Dún Laoghaire

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Dún Laoghaire (in Irish pronounced [d̪ˠuːn̪ˠ ˈɫeːrʲə]; sometimes spelled Dún Laoire; Anglicised spelling Dunleary, pronounced /dʌn ˈlɪəri/) (the original Irish spelling is now almost always used in preference to the anglicised forms) is an Irish suburban seaside town and major port of entry from the United Kingdom. It is situated some 12 km (7 mi) south of Dublin city centre and it is the administrative centre of the county of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown with a population of 194,038 (2006 census).

[edit] History

Dún Laoghaire was once part of the borough of Dún Laoghaire, and remains the only town in Ireland to have its own Vocational Education Committee. It is considered part of the Greater Dublin Area.

The town had been officially renamed Kingstown in 1821 in honour of a visit by King George IV, but reverted to its ancient Irish name by resolution of the town council in 1921, one year before Irish independence. The name derives from its founder, Laoghaire, a 5th-century High King of Ireland, who chose the site as a sea base from which to carry out raids on Britain and France. 'Dún' is an Irish word meaning 'fort'. King Laoghaire is famous for having allowed Saint Patrick to travel the country and preach Christianity.

Dún Laoghaire was hit by a stray German bomb during World War II, the bomb landing near the Peoples Park at Rosmeen Gardens. Damage from the bomb was limited to buildings.

[edit] Features

The harbour, one of the largest in the country, and base for a major car ferry route to the United Kingdom, is notable for its two granite piers. The East Pier is particularly popular with walkers, and is featured in the 1996 movie Michael Collins, where Liam Neeson (as Collins) and two of his co-stars are seen walking along a sea-side promenade, which is, indeed, the Dún Laoghaire East Pier. A band is seen playing on a bandstand in this movie scene, and this is the actual bandstand on the East Pier. (Earlier this year, 21st July 2007, the time honoured bandstand that has stood for countless decades has been torn down and a restoration prodject by the Dun Laoghiare Harbour Company to renevate and restore it to its once beautiful state) A lighthouse is located at the end of the East Pier.

Other features of the town include the National Maritime Museum of Ireland, and a Martello tower in nearby Sandycove known as the James Joyce Tower. It took 42 years to construct the harbour — from 1817 to 1859.

[edit] Shopping

Dún Laoghaire has one main shopping street, George's Street, as well as a two shopping centres, the Dún Laoghaire Shopping Centre and Bloomfields. The former was opened in 1977. Recent years have seen some commercial development of the land around the George's Street area, including, notably the old "Pavilion Cinema/Theatre" site opposite the town hall.

[edit] Boating

Dún Laoghaire harbour is home to five yacht clubs. From north (West Pier) to south (East Pier) they are the Dún Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, Sailing In Dublin Club, the Royal Irish Yacht Club, the Royal St. George Yacht Club, and the National Yacht Club.

The area to the north of the West Pier is heavily used year-round by windsurfers as a launch point, although occasionally dinghy schools use it in the summer.

[edit] Notable People

The Irish singer and African activist Bob Geldof was born in Dún Laoghaire and has strong connections with the area. Many famous personalities live in nearby Dalkey, including singer Chris de Burgh and many members of the rock band U2. The Clannad singer, Moya Brennan, also lives in the Dún Laoghaire area.

[edit] Public transport

Dún Laoghaire is connected to central Dublin by the DART suburban railway, frequent bus service, and has a ferry connection to Holyhead in Anglesey, Wales. The Dublin to Kingstown railway, constructed in 1834, was the first ever railway in Ireland. Beside the railway station is the terminus of the 46A (Dún Laoghaire — City Centre (An Lár)), the most frequent and heavily used bus route in Dublin.

A number of years ago, Lower George's Street underwent pedestrianisation, placing a ban on all general traffic with the exception of bus routes (7, 7A, 46A) towards central Dublin. Routes coming along this road into Dún Laogahire were re-routed along the sea front.

[edit] Dún Laoghaire Marina

The 500-berth marina is the largest in the country and opened for business in 2001 following resistance for over 15 years by a group led by the late Dr John de Courcy Ireland, a maritime historian. A 240 berth extension, involving and investment of €3 million, was approved in June 2006 by An Bord Pleanála. The project was expected to be completed by April 2007 and has now been completed. The now 821-berth Marina is open from 08:00 - 22:00 and is manned from these hours, night security men go from the hours of 22:00 - 08: 00.

[edit] Trivia

• There is a memorial for the sunken Leinster in the form of a seafront obelisk at the harbour.
• Dún Laoghaire features at least one surviving "cabman's shelter", originally built for the drivers of horse-drawn taxis.
• There is ongoing controversy about the future of the Dun Laoghaire Baths and neighbouring Victorian seafront attractions.
• Dún Laoghaire's one full-service hotel, the Royal Marine, closed for reconstruction in 2005, and is due to reopen in 2007. Smaller hotels exist near the seafront.
• The Dún Laoghaire area is home to three third-level education establishments, Senior College in the town centre, Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology and Dun Laoghaire College of Further Education in Cumberland Street, formerly known as "Dun Laoghaire Community College".
• Dún Laoghaire is home to the head office of Ireland's largest supermarket operator, Tesco Ireland, in a curious office building on stilts on the roof of the main shopping centre. Tesco stores anchor both major shopping centres in the town.
• Dún Laoghaire has seen several of its secondary schools close in the past two decades, due to population shifts to outlying areas. Two schools which closed are, notably, Christian Brothers Eblana Avenue founded in 1856 and closed in 1992, and the Dominican Convent girls school which closed a year earlier, in 1991.
• Two main buildings used in community and social events are the Boylan Community Centre, located in Sussex Street, and also the Dun Laoghaire Scout's Den, located in Patrick Street.
• A very useful community information service is located in the tower building of St Michael's Church on Marine Road.
• Residents of Dún Laoghaire can find a wealth of reading material in the town public library located on Library Road near the end of George's Street in the direction of Dublin (as opposed to direction Sandycove), then find a nice relaxing bench to read in the Public Park, known as the People's Park located at the opposite end of George's Street to the Public Library.

[edit] Images

[edit] See also

• Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology
• National Yacht Club
• List of towns in the Republic of Ireland
• List of RNLI stations

[edit] External links

• Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council
• Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company
• Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board
• Holyhead-Dún Laoghaire ferry service history

Coordinates: 53°18′N, 6°08′W

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