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With aerial views of the Charles Fort, James Fort, visiting Super yacht 'Grace E' and the town marina, Kinsale is filmed by drone pilot Daniel Foran with spectacula results for the harbour that marks the start of the Wild Atlantic Way.

 

Published in Kinsale
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#Rowing: Alan O’Keeffe of Presentation College had less than a length to spare over Conor McCarthy of Cork Boat Club in one of the two Cork Sculling Ladder challenges held at the weekend. Kieran White of Cork beat Jack O’Donovan in the other race. The Ladder continues until Sunday, March 28th

Cork Sculling Ladder Challenges, Saturday, March 5th.

Race 1.   (29) Alan O’Keeffe,  Presentation College Rowing Club bt  (31) Conor McCarthy,  Cork Boat Club  4 feet.

Race 2.   (46) Patrick Kennelly,  Presentation College Rowing Club  r/o.   (50) Conor Twohig  -  Cork Boat Club.  Did not race. Ill.

Race 3.   (77) Kieran White,  Cork Boat Club bt (60) Jack O’Donovan,  Presentation College Rowing Club  5 lengths.

Challenges :

Sunday, March 13th 

09.00am.  (41) Cian O’Sullivan  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (33) Eoin Gaffney  -  Shandon Boat Club.

Date and times to be arranged for the following :

(8) Barry O’Flynn  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (6) Sean Lonergan  -  Shandon Boat Club.

(12) Liam O’Connell  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (10) Cathal Merz  -  Shandon Boat Club.

(13) Barry Connolly  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (11) Thomas Murphy  -  Lee Rowing Club.

(21) Cormac Corkery  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (18) Hugh Sutton  -  Lee Rowing Club.

(23) Evan Curtin  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (22) Luke Guerin  -  Lee Rowing Club.

(59) Ross Cudmore  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (57) Noel Carey  -  Shandon Boat Club.

(88) Conor O’Callaghan  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (81) Jack Aherne  -  Cork Boat Club.

Published in Rowing
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Rugged Donegal in the far northwest of Ireland is unknown territory for many Irish people whether by land or sea - and even more so for people from further afield writes W M Nixon. Yet for people who live in this picturesque but challenging region, it’s the hub of the universe, and for Donegal-located sailing enthusiasts, it can be a cruising paradise.

This was brought home to the rest of us at the recent Irish Cruising Club prize-giving, when the Glengarriff Trophy for the best cruise in Irish waters went to Dr Paul McSorley, who sails from Lough Swilly. Despite 2015’s mixed weather, he made a very detailed cruise of the Donegal coast with his daughter Eimile in the 27ft International H Boat Wild Cat. While the H Boats were developed in Finland as a fast weekend cruiser with genuine race potential (they’re now an International Racing Class), it’s unlikely that designer Hans Groop envisaged them cruising the monumental Donegal coast with its challenging location on the Wild Atlantic Way.

don1aAn H Boat in cruising mode. Paul & Eimile McSorley’s cruise in Donegal in 2015 with with the H Boat Wild Cat was awarded an ICC Trophy

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A Land Apart – Donegal is Ireland’s ultimate cruising challenge

Yet on a good day, you could see resemblances between the myriad of islands on the Finnish coast and the maze of islands north and south of Arranamore between Dawros Head and Bloody Foreland, the area on which Wild Cat’s cruise was concentrated. The difference, of course, is the tide. But Donegal aficionados reckon that the tide adds a special spice in which the Baltic is woefully lacking……

Whatever, there’s no doubt that Donegal is a special place for many cruising folk, and in recent days the ever-curious Norman Kean and Geraldine Hennigan of Courtmacsherry, who edit the Irish Cruising Club Sailing Directions, have been in Donegal sussing out welcome new developments. In a sense, it was something of a home-coming, for when Norman first came from Scotland to settle in Ireland to work in a chemical plant in Derry, Lough Swilly Yacht Club became his home base, and it was a cruise from there to the Faroes in an own-built Sadler 25 which first put him on the cruising map.

