PIC: This Dublin Town Featured On An Episode Of SpongeBob SquarePants

On Monday, Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the Nickelodeon cartoon series “SpongeBob SquarePants,” died at the age of 57.

Hillenburg had been diagnosed with ALS in March 2017 and it was revealed that this was the cause of his death.

In a statement, Nickelodeon said that:

“We are incredibly saddened by the news that Steve Hillenburg has passed away following a battle with ALS.

“He was a beloved friend and long-time creative partner to everyone at Nickelodeon, and our hearts go out to his entire family.

"Steve imbued ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ with a unique sense of humor and innocence that has brought joy to generations of kids and families everywhere.

"His utterly original characters and the world of Bikini Bottom will long stand as a reminder of the value of optimism, friendship and the limitless power of imagination.”

The tragic news meant that a lot of people were talking about their favourite or most iconic SpongeBob moments and one kept coming up a lot in Dublin.

In one episode, there's a train whose destination is none other than the Dublin town of Ballymun.

@cooper_m @edsongsofpraise Did you know that Mr.Krabbs in Spongebob, is voiced by the actor Clancy Brown , who was the sadistic guard in The Shawshank Redemption...

And also , for some reason in one episode of Spongebob, a train had Ballymun as it's destination ?? pic.twitter.com/2gUB0nRlau
— Bobby Sinton (@BobbySinz) November 28, 2018

There's a genuine reason behind this, however, as Dublin North West And Fine Gael TD, Noel Rock explains:

One of the artists on the show is from Ballymun originally. Derek l'Estrange moved to California to become one of the animators of the show and apparently hides references to his home town and Dublin in general in a good few episodes.

If you've spotted any over the years, please let us know we'd love to see them.