Pembroke, Dublin

Pembroke is a former local government area within County Dublin that was adjoining the city of Dublin, Ireland. It was formed as a township for local government purposes by a local act of Parliament, the Pembroke Township Act 1863 (26 & 27 Vict. c. lxxii). The township took its name from the fact that most of the area was part of the estate of the Earl of Pembroke. It was governed by town commissioners until 1899 when it became an urban district. In 1930 Pembroke was absorbed by the City and County Borough of Dublin.

Pembroke Peambróg or Pembróc
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Dublin
Established	1863
Abolished	1930
Named for	Earl of Pembroke
Government
• Local authority	Pembroke Town Commissioners (1863–1899) Pembroke Urban District Council (1899–1930)
Pembroke

Pembroke Township Act 1863
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act for the Improvement of Pembroke Township, comprising Baggotrath, Donnybrook, Sandymount, Ringsend, and Irishtown, in the Barony of Dublin and County of Dublin.
Citation	26 & 27 Vict. c. lxxii
Dates
Royal assent	22 June 1863

Pembroke Town Hall

Composition

A wall-plaque from the days of The Pembroke Commissioners

The township consisted of a number of distinct areas: Ballsbridge, Donnybrook, Sandymount, Irishtown and Ringsend. The areas varied in nature, with Ringsend being an old fishing village, Irishtown a working-class residential and industrial district, while the remainder of the township contained affluent residential areas. Seven-ninths of the township was part of the Pembroke Estate, and the agent of the estate was an ex officio commissioner, the remaining 14 being elected by property owners. The estate had a great deal of influence on the activities of the commissioners, and also made donations of land for the use of the township. This influence largely ended when a more democratically elected urban district council replaced the commissioners. In 1899, it became an urban district under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898.^[1][2]

Electoral history

Election		Control	Administration
	1899	Unionist	Unionist
	1902	Unionist	Unionist
	1905	Unionist	Unionist
	1908	Unionist	Unionist
	1911	Nationalist	Nationalist
	1914	Nationalist	Nationalist
	1920	NOC	Unionist-Ratepayer
	1925
	1928

Town Hall

Pembroke Town Hall was built on Merrion Road, Ballsbridge, and opened in 1880. Previously the township offices had been in nearby Ballsbridge Terrace. The town hall later formed the administrative headquarters of the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee.^[3]

Dissolution

Under the Local Government (Dublin) Act 1930, Pembroke Urban District was dissolved and its area was added to the functional area of the city of Dublin.^[4]

Continued use of name

The library run by Dublin City Council in Ballsbridge is called Pembroke Library.^[5] It is also the name of a local electoral area for elections to Dublin City Council.^[6]