The chief executive of Dun Laoghaire’s local authority has said she was “stunned” the transfer of the town’s harbour to its control did not come with any State funding to offset its debts.

The Irish Times reports on a special meeting of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council yesterday evening (Monday 30 September) on the eve of the first anniversary of its taking over responsibility for the harbour.

That move also saw the authority assume €38 million in “infrastructural debt costs”, with Transport Minister Shane Ross confirming months beforehand that the transfer would include “all assets and liabilities”, with no additional State funding made available.

“National Ports Policy recognised that the future of Dun Laoghaire port lies in marine leisure, marine tourism, cultural amenity and urban redevelopment,” the minister stated at the time. “In addition, it clearly states that there is no Exchequer finding for any port company.”

Local councillors expressed their frustration upon the formal changeover a year ago, and the same issues were reiterated yesterday — with the council’s director of services Therese Langan telling the meeting that €10 million in “immediate works” was required.

This includes remedial works as a result of “substantial damage” to the East Pier during Storm Emma early last year.

“No funding was provided in spite of the case being forcefully put as to the financial burden being placed on a single local authority,” Langan told the council.

Chief executive Philomena Poole said she would have welcomed a commitment for State funding “but I didn’t get one”.

With the additional debts and council funding shortfall, a number of plans for the harbour including a €5 million urban beach and a €30 million cruise berth have been pulled. Proposals for an 'innovation campus' at the former ferry terminal also fell apart.

The council more recently opened a tender for expert strategic advice on an economic plan for the harbour and adjacent town centre. The former has struggled since losing the Stena Line ferry service to Holyhead almost five years ago.

The Irish Times has much more on the story HERE.

Winter marked its arrival in harsh fashion today in Dun Laoghaire Harbour as northerly gales and high tides lashed the country's biggest boating centre on Dublin Bay.

In one of the most awkward wind directions for the north-facing harbour, there was a lot of movement among the 100 or more boats still on swinging moorings prior to the winter lift-out later this month.

The sea state in the harbour was described as 'confused' with two-metre waves breaking over the east harbour wall but thankfully the bulk of the moored craft appeared to escape the worst of the scend. 

The scenes were depicted on a webcam with views overlooking the town's East Pier as Afloat reported earlier.

Breaking waves at Sandycove Photo: Afloat

More severe weather is expected again this week with the arrival of Hurricane Lorenzo that now looks set to be reduced to a tropical storm category before it reaches these shores.

The Harbour Police closed both levels of the East Pier at lunchtime when the tides were highest. 

The East Pier was closed

Not all boats were lucky in the high winds though and some smaller craft broke moorings and were found adrift in the harbour.

The biggest waves appeared to be behind the East Pier and concentrated in Scotsman's Bay where work continues on a new boating jetty and swimming pier at the site of the Old Dun Laoghaire Baths. Waves swept over the nearly completed pier and halted any construction work.

The new Pier in Scotsman's Bay Photo: Afloat

Boats on moorings in the middle of the Harbour were pitched around in the sea surge Photo: Afloat

As another weather system ahead of Hurricane Lorenzo starts to makes its presence felt on the Irish East coast today, below is the current scene at Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay viewed northwards from Sandycove on this Dun Laoghaire Harbour and Sandycove webcam.

Met Eireann has said there is still some uncertainty over the future path of Hurricane Lorenzo, but it expects to have more precise details tomorrow. The forecaster has been working with the US National Hurricane Center and others to try and predict the storm's route. Met Eireann's Jean Byrne said: "The closer we get to the event, obviously, the better idea we should have. Luckily the models are coming in a little bit more into line, so I think we are fairly confident at this stage it will track close to Ireland, at least, if not over it.

High Water at Dun Laoghaire is 2pm

“If Dun Laoghaire can’t thrive in a period of economic recovery, the feeling seems to be, what hope is there for everywhere else?

“What chance have towns less blessed with abundant natural amenities, an affluent population, proximity to the capital, a large harbour and the sea?”

That’s the question posed in Jennifer O’Connell’s exploration for The Irish Times today (Saturday 31 August) of Dun Laoghaire and its issues with reviving a town centre in decline, and generating revenue from a port where maintenance costs will only rise.

With the harbour’s new custodians, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, seeking strategic advice for a new economic plan, local politicians and business interests have differing views as to what it could achieve.

That’s based on the lack of progress in many other proposals in recent years, from visions of an urban beach to a floating hotel and a new digital hub — while a major cruise liner berth was the latest idea to be abandoned.

The Irish Times has much more on the story HERE.

Expert advice on strategic advice and an economic plan for Dun Laoghaire harbour on Dublin Bay is being sought by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown county council writes Lorna Siggins

The search for a guaranteed revenue source for the harbour comes over four years after Stena Line withdrew its ferry service to and from Holyhead in Wales – ending a sea link dating back to 1835.

Independent senator Victor Boyhan, who has welcomed the move to inform a new masterplan, says he believes an international diaspora centre as suggested by the former Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company could be a “catalyst”.

The loss of the ferry link has been a major blow to Dun Laoghaire, where the former harbour company was unsuccessful in initial efforts to provide an alternative sea link provider.

