubs include Skerries Harps GAA (the local Gaelic Athletic Association club), Skerries Town Football Club (an association football (soccer) team), and Skerries RFC (the area's rugby union club). Other clubs include Skerries Sailing Club, which is located by the harbour and is the home to a dinghy and cruiser fleet. The Measle dinghy was designed locally and introduced in Skerries in 1960. BirdWatch Ireland, Fingal branch, gives presentations and arranges outdoor events. The town also hosts the annual Skerries 100 and Killalane motorcycle races.

Skerries is a parish in the Fingal North deanery of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin. Skerries is served by Holmpatrick St Patrick, Church of Ireland, and Skerries Methodist Church.

According to local legend, while living on St Patrick's Island near Skerries, Saint Patrick only had a goat as company. On one occasion, while travelling from the island to convert those on the mainland, the goat was reputedly stolen and eaten. The legend then tells that Patrick took away the people of Skerries' ability to speak, reducing them to shrieking and bleating like goats and it was only when they admitted their crime that their voices returned. The goat is sometimes used as a symbol for Skerries.