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A PLACE IN FOSTERSTOWN

Boroimhe

The name, the land it was built on, and what Fingal has planned next to it.

Illustrative image, not a verified photograph

The name

EstablishedBoroimhe is written Boroimhe in the estate’s addresses and in property listings, and Boróimhe on MetroLink’s pages. It matches the byname in the Irish forms of Brian Boru’s name: Brian Bóruma, Bóramha or Bóroimhe.

EstablishedScholars give two readings of that byname. One is Old Irish bóruma, “of the cattle tribute”, a levy tied to Leinster. The other is Béal Bóruma, a fort north of Killaloe. The tribute reading may itself be a later re-interpretation. Wikipedia: Brian Boru

EstablishedSwords has its own link to him. After the battle of Clontarf in 1014, his body and his son’s were taken to Swords, where the Abbot of Armagh met the cortege and escorted it north to Armagh. Trinity College Dublin Library, Brian Boru exhibition

ProbableThe estate was named for Brian Boru. The spelling points that way, and Fingal’s plan lists a Boru Court among the existing places around it.

Still to establishWho chose the name and why, and whether the Swords connection was the reason. We found nothing that says so.

The land before

EstablishedMost of Boroimhe lies in the townland of Fosterstown North. We tested the estate’s addresses against the official townland boundaries: 32 of 38 fall in Fosterstown North, five near its southern edge fall in Fosterstown South, and one in Forrestfields. It is a modern estate on an old townland, so the two names are not the same thing. See the map page.

EstablishedThe two Fosterstown townlands were farming country. The census returns for 1901, 1911 and 1926 show only a handful of households, including farming families, and the name itself is recorded from 1326. See the history page.

EstablishedA stream network still runs through the lands beside the estate. Fingal’s 2019 plan proposes a green corridor along it that links into the existing open space at Boroimhe Birches.

Still to establishThe names of the fields, which farms they belonged to, who owned them, and when they were sold for housing. We have not seen the old maps or valuation records for this ground. The places to look are the Ordnance Survey six-inch and 25-inch maps on GeoHive, Griffith’s Valuation and the valuation books, and the planning file for the estate’s first permission. If you remember what was here before the houses, tell us.

Building the estate

EstablishedEstate agents credit the estate to Bovale Developments. It was built in sections with tree names. Fingal’s plan names Boroimhe Laurels and Boroimhe Birches; listings and addresses add Beech, Cedars, Elms and Rowan.

EstablishedBy 2006 the estate was being sold in numbered phases. A forum thread from that year talks about prices for Phase 3 and Phase 4, and says new units had sold out by May. These are residents’ and buyers’ posts, so treat the prices as anecdote. Ask About Money thread, 2006

ProbableIt was built over several years from about 1999. One local web page says building began in 1999 and the first residents arrived around 2001. That page gives no source, so we treat the start date as probable and no better.

EstablishedThe Boroimhe Management Company, the estate’s residents’ management company, was the appellant against the 2016 application for 36 homes next to the estate (see the list below). The Boroimhe Shopping Centre on Forest Road is the estate’s shopping and services hub; browse it in the directory.

Still to establishDates for each phase, the planning references, the original number of homes, and what the first residents remember.

Today

EstablishedThe planned MetroLink station at Fosterstown sits beside the R132, close to Boroimhe. Fingal’s plan says priority walking and cycling links to the station will be made through the new developments, not through the established Boroimhe streets.

EstablishedAgents describe the estate as long established and within walking distance of Swords village and the Pavilions. An Irish Times property piece calls the Boroimhe apartments the entry point to the local housing market.

What is planned

Several plans, permissions and applications now sit on land beside Boroimhe. This list keeps the stages apart: a policy, a permission, an application and a completed building are different things. Last checked 19 October 2026.

  1. Fosterstown Masterplan

    Fingal County Council

    Over 1,200 homes and about 3,000 people on the lands between Forest Road and the R132, at 105 to 115 homes per hectare, 2 to 9 storeys, with 10,000 sq m of commercial space, a school site and a new Fosterstown Link Road. Heights next to Boroimhe and Forest Road are to be 2 to 3 storeys.

