Dún Laoghaire
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| Dún Laoghaire | ||
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| County: | Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County | |
| Population (2006) | 23,857 | |
| Website: www.dun-laoghaire.com | ||
Dún Laoghaire (in Irish pronounced [d̪ˠuːn̪ˠ ˈɫeːrʲə]; sometimes spelled Dún Laoire; Anglicised as Dunleary, pronounced /dʌn ˈlɪəri/) is a suburban seaside town and county seat of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland.
The town is situated some 12 kilometres south of Dublin city centre, and is a major port of entry from Britain.
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[edit] Etymology
The town's name derives from 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 a Celtic word meaning fort, and traces of a fortification of that period have been found on the coast. King Laoghaire is famous for having allowed Saint Patrick to travel the country and preach Christianity.
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 original Irish spelling is now almost always used in preference to its anglicised forms.
[edit] History
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The original settlement was north of the current town centre, which developed after the decision to establish a major port, amd mailboat entry point, during the early 18th century.
There is an anchor, recovered from the wreck of the mailboat RMS Leinster which was torpedoed over the Kish Bank in 1918, with the loss of over 500 lives, located adjacent to the Carlile Pier, overlooked by the National Maritime Museum of Ireland.
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.
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 was featured in the 1996 movie Michael Collins, where Liam Neeson (as Collins) 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 movie scene, and this is the actual bandstand on the East Pier. In July 2007, the bandstand, which stood for decades, was removed, and a restoration project was begun by the Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company in order to restore it to its original condition. It took 42 years to construct the harbour, from 1817 to 1859. The obelisk near the old ferryport terminal at the harbour commemorates the construction of this harbour.
A lighthouse is located at the end of the East Pier, while the new headquarters of the Commissioners of Irish Lights (the General Lighthouse Authority for Ireland) is located on Harbour Road.
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 but the Dún Laoghaire Baths have been derelict for many years. Plans for restoration of this area are much debated, and some of the more ambitious ideas have been highly controversial.
The National Maritime Museum of Ireland is housed in "Mariners' Church", which formerly served the British Navy, and is situated in the the town centre, alongside a spiral walk, pond and public bowling ground. Mariners' Church is currently undergoing major refurbishment.[1]. A new central library will be built alongside it.[2]
A Carnegie public library, with a modern extension, is located on Library Road, and hosts the county library headquarters.
A traditional Victorian-style park, the People's Park, is located at the remote end of George's Street, and including still-functioning tea rooms.
At least one traditional "cabman's shelter" survives - these were small buildings built for the drivers of horse-drawn taxis.
Community facilities include the Boylan Community Centre, the Dun Laoghaire Scout Den, and a community information service in the tower building of St. Michael's Church.
There is a Martello tower in nearby Sandycove, known as the James Joyce Tower and containing a small museum.
[edit] Transport
[edit] Public transport
Dún Laoghaire is connected to central Dublin by the DART suburban railway, and a frequent bus service. Beside the railway station is the terminus of the 46a, the most frequent and heavily used bus route in Dublin.
[edit] Rail history
The Dublin and Kingstown Railway, constructed in 1834, was the first ever railway in Ireland.
[edit] Ferry
The town has a ferry connection to Holyhead in Anglesey, Wales, one of Ireland's main sea links to the UK..
[edit] Pedestrianisation
A number of years ago, Lower George's Street underwent pedestrianisation, placing a ban on all general traffic with the exception of bus routes toward central Dublin. Routes coming along this road into Dún Laogahire were re-routed along the sea front.
[edit] Sports
[edit] Boating
Dún Laoghaire harbour is home to six yacht clubs. From north (West Pier) to south (East Pier) they are the Dún Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club, the Sailing In Dublin Club, the Royal Irish Yacht Club, the Royal St. George Yacht Club, the Royal Alfred 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] Marina
The 500-berth marina is the largest in the country, and opened in 2001 following resistance for over 15 years by a group led by the late John de Courcy Ireland, a maritime historian. A 240-berth extension, involving an investment of €3 million, was approved in June 2006 by An Bord Pleanála; the project was completed in April 2007.
[edit] Golf
The town has an active Golf Club but its members have agreed to sell their course to housing developers and move to Bray Head.
[edit] Education
The Dún Laoghaire area is home to three third level education establishments; the Senior College in the town centre, which will shortly move to Blackrock; [3]; Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology, and Dún Laoghaire College of Further Education on Cumberland Street.
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.
[edit] Shopping and business
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 and Theatre site opposite to the town hall.
The town has a wide range of eating places and public houses, as well as more than one hundred other retail businesses.
The town is home to the head office of Ireland's largest supermarket operator, Tesco Ireland, whose stores anchor both major shopping centres in the town. It also holds other company headquarters, such as those of Bord Iascaigh Mhara and Berlitz Ireland.
There is an active Business Association, and a local Chamber of Commerce.
[edit] Tourism
Much of the town's early growth came from visitors from Dublin, and today there is one large hotel, heavily refurbished in 2007, the Royal Marine, along with several small hotels, and a number of bed-and-breakfasts.
[edit] Health
Dún Laoghaire is home to St. Michael's Private Hospital as well as a number of private clinics, therapists and general practitioners.
[edit] People
The Irish singer and African activist Bob Geldof was born in Dún Laoghaire. 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] See also
- Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
- National Yacht Club.
- List of towns in Ireland.
- List of RNLI stations.
- Kingstown Lifeboat Disaster.
[edit] External links
- Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council
- Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company
- Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Enterprise Board
- History of the Holyhead to Dún Laoghaire ferry service
- Dún Laoghaire Lifeboat Station
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