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This is the start of something very worthwhile – the first pontoon berths in place in Killybegs in Donegal last week. Photo: Geraldine Hennigan

In Donegal in late February 2016, they found that the further you go south, the more promising are the developments. Best of all is the mighty fishing port of Killybegs on the south coast facing into Donegal Bay, a wonderful natural harbour for a bustling place which is said to be a town of 23 millionaires. For although not everyone does well in the fishing, some busy and innovative types do very well indeed.

For quite some time there’s been talk of the provision of pontoon facilities in Killybegs, but for 2016 Donegal County Council - where Cathal Sweeney has become the enthusiastic harbour engineer - have just gone ahead and done it with a minimum of fanfare, installing a 63-berth pontoon setup with plenty of room for expansion. (As first reported by Afloat.ie in March 2013). The pontoons were supplied and fitted by Oliver Shortall's Inland and Coastal Marinas Ltd of Banagher in County Offaly.

At present it’s called a “Small Craft Harbour”, which at first you might think reflects the reluctance of local authorities, the further north you go in Ireland, to describe a new amenity of this type as a “marina”. A case in point is Ardglass in County Down where the excellent little marina – one of the greatest boons to East Coast cruising – is still referred to as the “Phenick Cove Boat Park”.

On the other hand, Cathal Sweeney sounds a no-nonsense kind of guy, so maybe he won’t describe the very welcome new facility in Killybegs – which will transform Donegal as a cruising ground in providing a convenient base where a boat could be confidently left with good if distant communications with the rest of the country –  as a marina until it has the full shoreside facilities.

Then the cruising options from Killybegs have been improved too, as to the westward a fine big pontoon has now been provided at the west pier in the lovely inlet of Teelin right beside the majestic cliffs of Slieve League. But then as we head north along the massive Atlantic seaboard, proper facilities are sparse enough, though in the case of both Burtonport and Bunbeg, it’s surely only a matter of time before a proper recreational-use pontoon or two gets installed.

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Bunbeg on Donegal’s northwest corner is a little port which would benefit from a modest pontoon facility. Photo: W M Nixon

Cruising Donegal’s north coast, it still remains a source of wonder and delight that Tory Island now has a proper pier, albeit a tiny one, at which a cruising yacht can confidently overnight. And further east we hear that the most sheltered anchoring spot on the entire north coast, Fanny’s Bay on the west side just inside the entrance to Mulroy Bay, is a real possibility for a small marina facility.

Nevertheless in cruising Donegal, your first requirement is for your vessel to have her own fully operational and very substantial ground tackle, for apart from this being the seamanlike approach, the choice of anchorages which opens up when you know you’ve an anchor which will hold, and a windlass which will retrieve it, is almost boundless.


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After many years, the shoreside cohesion of Fahan Marina on Lough Swilly with its landward neighbourhood south of Buncrana still seems a long way off. Photo Kevin Dwyer/Courtesy ICC

In the northeast of this enormous county of Donegal, there has of course long been a convenient if somewhat tide-ridden pontoon at Rathmullan on the west shore of Lough Swilly, but across-lough at Fahan, the marina – the great white hope of Donegal sailing – continues in a sort of semi-functional limbo, an unfinished, disconnected piece of work which nevertheless gives enough hint of what might be, if only someone could find a way through various legal and commercial impasses.

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The berthing facility at Bunnagee near Culdaff took a battering in the winter storms. Photo: Geraldine Hennigan

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Storm damage to one of the Bunagee pontoons. Photo: Geraldine Hennigan

Up to the north of Inishowen, what was hoped to be a “marina” at the lovely little bay of Bunagee at Culdaff has seen its pontoon damaged in winter storms, for even in summer this is a restless if attractive anchorage. But on the east coast of Inishowen the Greencastle-Moville area has seen significant improvement with summer harbour for Moiville Yacht Club close south of Greencastle, where the main harbour itself has seen work resumed on some improvements.

