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Dún Laoghaire
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Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire (/dʌn ˈlɪəri/ dun LEER-ee, Irish: [ˌd̪ˠuːn̪ˠ ˈl̪ˠeːɾʲə, - ˈl̪ˠiːɾʲə]) 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 Dún Laoghaire, 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.
The town's name means "fort of Laoghaire". This refers to Lóegaire mac Néill (modern spelling: Laoghaire 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.
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 (sometimes mapped as "Old Dunleary"). 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 (Salthill is close by). At that time, the area was a craggy, rocky pastureland spotted with some granite quarries.
On the night of 18–19 November 1807, two troopships, the Prince of Wales, and the 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.
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 (Westland Row station) 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 (later St. Michael's Wharf) of the new Dún Laoghaire harbour. Originally fares were sixpence (third class), eight pence (second class) and a shilling (first class). 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 (now demolished) 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 (now County Hall) on the sea front and, in 1890, they established the People's Park on the site of a depleted Board of Works quarry.
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Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire (/dʌn ˈlɪəri/ dun LEER-ee, Irish: [ˌd̪ˠuːn̪ˠ ˈl̪ˠeːɾʲə, - ˈl̪ˠiːɾʲə]) 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 Dún Laoghaire, 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.
The town's name means "fort of Laoghaire". This refers to Lóegaire mac Néill (modern spelling: Laoghaire 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.
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 (sometimes mapped as "Old Dunleary"). 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 (Salthill is close by). At that time, the area was a craggy, rocky pastureland spotted with some granite quarries.
On the night of 18–19 November 1807, two troopships, the Prince of Wales, and the 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.
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 (Westland Row station) 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 (later St. Michael's Wharf) of the new Dún Laoghaire harbour. Originally fares were sixpence (third class), eight pence (second class) and a shilling (first class). 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 (now demolished) 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 (now County Hall) on the sea front and, in 1890, they established the People's Park on the site of a depleted Board of Works quarry.
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