Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dublin. It was known as Dunleary in the English language, until it was renamed Kingstown in honour of King George IV's 1821 visit, and in 1920 was given its present name, which is the original Irish form from which "Dunleary" was anglicised. Over time, the town became a residential location, a seaside resort, the terminus of Ireland's first railway and the administrative centre of the former borough of Dún Laoghaire, and from 1994, of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown.
Toponymy
The town's name means "fort of Laoghaire". This refers to Lóegaire mac Néill, a 5th-century High King of Ireland, who chose the site as a sea base from which to carry out raids on Britain and Gaul. Traces of fortifications from that time have been found on the coast, and some of the stone is kept in the Maritime Museum. The name is officially spelt Dún Laoghaire in modern Irish orthography and in general usage. It is sometimes unofficially written as Dún Laoire. The old anglicised spelling Dunleary is also seen. This last is how the town's name is commonly pronounced, although the Irish pronunciation is also common.History
Origins
Dún Laoghaire's origins are generally assumed to trace back to a fort that is believed to have stood there and mostly likely to have belonged to Lóegaire mac Néill. A 1686 map of Dublin Bay by Greenvile Collins gives the name as Dun Lerroy. A later map from 1728 shows a small fishing village at the old harbour, marked as Dunlary or in other later maps as Dunleary. The earlier village was around the area where the Purty Kitchen pub is now. It had a coffee house and a small cove, both of which are shown on a number of old maps, and it may have had a salt mine. At that time, the area was a craggy, rocky pastureland spotted with some granite quarries.Harbour project
On the night of 18–19 November 1807, two troopships, Prince of Wales, and Rochdale, which had departed from Dublin, were driven on to the rocks between Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire with the loss of over 400 lives. This disaster gave new impetus to an existing campaign for an "asylum harbour" to be constructed near Dublin.19th century
When King George IV came to visit the new port under construction in 1821, the name Dunleary was replaced by "Kingstown" in his honour. The town returned to its former name in August 1920, in the lead-up to the creation of the Irish Free State.Ireland's first railway, covering the five and a half miles from Dublin to Kingstown was opened on 17 December 1834. Costing £200,000, it terminated at the old harbour of Dunleary, which adjoins today's West Pier. Soon afterwards, the railway was extended to Victoria wharf of the new Dún Laoghaire harbour. Originally fares were sixpence, eight pence and a shilling. The journey took 15 minutes in 1837. The railway established Kingstown as a preferred suburb of Dublin and led to the construction of residential terraces. Gresham Terrace consisted of eight houses which formed one side of Victoria Square, so named at the request of Princess Victoria.
By 1844 the Atmospheric Train connected Kingstown to Dalkey, leading to further development. The original station building was replaced in 1854 by a granite pavilion built in the neo-classical style by architect John Skipton Mulvany. The building, which has high ceilings and arched windows, has been in use as a restaurant since 2007. The Atmospheric Railway ceased operation in 1854 but was replaced by an extension of the mainline railway, which was ultimately extended to the ferry port of Rosslare. The opening of the railway from Dublin saw Kingstown become a Victorian era seaside resort. Capitalising on this, a small establishment named Hayes Hotel was purchased by railway engineer William Dargan and on the same site enlarged and incorporated into the new Royal Marine Hotel in 1863.
In 1880, the Kingstown Town Commissioners established Kingstown Town Hall on the sea front and, in 1890, they established the People's Park on the site of a depleted Board of Works quarry.
20th century and today
The British 59th Division disembarked at Kingstown in April 1916 and marched up the road to Dublin, to participate in the response to the Easter Rising. Adjacent to the Carlisle Pier and overlooked by the National Maritime Museum of Ireland, there is an anchor, recovered from the wreck of the mailboat which was torpedoed by the Imperial German Navy over the Kish Bank in 1918, with the loss of over 500 lives.The main road to Dublin, through Monkstown and Blackrock, was the sole road connection to the city until 1932. In that year, the Eucharistic Congress brought thousands of visitors to Dublin, and plans indicated that many of them would come through Dún Laoghaire.
Dún Laoghaire was hit by stray German bombs during the Second World War, with a couple of them landing near the People's Park at Rosmeen Gardens. Damage from the bombs was limited to buildings.
