Killester Garden Village
by Anne-Marie Smith, MAGI
Patrick Smith
My paternal grandparents Patrick and Mary Smith lived at 26 Abbeyfield, Killester, Dublin, and were one of the first families to move into the newly built Killester Garden Village in 1923. As my grandfather had been a World War 1 veteran, he qualified to apply for one of these houses.
Grandmother Mary Smith outside 26 Abbeyfield, Killester.
Under The Irish Land (Provision for Sailors and Soldiers) Act of 1919, the Government started to build housing for the Irish WW1 ex-servicemen in Ireland. However, building sites equipped with water, drainage and other suburban services were difficult to locate. Killester was available and work began there in 1920. Killester Garden Village was based on Ebeneezer Howard’s Garden Concept which was to create new (suburban) towns of semi-rural, low density houses with recreational spaces and affordable housing and the project was completed in 1923. A new train station was built, and also a hall in the 1930s to replace an old Army hut, which stood on the green in Abbeyfield, now known locally as the Legion Hall (branch of the British Legion who provided support to the ex-servicemen and families in Killester).
