Ranelagh
The park in London, Ranelagh Gardens, was named after Ranelagh House, home of the Cole family, who took their title (Earls of Ranelagh) from the district in County Dublin.
The district was originally a village just outside Dublin, surrounded by landed estates.
In the early years of the Irish Confederate Wars (1641-1649) the area was the scene of skirmishes culminating in the Battle of Rathmines. After the Irish united with the Royalists against the Parliamentarians, an attempt was made to take Dublin. Their army under Ormonde was defeated, many of them killed, and the place where they fell (mainly between Rathmines and Ranelagh) was known for a long time as the Bloody Fields.
In 1785, only two years after the first manned flight, Richard Crosbie successfully flew in a hot air balloon from Ranelagh Gardens to Clontarf.
The area was incorporated into the expanding city in the 19th century, after which massive development took place.
See Also
Sources of Information
- [1] Wikipedia