Sailing In Dun Laoghaire Harbour

Dun Laoghaire harbour was built to facilitate the trade in Dublin Port. At that time, the approaches to the Liffey were extremely dangerous. Many ships were grounded as there was only a narrow path through the sandbanks to the river mouth. It needed skilled captains to negotiate the dangers. Because of this, there was a huge waiting time. Ships were anchored out there for days before being allowed in. And, if that wasn't enough for them, they had to brave fierce storms and gales that threatened to drive them onto the rocks.

So, it was decided that a place for the boats to stay was needed. Dunleary seemed a suitable place and the foundation stone was laid in 1817 by the Lord Lieutenant. King George IV visited Dunleary in 1821 causing the name 'Kingstown' to be formally adopted for the town. The visit of the King was recorded on the obelisk, which is now positioned in front of the Royal St. George Yacht Club.

The present name, Dun Laoghaire, was adopted again in 1920. This name was the Irish version of Dunleary meaning the fort of Laoghaire. In 1930, two small stones containing early decorations were dug up near the Coal Harbour, suggesting that the original fort was built there. This fort can't be seen now, though, since a Martello Tower was built on top of it and then the construction of the railway destroyed them both. However, the National Museum said that the stones were of recent origin and that they were put there to prove that there was a dún in Dun Laoghaire. No one knows the truth.

The harbour consists of two huge granite piers. The East Pier is one mile long and the West Pier is even longer. It encloses a space of 250 acres and the two arms have protected ships in the most adverse of weather conditions except occasionally when northeasterly gales strike. It cost over one million pounds to build and more than 600 men were employed to construct it.

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Sports

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• Dunlaoghaire
• Dublin
• Sailing
• Ireland
• boat
• water