Rathfarnham or Rathfarnam () is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland.

Rathfarnham is home to several notable historic buildings, including Rathfarnham Castle and Loreto Abbey, four parks: Marlay Park, Dodder Park, St. Enda's and Bushy Park, and several pubs including The Eden, Buglers, Revels and the landmark Yellow House.

Rathfarnham is the start of the Military Road.

On the opposite side of the road is Crannagh Park and Road, Rathfarnham Park and Ballytore Road, all built on part of the old Rathfarnham Estate.

In the garden of a house formerly named Tower Court in Crannagh Road is an ancient circular pigeon house, a relic of Lord Ely's occupation of Rathfarnham Castle.

The earliest reference to a paper mill here is 1719 when William Lake of Rathfarnham presented a petition for financial aid but we hear of one at Milltown as far back as 1694.

Joyce in his Neighbourhood of Dublin states that this house was at one time the dower house of Rathfarnham Castle but in this he is almost certainly mistaken, as Frizell's map of 1779 shows that it was outside the estate.

The area's other shopping centre is the small Rathfarnham Shopping Centre.

* Rathfarnham is home to the 13th Dublin, the 14th Dublin, the 31st Dublin ( which was founded in 1917 ) and the 68th Dublin Scout troops and the Rathfarnham Girl Guides

* The area is also home to the Rathfarnham Concert Band ()

One thing that is clear from the statistics is Rathfarnham is aging, with young couples that moved into the area in the 1960s entering retirement.

There is a lack of suitable and affordable homes for young people within Rathfarnham and consequently they are flocking out to neighbouring suburbs such as Templeogue, Tallaght and Firhouse.

Situated on Main Street, The Castle Inn is, as its name implies, near Rathfarnham Castle.

The interior is made of stone and light wood and is one of the newer pubs in Rathfarnham.

The Old Orchard is on Butterfield Avenue near Rathfarnham Shopping Centre.

The Yellow House pub is situated at the corner of Willbrook Road and Grange Road, a short distance from Rathfarnham Castle.

The county is divided into five local electoral areas for the purpose of elections: Clondalkin ( 6 councillors ), Lucan ( 5 councillors ), Rathfarnham ( 4 councillors ), Tallaght Central ( 6 councillors ), and Tallaght South ( 5 councillors ).

Another explanation is that it is derived from a stone cross that marked the boundary of lands held by the Danish Viking Harold family of Rathfarnham in early medieval times, reputedly located at what is now the five-road Kenilworth junction on Harold's Cross Road.

She served as a member of South Dublin County Council for the Terenure / Rathfarnham from 1985 – 2004.

On a Saturday night in November 1963 he was stopped near his home at Ballyboden Road, Rathfarnham, by a party of armed men.

In the following century no events of great importance are recorded as Rathfarnham, perhaps as it was protected on its south side by the Royal Forest of Glencree.

Rathfarnham became more exposed to attack when this deer park was overrun by the Clan O ' Toole from the Wicklow Mountains in the 14th century.

According to many writers the road to Rathfarnham follows the same route as the Slighe chualann, the ancient highway, which in the time of Saint Patrick was used by travellers between Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford.

It was also frequented by the soldiers of the Rathfarnham Guard whose careless talk was carefully noted by the United Irishmen hiding on the premises.

Templeogue is surrounded by the adjacent suburbs of Ballyroan, Butterfield, Firhouse, Greenhills, Kimmage, Knocklyon, Limekiln, Old Orchard, Perrystown, Rathfarnham, Tallaght, Terenure, Tymon, and Whitehall.

The earliest reference to these areas can be found in Grant CCA-DCc-ChAnt / C / 1206, a document in Canterbury Cathedral Archives, by which King Henry II granted the lands Terenure and Kimmage ( Cheming ) in Rathfarnham to Walter the goldsmith (' aurifauber ') in 1175.

