A Vision for Garristown

Type: SMART Village Plan

Project Team: Islander, New Practice & Civic Engineers

Client: Garristown SMART Village Group & Garristown Community Council

Location: Garristown, Co. Dublin

Stage: Completed

A street corner with a stone building on the right, a white house with a rusty roof and yellow door on the left, and a small shop selling supplies with a red awning. The sky is mostly clear with some clouds, and there are trees and parked cars in the background.
Colorful flyer with a drawing of a church and text inviting people to share their vision, strengths, and challenges for Garristown, encouraging community input.
A survey or report page with questions about what makes Garristown pride and its strengths, followed by quotes highlighting community aspects like friendliness, greenery, rural character, heritage, and community support. It also presents key community issues ranked by importance, such as economic development, access to services, opportunities for youth, community events, digital services, sustainability, and tourism.

A Vision for Garristown was an invitation to the community who live, work or visit Garristown regularly to come together and engage in the development of a shared community vision for the future of this rural village.

The task was to build on, and enhance the existing strengths and assets identified by the community through creative thinking, and by embracing innovation to create a desirable place for people to live and work in Garristown.

In creating a community vision, local groups, businesses and individuals have the potential to overcome local challenges by exploring and implementing practical and tangible solutions.

View of ancient stone ruins with arched windows, ancient weathered stone walls, greenery, and bright sunny sky.
A detailed black and white historical map of Garrisstown, showing roads, fields, and landmarks like a windmill and a church, with various numbered plots and ancient boundary lines.
A group of people sitting around a banquet table in a meeting room, listening to a presentation being given by two men at the front of the room. There are presentation slides projected onto a screen, and some whiteboards on the sides. The room is lit with pinkish-red lighting.

Islander Architects led a multi-disciplinary team of consultants who were appointed by the Garristown Vision Team and the Garristown Community Council.

The methodology for the preparation of a community vision is based on the ‘Smart Villages’ concept that originated as a European Union initiative.

A church with stone walls and gothic windows, on a sunny day with a partially cloudy blue sky, surrounded by green grass and a large pine tree.
Children standing in a line outdoors, holding clipboards and writing with pens.
Entrance to the Carnegie Free Library building with a stone arch marker reading '1912 Carnegie Free Library' above the door. The black door has a small sign that says 'Open' and another sign that says 'Oscailet'.
A group of people walking through a lush, green outdoor area with tall trees and wildflowers under a partly cloudy sky.

It was important that potential strategic interventions to Garristown were reflective of the capacity and needs identified through the community survey and engagement events.

Our approach moved past static documentation to generate an active, community-led action plan spanning 2025 to 2035.

The framework strategically prioritises a phased schedule of local interventions. By proving the viability of specific localised sites, this work provides the necessary actions to secure capital funding for permanent civic interventions.

Map of a small town with streets, buildings, and surrounding fields, outlined with a red border.
A person with long braided hair wearing a navy and white striped sweater is observing posters on a beige wall.
A white building with a blue trim and a sloped roof, featuring a mural of a soccer player hanging from a banner that reads 'Welcome to Garristown G.F.C.', with a small, leafless tree in front, under a clear blue sky.
town and village renewal architect fingal
Community Vision for Garristown, A Smart Village Action Plan 2025-2035
community regeneration project architect

Drawings & Photography: Islander

Funded by: Dublin Rural LEADER