    PolicyAdopted May 2019. A planning framework, not a permission.

    Fingal, Fosterstown Masterplan (May 2019)

  2. 36 homes west of Boroimhe

    Clarke Family Partnership

    Lands at Fosterstown North, adjoining Boroimhe, with the Boroimhe Management Company as the appellant.

    RefusedRefused on appeal, 13 March 2017.

    An Coimisiún Pleanála, case 246924

  3. 36 homes on Boroimhe Link Road

    Clarke Family Partnership

    Lands at Fosterstown North, Boroimhe Link Road. A third-party appeal by daa was withdrawn.

    Appeal withdrawnAppeal withdrawn, 7 May 2019. The page does not show Fingal's decision.

    An Coimisiún Pleanála, case 303369

  4. Strategic housing scheme at Fosterstown North and Cremona

    MKN Developments

    278 apartments and a childcare facility in apartment blocks of up to nine storeys (one report says eight). Earlier reports gave 256 or 265 homes; the planning case says 278. Three local residents challenged the 2021 permission in the High Court, saying it was over-development and that the process was flawed, and the council declined to back a challenge itself.

    Awaiting decisionGranted 3 February 2021, then quashed by the High Court on 29 July 2024. Re-lodged on 13 September 2024 as case 320806 with a decision due by 10 January 2025. The case page shows no decision, and an April 2026 report lists it as still waiting.

    An Coimisiún Pleanála, case 308366 · An Coimisiún Pleanála, case 320806 · Irish Times, 26 March 2021: High Court challenge · The Journal, 28 April 2026: fast-track homes stuck in planning limbo · Dublin People, 18 March 2021

  5. 28 houses in Boroimhe

    MKN Property

    Described as an addition to an existing estate. Local councillors said they could not get information about their sale.

    BuiltReported as completed, January 2024.

    The Journal, 19 January 2024

  6. Hollytree House apartments

    Clondev Properties; MKN Property Group

    Apartments at the junction of Dublin Road and Boroimhe Link Road. The Fingal application (F22A/0687) was to demolish Hollytree House and build 85 apartments, by Clondev Properties. MKN Property Group’s own page shows 83 apartments (35 one-bed, 35 two-bed and 13 three-bed) in a block of four to eight storeys, and says it is with Fingal for a decision.

    Check statusAn appeal about the development contribution on the Clondev scheme was decided on 24 July 2024, which suggests Fingal had already granted permission. How that relates to MKN’s 83-apartment version, and whether anything is built, is still to establish.

    An Coimisiún Pleanála, case 318046 · MKN Property Group, Hollytree House

  7. Large-scale residential application LRD0059/S3

    MKN Properties Limited

    741 homes (18 houses and 723 apartments) in nine blocks of three to eight storeys, on land bounded by Forest Road and the Dublin Road. It includes the Fosterstown Link Road, Forest Road upgrades, two retail units and a creche, and the demolition of Kylemore House on Dublin Road.

    ApplicationReceived by Fingal on 8 June 2026. No decision was listed in the weekly list we read.

    Fingal planning list, week 24 of 2026 (Word file)

What the 2019 plan asks for

  • Lower, 2 to 3 storey homes next to Boroimhe and Forest Road, with taller buildings (5 to 9 storeys) towards the R132.
  • No more than a quarter of the planned development built and occupied before MetroLink is running.
  • The Fosterstown Link Road, a school site and the Pinnock Hill roundabout upgrade as early, essential works.

Checking and commenting

Search a reference number (for example LRD0059/S3) on Fingal County Council’s planning register, or the case on the An Coimisiún Pleanála case search. Large applications also have a public consultation window. Statuses above can change, and some may have moved since we last looked.

Sources

Developers, councillors and residents are named only as they appear in these public records and reports. This site takes no side on any application.

Unofficial local summary, last checked 19 October 2026. All places · History of Fosterstown