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Greencastle is a fishing port where occasionally working boats and leisure craft can become very crowded……Photo: W M Nixon

don8….but immediately south of Greencastle this new pontoon facility provides a summer berth for local craft. Photo: W M Nixon

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The new Greencastle pontoons looking east across Lough Foyle. In time, an additional sheltering pier may make this a more attractive proposition for visiting cruising boats. Photo: W M Nixon

So Donegal calls. It may get some of the roughest weather in Europe, but when summer comes to stay for a week or two, it’s a cruising paradise.

Published in Irish Marinas

#Rowing: The Cork Sculling Ladder hosted a number of races in very good conditions on an outgoing tide at the Marina in Cork today. There are four more weeks until the conclusion of the 2015/20016 series on March 28th.

Cork Sculling Ladder, Results  

Sunday. 28.02.2016.

FC (30) Evan Curtin  -  Cork Boat Club bt  (23) Peter Jackson  -  Lee Rowing Club.  5L.

 (91) Mia Kovacs  -  Shandon Boat Club.   v  (87) Erika Deasy  -  Cork Boat Club.  Postponed.

(85) Sophie Grey  -  Lee Rowing Club. bt  (86) Julie Harrington  -  Shandon Boat Club.  5L.

(72) Chelsey Minehane  -  Shandon Boat Club.  2.  (69) Jennifer Crowley  -  Shandon Boat Club.  5L.             .

(31) Conor McCarthy  -  Cork Boat Club.  2.  (45) Jerome Arrigan  -  Shandon Boat Club.  5L.

(FC) (43) Alex Byrne  -  Shandon Boat Club.  2.  (32) Eoin Gaffney  -  Shandon Boat Club.   3L.

(47) David Cosgrove  -  Shandon Boat Club.  2.  (FC) (62) Jack Leggett  -  Shandon Boat Club.  4L.

(40) Cian O’Sullivan  -  Cork Boat Club.  v  (37) William Ronayne  -  Shandon Boat Club. Cancelled. Ronayne ill.

Starter : Finbarr Desmond.

Umpires : Kieran Hughes and Pat Hickey.

Published in Rowing

Planning permission for a 235–berth marina is due to run out in 2017. General Election Candidate and former Mayor of Cork Cllr Alan Coleman has claimed that funding to get the marina and pier extension project in Schull up and running must be a priority for the next government in a report in the West Cork Times

The €6million project requires €2.5 million Government funding, Coleman says.

Schull Harbour Sailing Club based in the picturesque harbour that is part of the Wild Atlantic Way says 'If the funding can beorganised this could be a major advance for marine activity around Schull and West Cork'.

Coleman claims the West Cork town 'has been let down by the present government despite three government TDs in West Cork'.

“This marina can be a huge attraction to the area to broaden tourist season and make Schull and the Mizen a destination of choice, says Coleman.

“I have seen the huge economic benefit of investing in three marinas in Kinsale and it has sustained a longer season and made the area more attractive for visitors. A more vibrant tourist season will make the rural economy more sustainable' he said.

More on this story from West Cork Times here

Published in Irish Marinas
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#Rowing: Poor weather conditions on Sunday, February 21st, forced the postponement of the scheduled challenges in the Cork Sculling Ladder until next Sunday, February 28th. Conor Twohig of Cork Boat Club came out on top in a race on Saturday.

Cork Sculling Ladder.
 
Result.
Saturday. 20.02.2016.
 
08.20am.  (52) Conor Twohig  -  Cork Boat Club bt  (51) Luke Guerin  -  Presentation College Rowing Club.  6 lengths.
 
                                                             Umpire : Finbarr Desmond
 
Monday. 22.02.2016.
 
(FC)(30) Liam O’Connell  -  Cork Boat Club; No. 12. Hugh Deasy  -  Lee Rowing Club, has withdrawn today from this year’s Cork Sculling Ladder.
 
Challenges  
Sunday. 28.02.2016.
 