Features
Harbour
The harbour, one of the largest in the country, is notable for its two granite piers. The East Pier is particularly popular with walkers, and was featured in the 1996 film Michael Collins, where Liam Neeson and two of his co-stars are seen walking along a seaside promenade, which is actually the Dún Laoghaire East Pier. A band is seen playing on a bandstand in this film scene, and this is the actual bandstand on the East Pier. The bandstand was restored to its original condition in 2010 by the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company.It took 42 years to construct the harbour, from 1817 to 1859. Initially it was thought that one pier of 3,500 feet would be sufficient to provide shelter to shipping. It wasn't until the first pier was in use that the authorities realised the need for protection from winds from the west and north west. The West Pier was commenced in 1820 and was constructed with a length of 4,950 feet. The mouth of the harbour is 850 feet wide. The piers were built of perfectly square blocks of Runcorn sandstone from foundation level up to 14 feet high. From six feet below low water level to coping level, the piers are built from granite obtained from nearby Dalkey Quarry. The piers are 310 feet wide at foundation level, and 53 feet wide at the summit.
An obelisk standing on four granite balls located near the old ferry port terminal at the harbour commemorates the departure of King George IV and the renaming of the place as Kingstown.
A lighthouse was at the end of the East Pier, while the new headquarters of the Commissioners of Irish Lights is on Harbour Road.
Other coastal features
South of the harbour is Scotsman's Bay, where there was a Victorian seaside amusement area, with walks, shelters and baths. The walks and shelters are largely intact. Dún Laoghaire Baths, which had been derelict for many years, were repainted in bright colours in 2012. In 2022, the restored historic baths were re-opened, facilitating sea swimming but without the salt water pool of the 1920s Royal Victoria baths.Parks and walks
A traditional Victorian-style park, the People's Park, lies at the eastern end of George's Street. It holds a playground, bandstand, fountains and, since 1997, tea rooms.The Pavilion Gardens was previously located at the centre of Dún Laoghaire. After years of decline, it was redeveloped and is now the site of the modern Pavilion Theatre.
Beside the Pavilion Gardens site is Moran Park, redeveloped as part of the Lexicon library project, and originally the site of the harbour authority's office and harbourmaster's house. At the inland side of this small public park was a deep former steam engine water storage pond, which was reworked into a water feature inland of the Lexicon library building.
Museum
The National Maritime Museum of Ireland is housed in Mariners' Church, which formerly served the Royal Navy. It is directly inland from the East Pier. The building has been completely renovated and reopened.Libraries
Overlooking the harbour and beside the maritime museum is the DLR Lexicon, the central library and cultural centre of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. It opened in 2014, replacing the Carnegie library which had opened in 1912 on Library Road. Costing an estimated €36.6 million, the new building attracted much criticism prior to its opening on account of its size and design. The large building also contains the county library headquarters.Other community facilities
Community facilities include the Boylan Community Centre, the Dún Laoghaire Scout Den, and a community information service in the tower building of St Michael's Church.Rescue services
An inshore and offshore lifeboat operated by the RNLI are based in Dún Laoghaire Harbour. The offshore boat is normally moored adjoining the Carlisle Pier. The inshore boat is stored in a stone shed at the base of the East Pier. Until recently lifeboat crews were called to duty using a maroon launched from the shore base.Historical features
At least one traditional "cabman's shelter" survives – these were small buildings built for the drivers of horse-drawn taxis.Transport
Public transport
Dún Laoghaire is connected to central Dublin by the DART services, the South Eastern Commuter line and the mainline rail service that runs from Dublin to Rosslare. Dún Laoghaire was also formerly served by the Dublin tramways routes 7 and 8 and was the terminus for the former until the tram lines ceased operations on 9 July 1949. The town is also served by several bus routes which are the 7/A/B/D/N, 45A/B, E2, 59, L27, 111, S8 and L25 operated by Dublin Bus and Go-Ahead Ireland. The railway station is beside the terminus of the S8, L25, L27 and the E2, the most frequent and heavily used bus route in Dublin. Sandycove and Glasthule and Salthill and Monkstown also serve the area.The 746 bus route from the station terminus to Dublin Airport was discontinued in October 2010. The 75/A also served Dún Laoghaire to Tallaght until it was replaced with the S8 and L25 on 26 November 2023 under BusConnects.
An Aircoach service links the area with Dublin Airport 24 hours a day with stops at County Hall and the Royal Marine Hotel. Route 703 travels from Killiney to Dublin Airport via Dalkey, Glasthule, Dún Laoghaire, Monkstown, Blackrock, Booterstown, Tara Towers hotel, Strand Road and The Point.