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Displaying items by tag: Bicentenary Lectures

1st December 2018

Bulloch Harbour's Bicencentary Talks Continue Against Backdrop of Storm Damaged Breakwater

Bulloch Harbour in Dalkey, marks a Bicentenary this year since construction began in 1818 by the Ballast Board (now Dublin Port Company) and to celebrate a series of talks will be held in the Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre. Sadly the harbour hewn out of local granite suffered structural damage, not from the recent ravages of Storm Diana, but mostly attributed to Storm Emma in March. The area is unsafe for public use and access according to DPC which issued on Thursday an updated Notice to Mariners No. 31 (see below). Fortunately, repair works began last month involving lifting of tonnes of displaced granite blocks onto the main pier breakwater where works will continue to January 2019. Afloat highlights the area has been cordoned off on this breakwater, battered the most given the exposure of Dublin Bay.

#Bullock200 - The scenic south Dublin Bay harbour at Bulloch, Dalkey, is where construction on the stone-cut structure began in the winter 1818/19 and to celebrate the 200th anniversary a series of talks as Afloat previously highlighted will continue to May 2019.

The famous Dalkey landmark, used locally sourced granite to built the harbour for the Ballast Board (now managed by Dublin Port Company). The primary purpose of the harbour was to ship the granite from their quarry on Harbour Road to construct the city quays.

The present walls were built over the breakwater of the medieval fishing port in the tidal rocky creek at the foot of Bullock Castle. See previous coverage photo presenting the harbour in more sequal times! compared to the recent scene as depicted above. 

Organisers of the monthly 'Bullock 200' lecture talks (p.17), the Bulloch Harbour Preservation Association (BHPA) and Dublin Port Company will be held in the Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre.

Admission is free but places should be pre-booked through the Heritage Centre by emailing: [email protected] 

Tuesday 4 December 8pm - The History and Heritage of Bullock Harbour

Rob Goodbody, Historic Building Consultant & Local Historian

Tuesday 22 January 8pm -The Building of Bullock Harbour

Elizabeth Shotton, Associate Professor, UCD School of Architecture, Planning & Environmental Policy

Tuesday 12 February 8pm - Bullock Harbour into the Future; Monitoring and Repairs

Eamon McElroy, Port Engineer, Dublin Port Company

Tuesday 12 March 8pm - Port Collections; History of the Port and the Port Archive

Lar Joye, Port Heritage Director, Dublin Port Company

Tuesday 9 April 8pm - Dublin Bay Biosphere

 A Panel Discussion

Tuesday 9 May 2019 - Hugh Leonard Walk

with Danielle Keyes-Byrne

The talks are been supported by the Dalkey Community Council, Dalkey Tidy Towns and the Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre. 

As for the Dublin Port Company update on Bullock Harbour Storm Damage (Notice to Mariners No. 31) click here. As mentioned above in the photo-caption, repairs work to the harbour's main pier breakwater began last month and is due to be completed at the end of January 2019.

For much more on the history of the harbour and present day initiatives, among them the up-keep and maintenance of Bulloch (or spelt Bullock) Harbour, between the BHPA, DPC and DTT over the past couple of years click here. 

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24th November 2018

Bullock Harbour, Dalkey Celebrates Bicentenary With Lecture Series

#Bullock200 - While taking a stroll at Bullock Harbour on Dublin Bay, a poster erected next to the former premises of Western Marine, highlights a lecture series celebrating the bicentenary of the landmark gem neighbouring Dalkey, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The scenic stone-cut charm of Bullock Harbour, this winter marks 200 years since construction began in 1818/19 by the Ballast Board (now Dublin Port Company) which still manages the small working harbour on the southern shores of Dublin Bay. The harbour is home to inshore fishing craft, the Dalkey Sea Scouts, a seasonal boat-hire fleet for anglers and is a popular spot for kayakers to embark from a slipway. In addition the attractive maritime setting draws an attentive audience of tourists. 

Such present day use is in stark constrast to the origins behind the Ballast Board's reason in building the harbour. The principle purpose for its existance was to enable loading locally quarried granite rock to be shipped across Dublin Bay for constructing the capital quays.

The harbour's piers at Bullock were built over a previous breakwater of the medieval fishing village port, tucked in a tidal rocky creek at the foot of Bullock Castle. The Cistercian monks held lucrative fishing rights that came with the land though this had to be to protected from tribes in Wicklow. 

The Castle remains intact and has commanding views overlooking the bay to Sandycove, Dun Laoghaire Harbour, the South Wall breakwater of Dublin Port and Howth Peninsula.

Bullock's Bicentenary Lecture Series

According to DPC's facebook, thanks was made to those who attended this week the first of six Bullock Harbour Bicentenary Lecture Series (to May 2019) held in the Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre. 

The inaugural lecture organised in partnership between Bullock Harbour Preservation Association (BHPA) and Dublin Port focused on the history, expansion and role of the port since 1707 and looking at the close links with the capital city. 

The next lecture lined up in the Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre will be held on: 

Tuesday, 4 December at 8pm - The History and Heritage of Bullock Harbour

Speaker: Rob Goodbody, Historic Building Consultant & Local Historian

Further details of the remaining lectures will be posted shortly on Afloat.ie

Admission is free to attend the lectures but places should be pre-booked in advance with the DC&HC by emailing: [email protected]

The lectures have been supported by the Dalkey Community Council, Dalkey Tidy Towns and the Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre

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Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

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