Sallynoggin Road runs South-west from Glenageary, through the village of Sallynoggin, and onwards to Rochestown Avenue
In the 1850s, Sallynoggin village was a strip of small houses, many of them thatched, all on the right-hand side as you went from Glenageary. Each house appears to have a long site, most sites being over half-an-acre. There was little change through to the early years of the 20th century.
In the 1901 census there were 9 thatched houses as well as a thatched pub. Sallynoggin had the distinction of having the only 4th class house I have seen in all of my searches on the census. In that census there were two separate addresses for Sallynoggin Road. There was "Sallynoggin Road, East Side" and "Sallynoggin Road, Part of", and they were worlds apart.
In the years around 1900 there was much discussion about dealing with problems of poverty, poor housing, etc, and funding was made available by parliament. The discussion eventually moved to the question of where the new housing for the poor might be located, and Sallynoggin was much discussed. There was plenty of open land there, and it would move the problem well away from the houses of the more genteel houseowners. The question was eventually decided on the basis that Sallynoggin was too far a distance to expect the ordinary working person to walk home after a long days work.
As the 20th century moved on and public transport was developed, Sallynoggin was deemed to be a suitable place, and much public housing schemes were developed there, starting with Sarsfield Street in 1904
The development/design of Sallynoggin
The following letter appeared in The Irish Times on Tuesday July 02, 2002
Rules for Rural Housing
Sir, - The problem of isolated houses in scenic rural locations is giving rise to much concern. I suggest that three fundamental rules should be observed for the majority of such houses.
1. The houses should be single storey. Pitched roofs are now generally accepted as opposed to flat roofs. The colour of roof tiles or slates should harmonise with the landscape.
2. Houses should be in clusters, where possible. This reduces the cost of services - water, drainage, electricity, telephone and cable TV.
3. Landscaping around the houses should be made a condition of the planning permission. This could be enforced by requiring a deposit which would be repaid after a number of years, when the planting can be confirmed as permanent.When I was Architect in Dun Laoghaire, between 1947 and 1956, I designed the Sallynoggin housing scheme. Instead of planting a tree in the footpath, which did not survive in other schemes, I increased the size of the front gardens and planted a tree for each house. These trees survived. People who live there, and visitors today, can see the effect of this landscaping. - Yours, etc.,
DÁITHI P. HANLY, Architect and TownPlanning Consultant, Dalkey, Co. Dublin.
