Dún Laoghaire has a long and sweeping history with evidence of settlement in the general area dating back as far as 4,000 BC. The town celebrated its 1,500th anniversary in 1998.
 |
| View of Kingstown, from the Boyd Memorial, East Pier. Drawn for Gaskin's Irish Varieties (1869). |
The name Dún Laoghaire means Laoghaire's Fort, the town's foundation being attributed to the colourful King Laoghaire who became High King of Ireland in 429 AD, and built his Dún or seafort as a trading base. A well-known story tells of how Laoghaire welcomed St. Patrick, who had been captured as a slave, and gave him permission to preach in Ireland, on condition that he first rid the country of snakes.
The ruins of Laoghaire's fort survived until the 1800s, when a Martello tower was built on the site to protect against a possible Napoleonic invasion.
|
The history of Dún Laoghaire is inextricably linked with seafaring exploits and tragedies. In 1766 two pirates, McKinley and Zeckerman, were hanged from Muglins - a rock to the north of Dalkey Island - for the murder of Captain Glass and his family on the high seas.
An early sea rescue was carried out by the Dún Laoghaire barge, picking up Richard Crosbie after he had ditched his hot air balloon near the harbour, having flown from Leinster Lawn in Dublin city centre.
A new pier had been built in 1767, but had rapidly silted up. In 1807, the tragic loss of two ships, the HMS Prince of Wales and the Rochdale, with the loss of nearly 400 lives, prompted the construction of the present harbour.
|
Dún Laoghaire's popularity with modern tourists dates back to the eighteenth century, when it became popularly known as Ireland's Riviera. Visitors enjoyed the scenery and seabathing, and availed of the coffee-house which was built mid-century in the town.
|
By the early nineteenth century, Dún Laoghaire was the fourth largest urban centre in Ireland. The steam packet service was transferred there in 1826, beginning the tradition which later led to Dún Laoghaire becoming Ireland's premier ferryport.
In 1834, Ireland's first commuter railway - linking Dún Laoghaire to Dublin - was completed, further contributing to the town's development.
|
In 1834, Dún Laoghaire received Town Commission status, and in 1930 merged with Dalkey, Blackrock and Ballybrack to become the Borough of Dún Laoghaire.
In 1994 with the re-organisation of Dublin County Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council became the local authority for the area.
|
Dún Laoghaire has been home to many famous people over the years, including such writers as Joyce, Shaw and Beckett, statesman Éamon de Valera, artists Evie Hone and William Orpen, nationalists Roger Casement, Charles Kickham and Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and musicians Seán Ó Riada and John Dowland.
|
|
