rights to the vicarage and its small tithes and oblations. In 1226 the first Prebendary of Castleknock, Richard De Gnouessale, was appointed. However, by 1468 the church and lands at Castleknock were transferred to the ownership of the Abbey of St Mary in Dublin city. Modern period Following the English Reformation and the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII of England, the Priory at Castleknock was destroyed and in 1609 a church was built on the site for the use of the Church of Ireland. The foundation stone of the church, which is in use today, still on the site of the Abbey, was laid in 1803. The spire was added in 1864 by friends of the late James Hans Hamilton as a memorial to the 1st Baron Holmpatrick of Abbottown and MPfor the County of Dublin. Castleknock eventually came to be divided among a number of important families and their country estates. These included the Guinnesses at Farmleigh, and Knockmaroon, the Laidlaws at Abbey Lodge, the Godley's at Oatlands, and the Brookes at Sommerton House. The Earl of Iveagh's principal seat was at Farmleigh until 1999 when it was purchased by the Government of Ireland. It was restored and converted into a State Guest House and opened to the public in 2001. Although they left Farmleigh in 1999, the Guinness family are still present in Castleknock at Knockmaroon House and its Demesne, located on Carpenterstown Road and the seat of Lord Moyne. The Brooke Baronets lived at Sommerton House until they sold it in 1911 to the Laidlaw family who were resident at Sommerton and Abbey Lodge until the 1980s. Castleknock today The neighbourhood has developed and extended around the old village, which is a busy commercial centre with several supermarkets and other retail outlets. There are several cafes and restaurants, and a post office. Location and access Castleknock contains three townlands, Castleknock, Carpenterstown, and Diswellstown and is divided across two electoral divisions. The neighbourhood is located mostly between Phoenix Park and the Royal Canal. The neighbourhood is bordered to the west by the large suburb of Blanchardstown, to the east by the Phoenix Park, to the north by Dunsink and to the south by the village of Chapelizod above the Liffey valley. The suburb is in the Dublin 15 postal area. The area can be accessed from Junction 6 on the M50 motorway, on either side of