The harbour company focused efforts on developing a cruise ship berth, and a 20 million euro digital hub at the former ferry terminal.

Developer Philip Gannon secured planning permission for the hub, but then withdrew from the scheme when it emerged that the harbour company had not been able to secure a foreshore license.

Last year, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown council took over the running of the harbour, after the harbour company was dissolved, and several other plans including a €5 million urban beach and a €51 million diaspora centre were put on the back burner due to funding shortfalls.

Three months ago, the council withdrew the planning application for a 30 million euro cruise berth facility.

Dun Laoghaire Rathdown council management confirmed that it had secured Government funding under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund to draw up a “spatial and economic action study”.

It said this would make recommendations in relation to “potential economic opportunities for the town of Dún Laoghaire, including the harbour”.

As Afloat reported earlier, a tender seeking consultancy advice has been advertised with a closing date of mid-September.

The tender states that Dún Laoghaire is a” suburban coastal town.... about 12 km south of Dublin city centre and is the county town of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown”.

“The town has a mix of residential, retail and office space and enjoys valuable seafront access at Dún Laoghaire harbour,” it says, stating that the council is now also “seeking expert advice on the development of the harbour for the benefit of its citizens”.

The move has been welcomed by independent senator Victor Boyhan a former Dun Laoghaire Rathdown county councillor and former director of Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company.

He said that a draft harbour masterplan, prepared during his time as director of the harbour company, had identified strengthening the links between the town and the harbour; improving public access to the water; and positioning the harbour as a marine, leisure and tourism centre, he said.

The draft masterplan also sought to re-imagine Carlisle pier as a centre for the international diaspora, and Senator Boyhan said he believed this could serve as” a catalyst” for the “integration of the diaspora in the economic, cultural and tourism development of town and county”.

“Any new plan for the harbour needs to be developed in conjunction with a statutory local area plan for Dun Laoghaire town, and ultimately fully incorporated into the county development plan, Senator Boyhan said.

Development company Bartra Capital has recently secured planning permission for the largest co-living apartment complex in the State on Dun Laoghaire’s Eblana Avenue.

People Before Profit TD for Dún Laoghaire Richard Boyd Barrett has compared the development to a “modern tenement” and said the move was “shocking and disgraceful”.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is inviting tenders for expert economic and strategic advice for Dun Laoghaire Harbour, which came under its control late last year.

The request for tenders (RFT), which is open until Tuesday 17 September, says the local authority is “seeing expert advice on the development of the harbour for the benefit of its citizens”.

The move comes three months after the authority withdrew controversial plans for a €30 million berth for cruise liners in the harbour, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.

A separate RFT also seeks “expert economic, spatial and strategic advice” for Dun Laoghaire’s town centre adjacent to the harbour.

“In recent times, development in the town has been largely focused on increasing residential capacity with a consequential decrease in the amount of small-scale commercial office floor space available for employment uses locally and a reduction in the overall number of jobs located within the town,” the local authority says.

It adds that the Government’s Urban Regeneration and Development Fund “provided an opportunity for Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council through a Category B application to carry out a study of the economic profile of the town, examine the changing nature of office-based development, make recommendations in relation to future potential economic opportunities and identify infrastructure deficits that exist in the town”.

Relevant documents for each RFT are available to download from the official links above (login required).

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s decision to withdraw plans for a €30 million berth for cruise liners in Dun Laoghaire “represents a victory for those who want to resist any significant future commercial role for the harbour and for the town”, according to one reader of The Irish Times.

In his letter to the newspaper published last Thursday (30 May), Dónal Denham of Dalkey says the move is “without doubt, a death-knell for this community which is already in serious difficulty”.

And he describes opposition to the proposals — including by the waterfront yacht clubs — as a “Luddite approach”.

Denham cites as a case study Helsinki, which he says takes in a combined €60 million in cruise liner revenue from its two adjacent ports, as an indication that investment in Dun Laoghaire would be quickly recouped — and provide a boon to the locality.

DLRCoCo confirmed to Afloat last month that its cruise berth planning application was withdrawn on 14 May, based on a report which “advised of the significant commercial, technical and environmental risk associated with this project”.

Local residents recently made calls to the council to open up Dun Laoghaire Harbour to more medium-sized cruise ships, in the wake of Dublin Port reducing its number of cruise berthings going forward.

Red Bull’s official media partners have shared some specular footage of the action from this past weekend’s Cliff Diving World Series stop in Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Crowds numbering some 145,000 were in attendance over Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 May, amounting to the highest ever spectator turnout in the event’s 10-year history.

And they were thrilled by a dazzling performance by reigning women’s champion Rhiannan Iffland as she continued her dominance.

Meanwhile, in the men’s division, Romania’s Constantin Popovici scored victory in only his second event, after placing second in his debut at April’s opening leg in the Philippines.

The first-ever Red Bull Cliff Diving event in the Irish Capital saw divers leap from 27m at Dún Laoghaire Harbour, in front of the highest-ever spectator turnout in the World Series’ 10-year history. The Irish stop saw a new name on the top step of the men’s podium, whilst reigning women’s champion, Rhiannan Iffland continued her winning streak on the Irish shores.

