Donabate () is a small coastal town in Fingal, Ireland, about north-northeast of Dublin. The town is on a peninsula on Ireland's east coast, between the Rogerstown Estuary to the north and Broadmeadow Estuary to the south. Donabate is a civil parish in the ancient barony of Nethercross. Geography The Donabate peninsula forms a distinctive hammer-head shape. This is because each of the mouths of both estuaries surrounding the peninsula are partially closed by large sand spits stretching north to south. The northern spit contains Portrane beach which almost touches Rush South Beach but for a narrow channel entering the Rogerstown Estuary. A stretch of low limestone cliffs to the south of Portrane beach leads to Donabate Beach which is the east face of the southern spit. The southern Broadmeadow estuary is likewise almost completely enclosed and is fed by the Broadmeadow river. The shelter provided by the spits had made the estuaries important wildlife habitats and both are protected under the international Ramsar Convention. History The census of 1912 recorded that the town had a population of 734 people who lived in 150 dwellings. It remained a small village for more than a century. In recent years, the area's access to the capital city of Dublin has improved with upgraded roads and the re-opening of a former railway station. The census of 1996 recorded that the population was 1868; by the time of the 2002 census it had doubled to 3,854. The most recent 2016 census results record a population of 7,443. Representation Administratively, Donabate is in Fingal, in the historic County Dublin. The Donabate-Portrane peninsula is in the Swords ward (or local electoral area, to give it its official title). The Swords ward is numerically the largest in Fingal county and elects nine county councillors to Fingal County Council. In terms of national elections, the Donabate Portrane peninsula is in the Dublin Fingal constituency, which sends five TDs to Dáil Éireann. Donabate Portrane Community Council is the community council for the Donabate Portrane Peninsula. Donabate Portrane Community and Leisure Centre is the area's newest public building, that opened in 2001. The town has an active Chamber of Commerce, Scout Group (63rd Dublin 14th Port Donabate), and two soccer clubs (St Ita's AFC and Portrane Athletic), a G.A.A club (St Patrick's), Karate and Tae-Kwon Do clubs, a snooker club, a Historical and Folklore Society, and a Tidy Towns Committee,