Clontarf Garda Síochána Station

Freestanding three-sided handball alley, built c. 1935, having sloped side walls. Currently disused. Yellow brick laid in Flemish bond to outer walls, yellow brick pilasters to south elevation, smooth rendered internal walls, and remains of steel railings atop side walls.

This handball alley forms part of the adjacent Garda Síochána station and was probably constructed as an amenity for the officers. There is a long history of the game of handball in Ireland, with the earliest purpose-built alleys constructed in the late 1700s, and a standardised form, of which this is a well-preserved example, becoming familiar in the early twentieth century. Unusually, it is faced externally with yellow brick, which adds visual interest. It has associations with the cultural nation-building of the early Irish state, and makes an interesting contribution to the architectural diversity of Clontarf.