History
Construction of Dún Laoghaire Harbour
Over a period of approximately twenty five years, up to one thousand workers each year laboured in extremely difficult and dangerous conditions to build the magnificent Harbour we enjoy today. This booklet from the accompanying exhibition tells some of their stories.
Paddy McMahon,
Chairman,
Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company
Download the Construction History of Dun Laoghaire Harbour PDF file format.
Extreme Weather
Snow settles on Harbour, it does happen, view the images
We get our fair share of rough seas, view images. Source: S. Coate.
High Water Recorded for posterity by Kyron O'Gorman, view the images.
Harbour Lights and Lightships are used still to protect Souls at Sea, view The Coningbeg Lightship alongside pier, view more images.
Admiral Beaufort Letter
A letter relating to the Harbour in the National Archives is from Admiral Francis Beaufort when he wrote to the Commissioners of Public Works in 1840 about improving the light on the East Pier. Source: National Archives
Read the letter, and download the image from this page
SHIPWRECKS of Dún Laoghaire Harbour and Dublin Bay
A Short History compiled by Marc Zimmermann, remembering lives lost through the centuries.
Read the full article here, or download a printable version
Inventory of Dún Laoghaire Harbour
Download the Inventory of Dún Laoghaire Harbour PDF file format.
RMS Leinster
The biggest sea tragedy in Irish history was commemorated in January 1996 when the then Minister of State at the Department of the Marine, Eamon Gilmore TD, unveiled a special memorial in Dún Laoghaire Harbour. The memorial was to the 501 people who lost their lives in 1918, when the RMS Leinster was torpedoed just outside Dún Laoghaire Harbour.
On October 10, 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.