08.30am.  (13) Barry Connolly  -  Cork Boat Club.   v  (11) Thomas Murphy  -  Lee Rowing Club.
08.40am.  (12) Liam O’Connell  -  Cork Boat Club.   v  ?
08.50am.  FC (30) Evan Curtin  -  Cork Boat Club.   v  (23) Peter Jackson  -  Lee Rowing Club.
09.00am.  (91) Mia Kovacs  -  Shandon Boat Club.   v  (87) Erika Deasy  -  Cork Boat Club.
09.10am.  (86) Julie Harrington  -  Shandon Boat Club.   V  (85) Sophie Grey  -  Lee Rowing Club.
09.20am.  (71) Chelsey Minehane  -  Shandon Boat Club.   V  (68) Jennifer Crowley  -  Shandon Boat Club.
09.30am.
09.40am. (FC) (43) Alex Byrne  -  Shandon Boat Club.  v  (32) Eoin Gaffney  -  Shandon Boat Club.
09.50am. (FC) (62) Jack Leggett  -  Shandon Boat Club.  v  (47) David Cosgrove  -  Shandon Boat Club.
10.00am. (40) Cian O’Sullivan  -  Cork Boat Club.  v  (37) William Ronayne  -  Shandon Boat Club.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: A number of races were held as part of the Cork Sculling Ladder at the Marina in Cork today. The conditions were rated as fair. Illness ruled out some of the proposed competitors and their challenges were postponed until the middle of this month.  

Results from the 2015 – 2016 Cork Sculling Ladder Challenges as on Sunday 31.01.2016 held at the Marina course, Cork.

1. (84) Luke Lee  -  Lee Rowing Club.  2. (89) Conor O’Callaghan  -  Cork Boat Club.   5 lenghts.

Umpire : Kieran Hughes.   Starter : Finbarr Desmond.

(13) Barry Connolly  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (11) Thomas Murphy  -  Lee Rowing Club. Postponed until mid-February. Connolly ill.

1.(22) Cormac Corkery  -  Cork Boat Club.  2. (21) Luke Guerin  -  Lee Rowing Club.  5 lengths.

Umpire : Kieran Hughes.  Starter : Finbarr Desmond.

1. (15) Feargal O’Sullivan  -  Cork Boat Club.  2. (14) David Breen  -  Lee Rowing Club.  5 lengths.

Umpire : Pat Hickey.  Starter : Finbarr Desmond.

(FC)(31) Liam O’Connell  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (12) Hugh Deasy  -  Lee Rowing Club. Postponed until mid-February.  O’Connell ill.

(FC)(30) Evan Curtin  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (23) Peter Jackson  -  Lee Rowing Club. Postponed until mid-February. Jackson ill.

1. (39) Ray Fitzgerald  -  Lee Rowing Club.  2. (FC)(52) Conor Twohig  -  Cork Boat Club.  5 lengths. 

Umpire : Pat Hickey.  Starter : Finbarr Desmond.

1.       (19) Conor Cudden  -  Shandon Boat Club.  2. (17) Hugh Sutton  -  Lee Rowing Club.  2 lengths.

 Umpire : Kieran Hughes.  Starter : Finbarr Desmond.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: Barry O’Flynn of Cork Boat Club was a winner in the Cork Sculling Ladder at the weekend. He had challenged Stewart Channon of Shandon Boat Club and the verdict on the win was easily. There is a bit set of challenges scheduled for Sunday, January 31st.

2015 -2016  CORK  SCULLING  LADDER

Sponsored by  :  Hanley Calibration Ltd.

Result and Challenges.

Sunday 17th January, 2016.

Results.

Sunday 10.01.2016.

1. (17) Feargal O’Sullivan  -  Cork Boat Club.  2. (15) David Higgins  -  Presentation College Rowing Club.   4L.

Sunday 17.01.2016.

1.  FC. (77) Ross Cudmore  -  Cork Boat Club.   2.  (60) Jack O’Donovan  -  Presentation College Rowing Club.   5L.

1.  (85) Kieran White  -  Cork Boat Club.  2.  (78) Cormac O’Connell  -  Presentation College Rowing Club.   5L.

1.  (10) Barry O’Flynn  -  Cork Boat Club.  2.  (8) Stewart Channon  -  Shandon Boat Club.   Easily.

