Lucan ( ; ) is a town in Ireland, located 12 km west of Dublin city centre on the River Liffey. It is near the Strawberry Beds and Lucan Weir, and at the confluence of the River Griffeen. It is mostly under the jurisdiction of South Dublin County Council with the exception of the North Lucan areas of Laraghcon, Coldblow and Saint Catherine's Park which are in the jurisdiction of Fingal County Council. Road access to Lucan is from the N4, and the M50 motorway at Junction 7. Etymology In the Irish language, 'leamhachán' refers to the marsh-mallow plant, used up to modern times in folk medicine (for sprains and chest infections) and sweet manufacture, and so the name could be rendered as "place of marsh-mallow plants" or "land abounding in marsh-mallows." The plant grows in the Liffey Valley and surrounds, as recorded in the 1837 Ainmleabhar Paróiste, reported by Jackson (1914). In 1615, the area was described as 'a marshy place'.,. The alternative meaning is derived from the Irish for elm, leamhán, and has been more popularised, although both definitions could be equally valid, with both mallows and elms still growing in the Lucan area, and etymological experts unable to definitively choose one meaning over the other, as is evidenced on logainm.ie. History Early history There is evidence of prehistoric settlement in Lucan as the features that attracted early people such as river access, fishing, well-drained soil and hunting were all around. There is significant prehistoric activity in the Cooldrinagh townland of Lucan, with early Mesolithic flints found in significant quantities, as well as the remains of two small kerbed passage tombs. In the area around Vesey Park, there are remains of a hillfort (Knockanardousk "hill of the high water") that may have been the house and enclosure of an early lord of Lucan in medieval times. This enclosure also contained a souterrain, excavated in the 18th century by George Petrie and of which, some of the finds are in the National Museum of Ireland. Another notable archaeological site is St Finian's Esker church and graveyard, which is listed by both the National Monuments Service and the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. There are two other medieval churches in Lucan also; the Church of the Blessed Virgin, Lucan village (an enclosed gated graveyard & medieval church site with attached chantry or tower house, and the medieval parish church of