ORIGINALLY STILLORGAN SHOPPING CENTRE
I lived beside Stillorgan Shopping for the first thirty years of its existence and as it was the first shopping centre [mall] in Ireland and many of my friends were more than envious and kept finding excuses to visit me at home. Even though the centre is old and small compared to most modern shopping centres it is very popular as it is an outdoor centre.
Stillorgan Village is now an outdoor Centre, with wide malls and covered walkways. The Centre’s strong retail offering includes well-known brands such as Tesco, Dunnes, Kilkenny and Donnybrook Fair. However, Stillorgan Village is also home to many boutique brands and Irish owned businesses.
In the 1930s, 60 houses were built at Beaufield Park. The Merville Estate was subsequently built in the 1950s on land belonging to the Jolly family dairy farm. St Laurence’s Park was completed in October 1954.
The first bowling alley in Ireland, the Stillorgan Bowl opened in December 1963 and was demolished in May 2021.
The first shopping centre to be built in Ireland opened in Stillorgan in 1966. It was opened by Dickey Rock. It had three supermarkets, Powers, Liptons and Quinnsworth. The road in front of the shopping centre was completely lined with cottages built during the early 19th century and, to enable the construction of the centre, they were knocked down and the rubble was used to fill in and level the lands that are now Páirc De Burca, the playing field of Kilmacud Crokes.