Umpires  :  Kieran Hughes and Finbarr Desmond.

Forthcoming Challenges.

Sunday 31.01.2016.

08.00am.  (13) Barry Connolly  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (11) Thomas Murphy  -  Lee Rowing Club.

08.10am.  (22) Cormac Corkery  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (21) Luke Guerin  -  Lee Rowing Club.

08.20am.  (15) Feargal O’Sullivan  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (14) David Breen  -  Lee Rowing Club.

08.30am.  (FC)(31) Liam O’Connell  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (12) Hugh Deasy  -  Lee Rowing Club.

08.40am.  (FC)(30) Evan Curtin  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (23) Peter Jackson  -  Lee Rowing Club.

08.50am.  (FC)(52) Conor Twohig  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (39) Ray Fitzgerald  -  Lee Rowing Club.

09.00am.  (89) Conor O’Callaghan  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (84) Luke Lee  -  Lee Rowing Club.

All races to take place at given times.  Racing depends on weather conditions.

Published in Rowing

#Rowing: The Cork Sculling Ladder is active, with races last weekend and challenges this Sunday, January 17th. Feargal O’Sullivan of Cork Boat Club came out on top in his race with David Higgins of Presentation College Rowing Club last Sunday.

2015 -2016  CORK  SCULLING  LADDER

Sponsored by  :  Hanley Calibration Ltd.

Result and Challenges.

  

Result.

Sunday 10.01.2016.

1. (17) Feargal O’Sullivan  -  Cork Boat Club.  2. (15) David Higgins  -  Presentation College Rowing Club.   4 L.

Challenges.

Sunday 17.01.2016.

08.30am.  FC. (77) Ross Cudmore  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (60) Jack O’Donovan  -  Presentation College Rowing Club.

08.40am.  (85) Kieran White  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (78) Cormac O’Connell  -  Presentation College Rowing Club.

12.00 noon.  (10) Barry O’Flynn  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (8) Stewart Channon  -  Shandon Boat Club.

Sunday 31.01.2016.

08.00am.  (13) Barry Connolly  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (11) Thomas Murphy  -  Lee Rowing Club.

08.10am.  (22) Cormac Corkery  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (21) Luke Guerin  -  Lee Rowing Club.

08.20am.  (15) Feargal O’Sullivan  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (14) David Breen  -  Lee Rowing Club.

08.30am.  (FC)(31) Liam O’Connell  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (12) Hugh Deasy  -  Lee Rowing Club.

08.40am.  (FC)(30) Evan Curtin  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (23) Peter Jackson  -  Lee Rowing Club.

08.50am.  (FC)(52) Conor Twohig  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (39) Ray Fitzgerald  -  Lee Rowing Club.

09.00am.  (89) Conor O’Callaghan  -  Cork Boat Club  v  (84) Luke Lee  -  Lee Rowing Club.

All races to take place at given times.  Racing depends on weather conditions.

Published in Rowing

The long awaited berthing facility in Youghal, East Cork looks to be finally getting underway. Works are due to 'start shortly' on a 20–metre pontoon and visitor moorings which could be ready for visiting boats by this summer, according to an Afloat.ie source.

The town has been seeking, what it sees a vital 'maritime tourism draw', for many years. 

Afloat.ie reported as far back as 2010, that facilties were planned for the Market Dock site close to the pier head in the heart of Youghal. When completed the marina would boost moorings in the south coast town from two visitor moorings to approximately 56 permanent berths.

Update: Martin Finn's article: Talk of Youghal Marina is 'Premature'

 

Published in Irish Marinas
Tagged under
Page 4 of 13

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Information

Dun Laoghaire Harbour is the second port for Dublin and is located on the south shore of Dublin Bay. Marine uses for this 200-year-old man-made harbour have changed over its lifetime. Originally built as a port of refuge for sailing ships entering the narrow channel at Dublin Port, the harbour has had a continuous ferry link with Wales, and this was the principal activity of the harbour until the service stopped in 2015. In all this time, however, one thing has remained constant, and that is the popularity of sailing and boating from the port, making it Ireland's marine leisure capital with a harbour fleet of between 1,200 -1,600 pleasure craft based at the country's largest marina (800 berths) and its four waterfront yacht clubs.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Bye-Laws

Download the bye-laws on this link here

FAQs

A live stream Dublin Bay webcam showing Dun Laoghaire Harbour entrance and East Pier is here

Dun Laoghaire is a Dublin suburb situated on the south side of Dublin Bay, approximately, 15km from Dublin city centre.