Crossing the Dodder by a ford, and proceeding along its southern bank towards Rathfarnham, a splendid gateway at left, accounted among the best productions of that species of architecture in Ireland, invites the tourist to explore the once beautiful grounds of Rathfarnham Castle, but they are now all eloquently waste, the undulating hills covered with rank herbage, the rivulet stagnant and sedgy, the walks scarce traceable, the ice-houses open to the prying sun, the fish-pond clogged with weeds, while the mouldering architecture of the castle, and the crumbling, unsightly offices in its immediate vicinity ,… The castle, so long the residence of the Loftus family, and still the property of the Marquis of Ely, subject, however, to a small chief rent to Mr. Conolly, is an extensive fabric ,..... The great hall is entered from a terrace, by a portico of eight Doric columns, which support a dome, painted in fresco with the signs of the Zodiac and other devices.

In 1986, the Jesuits sold Rathfarnham Castle but before leaving, they removed the stained glass windows, made in the famous Harry Clarke studios, from the chapel and donated them to Tullamore Catholic Church which had been destroyed by fire in 1983.

Braemor Road is still marked by a triumphal arch from the 18th century, which originally led to Rathfarnham Castle.

Wanderers also reached the Leinster Junior Final that season, but were defeated by Rathfarnham in the final.

There is an unmarked link route from Dublin Port ( where the E8 connects to Liverpool by ferry ) which follows the River Dodder to Rathfarnham and on to the Wicklow Way trailhead at Marlay Park via Saint Enda's Park.

The company was founded in 1926 as Hughes Brothers by James, George, and William Hughes at Hazelbrook Farm in Rathfarnham, Dublin.

HB was originally an abbreviation for Hughes Brothers ' Dairy, Rathfarnham, now produced by Unilever and part of the Heartbrand.

Rathfarnham has a wide range of shops and businesses, including two bank branches, notably in the Nutgrove Shopping Centre, which also hosts one of Dublin's Motor Tax offices.

Suburban Dublin has several modern retail centres, including Dundrum Town Centre, Blanchardstown Centre, The Square in Tallaght, Liffey Valley Shopping Centre in Clondalkin, Omni Shopping Centre in Santry, Nutgrove Shopping Centre in Rathfarnham, and Pavilions Shopping Centre in Swords.

The Wicklow Way, a long distance waymarked walking trail, passes through Glendalough on its way from Rathfarnham in the north to its southerly point of Clonegal in County Carlow.

The last bus out of town to Rathfarnham, Enniskerry or Bohernabreena would be taken, and then the group would march all night across the hills, to where they would pick up the first bus back to the city again.

He addressed it to " Miss Sarah Curran, the Priory, Rathfarnham " and handed it to a prison warden, George Dunn, whom he trusted to deliver it.

In 1629 the king granted Loftus the unusual favour of a general license to visit England when he pleased, leaving the great seal in the hands of the commissioners last appointed, of whom his cousin, Sir Adam Loftus of Rathfarnham, co. Dublin, was one.

Agnes initially went to the Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham, Ireland, to learn English, the language the Sisters of Loreto used to teach school children in India.

He was educated initially at Elm Park preparatory school, Killylea, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, but at 14 was sent to the Church of Ireland St Columba's College at Rathfarnham in Dublin, although Faulkner was Presbyterian.

The area of Rathfarnham includes Whitechurch, Nutgrove, Ballyboden and Ballyroan.

Historical sites in the Rathfarnham townlands include: Kilmashogue, Mount Venus, Tibradden and Taylors Grange.

The name Rathfarnham ( Fearnain's Ringfort ) suggests an earlier habitation but no remains of prehistoric fortifications, burial places, early churches or old records have been found.

The written history of Rathfarnham begins after the Norman invasion of Ireland.

Rathfarnham Castle was erected in part to protect the area from such attacks.

Rathfarnham CastleIn addition, part of the Pale's defences ran through the townland of Rathfarnham.

The castle and much of the land around Rathfarnham belonged to the Eustace family of Baltinglass.

Reputedly, Oliver Cromwell stayed in Rathfarnham Castle on his way south to the Siege of Wexford.