Sallins

Sallins Na Solláin
Village
Sallins marina Sallins marina
Sallins Location in Ireland
Coordinates:
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Kildare
Elevation	96 m (315 ft)
Population (2011)
• Urban	5,283
Irish Grid Reference	N888230
Website	www.sallins4u.com

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1821	348	—
1831	419	+20.4%
1841	392	−6.4%
1851	308	−21.4%
1861	348	+13.0%
1871	452	+29.9%
1881	279	−38.3%
1891	318	+14.0%
1901	253	−20.4%
1911	291	+15.0%
1926	349	+19.9%
1936	276	−20.9%
1946	261	−5.4%
1951	259	−0.8%
1956	338	+30.5%
1961	420	+24.3%
1966	465	+10.7%
1971	631	+35.7%
1981	817	+29.5%
1986	774	−5.3%
1991	783	+1.2%
1996	854	+9.1%
2002	2,922	+242.2%
2006	3,806	+30.3%
2011	5,283	+38.8%

Sallins /ˈsælɪnz/ (Irish: Na Solláin) is a village in County Kildare, Ireland, situated 3.5 km north of the town centre of Naas, from which it is separated by the M7 motorway. Sallins is the anglicised name of Na Solláin which means "The Willows".

According to the official CSO Census of 2011, Sallins has a total population of 5,283. The village has expanded rapidly in recent years and between the 2002 and 2011 census, the population has grown by 81pc. It is the 9th largest settlement in Kildare and the 83rd largest in Ireland. Sallins grew as a result of its position on both the Grand Canal and the Dublin to Cork railway line. Historically, the major employers in the village were Odlum's Flour Mills and a meat factory, although the latter is now closed.

Theobald Wolfe Tone is buried near Sallins village in Bodenstown graveyard. Each summer, Irish Republicans of various political and paramilitary groupings congregate at Sallins to hold commemorations at Tone's grave.

Transport

The village's railway station serves both Sallins itself and neighbouring Naas, as reflected in its official name of "Sallins and Naas". Originally named just "Sallins", it opened on 4 August 1846 and was the junction for the Tullow branch, which included the original Naas station. It closed in 1963, and was renamed Sallins & Naas upon re-opening in 1994. as part of the Kildare "Arrow" commuter rail project.

The station was also the location for Ireland's largest train robbery - the so-called "Sallins Train Robbery" - which occurred on March 31, 1976. Several hundred thousand pounds where stolen from a Córas Iompair Éireann train. Several people were tried for the robbery and jailed and the case eventually became a significant miscarriage of justice.

File:Signal box at Sallins North, County Kildare, Ireland 1960s (6174237797).jpg

Signalman J. Hannigan operating the signal levers inside Sallins North Signal Cabin 23 September 1963.

Sport and Amenities

Sallins GAA has its grounds in the centre of the village which include a championship sized pitch, a modern club house and dressing rooms. The GAA club has been in existence since 1885.

The canal near the village is popular for fishing and boating. There are many canal barges moored in Sallins, some of them serving as permanent residences. The Leinster Aqueduct is situated nearby. It is located mid-way along the canal between Sallins and Caragh. This is the point where the Grand Canal crosses the River Liffey. Each year since 2004 during August, the Sallins Community Festival is held which includes some local activities, the most notable being a beauty contest called Queen of the Waterways.

Sallins has one primary education level school, Sallins National School.

In 2015 a passenger boat service began operating offering cruise excursions to Leinster Aqueduct and Digby Lock.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

External links

• Sallins & Naas railway station
• Sallins at the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland Web site
• Sallins Community Council
• Canal Walks