The east and west piers of the harbour are each of 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) long.

The harbour entrance is 232 metres (761 ft) across from East to West Pier.

  • Public Boatyard
  • Public slipway
  • Public Marina

23 clubs, 14 activity providers and eight state-related organisations operate from Dun Laoghaire Harbour that facilitates a full range of sports - Sailing, Rowing, Diving, Windsurfing, Angling, Canoeing, Swimming, Triathlon, Powerboating, Kayaking and Paddleboarding. Participants include members of the public, club members, tourists, disabled, disadvantaged, event competitors, schools, youth groups and college students.

  • Commissioners of Irish Lights
  • Dun Laoghaire Marina
  • MGM Boats & Boatyard
  • Coastguard
  • Naval Service Reserve
  • Royal National Lifeboat Institution
  • Marine Activity Centre
  • Rowing clubs
  • Yachting and Sailing Clubs
  • Sailing Schools
  • Irish Olympic Sailing Team
  • Chandlery & Boat Supply Stores

The east and west granite-built piers of Dun Laoghaire harbour are each of one kilometre (0.62 mi) long and enclose an area of 250 acres (1.0 km2) with the harbour entrance being 232 metres (761 ft) in width.

In 2018, the ownership of the great granite was transferred in its entirety to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council who now operate and manage the harbour. Prior to that, the harbour was operated by The Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, a state company, dissolved in 2018 under the Ports Act.

  • 1817 - Construction of the East Pier to a design by John Rennie began in 1817 with Earl Whitworth Lord Lieutenant of Ireland laying the first stone.
  • 1820 - Rennie had concerns a single pier would be subject to silting, and by 1820 gained support for the construction of the West pier to begin shortly afterwards. When King George IV left Ireland from the harbour in 1820, Dunleary was renamed Kingstown, a name that was to remain in use for nearly 100 years. The harbour was named the Royal Harbour of George the Fourth which seems not to have remained for so long.
  • 1824 - saw over 3,000 boats shelter in the partially completed harbour, but it also saw the beginning of operations off the North Wall which alleviated many of the issues ships were having accessing Dublin Port.
  • 1826 - Kingstown harbour gained the important mail packet service which at the time was under the stewardship of the Admiralty with a wharf completed on the East Pier in the following year. The service was transferred from Howth whose harbour had suffered from silting and the need for frequent dredging.
  • 1831 - Royal Irish Yacht Club founded
  • 1837 - saw the creation of Victoria Wharf, since renamed St. Michael's Wharf with the D&KR extended and a new terminus created convenient to the wharf.[8] The extended line had cut a chord across the old harbour with the landward pool so created later filled in.
  • 1838 - Royal St George Yacht Club founded
  • 1842 - By this time the largest man-made harbour in Western Europe had been completed with the construction of the East Pier lighthouse.
  • 1855 - The harbour was further enhanced by the completion of Traders Wharf in 1855 and Carlisle Pier in 1856. The mid-1850s also saw the completion of the West Pier lighthouse. The railway was connected to Bray in 1856
  • 1871 - National Yacht Club founded
  • 1884 - Dublin Bay Sailing Club founded
  • 1918 - The Mailboat, “The RMS Leinster” sailed out of Dún Laoghaire with 685 people on board. 22 were post office workers sorting the mail; 70 were crew and the vast majority of the passengers were soldiers returning to the battlefields of World War I. The ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat near the Kish lighthouse killing many of those onboard.
  • 1920 - Kingstown reverted to the name Dún Laoghaire in 1920 and in 1924 the harbour was officially renamed "Dun Laoghaire Harbour"
  • 1944 - a diaphone fog signal was installed at the East Pier
  • 1965 - Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club founded
  • 1968 - The East Pier lighthouse station switched from vapourised paraffin to electricity, and became unmanned. The new candle-power was 226,000
  • 1977- A flying boat landed in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, one of the most unusual visitors
  • 1978 - Irish National Sailing School founded
  • 1934 - saw the Dublin and Kingstown Railway begin operations from their terminus at Westland Row to a terminus at the West Pier which began at the old harbour
  • 2001 - Dun Laoghaire Marina opens with 500 berths
  • 2015 - Ferry services cease bringing to an end a 200-year continuous link with Wales.
  • 2017- Bicentenary celebrations and time capsule laid.
  • 2018 - Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company dissolved, the harbour is transferred into the hands of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council