Here is everything you need to know:

Romania’s Constantin Popovici won in only his second event. He had placed second in his debut event at the 2019 season opener in El Nido in the Philippines.

Popovici’s victory ends Gary Hunt’s five-event winning streak. He beat the British seven-time champion by just 1.85 points; one of the closest winning margins in World Series history.

American David Colturi placed third in the men’s competition, over 75 points behind Hunt.

There was a more predictable result in the women’s event, with reigning champion Rhiannan Iffland of Australia claiming the win by a dominant 30-point margin.

Canada’s Lysanne Richard placed second, with Mexico’s Adriana Jimenez a further 30 point back in third.

Constantin Popovici (ROU), winning men’s diver said: “I was hoping for a podium place, and wanted to come first, but I wasn’t sure I was going to get it. Some of the athletes went for easier dives today because of the windy conditions, but I went full on and managed to perform better than everyone. Gary [Hunt] is one of the best divers in the world, so I’m really happy with my result.”

Rhiannan Iffland (AUS), winning women’s diver: “Each competition brings new challenges,” she said. “There are always ups and downs. Today went really well. I was scoring straight nines, which is what we all hope for. I went in cold [with no practice dive] to save my body a bit from the cold water and that really worked for me.”

RESULTS – STOP #2, DUBLIN, IRL

Men

1. Constantin Popovici ROU – 454.95pts

2. Gary Hunt GBR – 453.10
3. David Colturi USA – 374.50
4. Alessandro De Rose (W) ITA – 373.00

5. Blake Aldridge GBR – 365.10

Women

1. Rhiannan Iffland AUS – 341.50pts

2. Lysanne Richard CAN – 310.60
3. Adriana Jimenez MEX – 280.60
4. Iris Schmidbauer (W) GER – 275.60

5. Yana Nestsiarava BLR – 262.90

Only 10 days to go until 24 of the world’s best cliff divers will return to Ireland for the 2nd stop of the 2019 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in Dún Laoghaire Harbour on the 12th of May.

Following on from the domination of the reigning champions, Gary Hunt (GBR) and Rhiannan Iffland (AUS) at the opening stop in the Philippines in April, the World Series now travels to Europe for the most northerly stop of the year in Dublin.

Following three events at the near-rectangular natural pool at Inis Mór on the rugged Aran Islands, the World Series will be hosted in Ireland’s capital city for the first time. Located on Carlisle Pier, the divers will have a panoramic view over Dublin Bay from the platforms, with Poolbeg Lighthouse, Howth Head, Dalkey Island and the whole of Dún Laoghaire in the immediate vicinity.

Diving at the iconic Northbank Lighthouse in Dublin Bay this morning to celebrate the return of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series to Ireland Photo Morgan Treacy/INPHO

The 2nd stop of the World Series event will be a FREE family event and tickets will not be required. Anyone and everyone is welcome to come along and enjoy the show! Both the Saturday and Sunday events will kick off at 5 pm. The Sunday event will feature the Irish finals and will be broadcasted live on our RedBull.ie/CliffDiving, Youtube and Facebook from 7 pm.

Whilst Gary Hunt can advance his winning streak of six consecutive victories across various seasons from 2015 with yet another first place in Ireland, Romania’s Constantin Popovici proved he has the potential to rival Hunt from the 27m platform. His impressive armstand dive earned the 30-year-old Olympic diver, who is striving for qualification for Tokyo 2020, the highest score of the day in the Philippines and his first-ever World Series podium behind defending seven-time champion, Gary Hunt. Title hopefuls such as Mexico’s Jonathan Paredes and Steven LoBue from the United States will have to make a move in order to not let the King Kahekili Trophy move out of reach at this early stage of the season.

In the women’s championship, Australian Iffland continues to be the acme of perfection when it comes to acrobatically launching from 21 metres. The 27-year-old secured her 12th victory in 18 competitions during the season opener in Asia and seems to be facing the strongest competition from Belarusian Yana Nestsiarava and Canada’s Lysanne Richard. Contrary to the 2018 runner-up Adriana Jimenez from Mexico, who finished a disappointing 5th place in the Philippines, the duo managed to keep up with the triple champion.

Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series

Since 2009, the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series has provided a platform for aesthetic free-falls and dives of ever growing complexity, spotlighting the sport’s finest athletes as well as the most promising talents and in 2014 it introduced a Women’s World Series. In its 11th season, the sport's best athletes will once again leap, twist and somersault from breath-taking heights with no protection, except their concentration, skill and physical control during seven demanding competitions around the world. Between April and September, this pure extreme sport will hit waters in natural and urban environments as well as remote and iconic venues at oceans and rivers across Asia, Europe and the Middle East to crown two new champions.

2019 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series

April 13 – El Nido, Palawaan, Philippines - NEW

May 12 – Dún Laoghaire Harbour, Co. Dublin, Ireland - NEW

June 02 – Polignano a Mare, Italy

June 22 – São Miguel, Azores, Portugal

July 14 – Beirut, Lebanon - NEW

August 24 – Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

September 14 – Bilbao, Spain