Day Away to Dun-Laoghaire
Day Away To Dun-Laoghaire Friday August 29th 2025
There has been much talk recently about ‘climate change’ which yours truly knows next to nothing about.
Having said that, despite grey skies at home, the sun perennially appears to greet us every last Friday of the month on our away days to
lovely Dublin Bay.
It was no different in delightful Dun Laoghaire, yesterday afternoon, as fourteen of us gathered for a commendable cost-effective lunch followed
by Teddy’s world-famous ice-cream and a gentle stroll along the pier.
For the first time we had members joining us from Portadown and Armagh,our effervescent host welcomed us at Connolly Station and our secretary returned from his sabbatical without his proverbial pen!
Dun Laoghaire has one of the longest main streets in Ireland with an abundance of shops for those of us seeking bargains or souvenirs.
The harbour is notable for two granite piers. The East Pier is particularly popular with walkers and was featured in the 1996 movie# Michael Collins where Liam Neeson, and two of his co-stars, are seen walking along a promenade which is of course the Eastern Pier. A band is seen playing on a bandstand and this is the bandstand on the East Pier.
Furthermore, Dun Laoghaire has associations with many cultural figures most notably James Joyce and Samuel Beckett, and a statue of Roger
Casement over 3 meters tall standing on a high plinth overlooking Dun Laoghaire’s baths.
Much of the town’s early growth came via visitors from Dublin and today there remains one large hotel named the Royal Marine along with several small hotels and a few bed-and-breakfasts.
The Royal Marine Hotel first opened in 1865 and has since hosted several heads of state, monarchs and celebrities including Frank Sinatra, Laurel
and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin.
During Queen Victoria’s final visit to Ireland in April 1900 she enjoyed a 16-course breakfast in the hotel upon disembarkation at Kingstown
pier. The hotel was purchased by the ‘Neville Hotels’ group in 2003 and refurbished in 2007. The hotel bar was rechristened as ‘Laurel’s Bar’ around this time.
In 2011, Dun Laoghaire Harbour published a master plan which focused on developing Dun Laoghaire as a tourist destination. Specifically, the plan revolved around promoting Dun Laoghaire Harbour as a prime location for both ferries and cruise ships. Since then, hundreds of cruise ships have stopped in Dun Laoghaire usually between the months of May and July.
Dun Laoghaire boasts a sister-city relationship with a few twin towns including Holyhead in north Wales.
On the downside, it no longer includes a golf club as its members agreed to sell their parkland course to developers in 2007 and move to County
Wicklow instead.