From East pier to West Pier the waterfront clubs are:

  • National Yacht Club. Read latest NYC news here
  • Royal St. George Yacht Club. Read latest RSTGYC news here
  • Royal Irish Yacht Club. Read latest RIYC news here
  • Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club. Read latest DMYC news here

 

The umbrella organisation that organises weekly racing in summer and winter on Dublin Bay for all the yacht clubs is Dublin Bay Sailing Club. It has no clubhouse of its own but operates through the clubs with two x Committee vessels and a starters hut on the West Pier. Read the latest DBSC news here.

The sailing community is a key stakeholder in Dún Laoghaire. The clubs attract many visitors from home and abroad and attract major international sailing events to the harbour.

 

Dun Laoghaire Regatta

Dun Laoghaire's biennial town regatta was started in 2005 as a joint cooperation by the town's major yacht clubs. It was an immediate success and is now in its eighth edition and has become Ireland's biggest sailing event. The combined club's regatta is held in the first week of July.

  • Attracts 500 boats and more from overseas and around the country
  • Four-day championship involving 2,500 sailors with supporting family and friends
  • Economic study carried out by the Irish Marine Federation estimated the economic value of the 2009 Regatta at €2.5 million

The dates for the 2021 edition of Ireland's biggest sailing event on Dublin Bay is: 8-11 July 2021. More details here

Dun Laoghaire-Dingle Offshore Race

The biennial Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race is a 320-miles race down the East coast of Ireland, across the south coast and into Dingle harbour in County Kerry. The latest news on the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race can be found by clicking on the link here. The race is organised by the National Yacht Club.

The 2021 Race will start from the National Yacht Club on Wednesday 9th, June 2021.

Round Ireland Yacht Race

This is a Wicklow Sailing Club race but in 2013 the Garden County Club made an arrangement that sees see entries berthed at the RIYC in Dun Laoghaire Harbour for scrutineering prior to the biennial 704–mile race start off Wicklow harbour. Larger boats have been unable to berth in the confines of Wicklow harbour, a factor WSC believes has restricted the growth of the Round Ireland fleet. 'It means we can now encourage larger boats that have shown an interest in competing but we have been unable to cater for in Wicklow' harbour, WSC Commodore Peter Shearer told Afloat.ie here. The race also holds a pre-ace launch party at the Royal Irish Yacht Club.

Laser Masters World Championship 2018

  • 301 boats from 25 nations

Laser Radial World Championship 2016

  • 436 competitors from 48 nations

ISAF Youth Worlds 2012

  • The Youth Olympics of Sailing run on behalf of World Sailing in 2012.
  • Two-week event attracting 61 nations, 255 boats, 450 volunteers.
  • Generated 9,000 bed nights and valued at €9 million to the local economy.

The Harbour Police are authorised by the company to police the harbour and to enforce and implement bye-laws within the harbour, and all regulations made by the company in relation to the harbour.

There are four ship/ferry berths in Dun Laoghaire:

  • No 1 berth (East Pier)
  • No 2 berth (east side of Carlisle Pier)
  • No 3 berth (west side of Carlisle Pier)
  • No 4 berth  (St, Michaels Wharf)

Berthing facilities for smaller craft exist in the town's 800-berth marina and on swinging moorings.

© Afloat 2020