Passenger-ferry port

Mailboat 'Ulster' at Kingstown

In the 1820's the City of Dublin Irish Steampacket Company and the government mail service both made Kingstown their port of mail delivery. Ships were the fastest method of transferring post, people and packages across the Irish Sea, making Dun Laoghaire the principal port between Great Britain and Ireland. The opening of Irelands first railway between Dun Laoghaire and Dublin further enhanced the villages' status.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

Mailboat 'Ulster' at Kingstown
Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

Mailboat 'Ulster' at Kingstown

In the 1820's the City of Dublin Irish Steampacket Company and the government mail service both made Kingstown their port of mail delivery. Ships were the fastest method of transferring post, people and packages across the Irish Sea, making Dun Laoghaire the principal port between Great Britain and Ireland. The opening of Irelands first railway between Dun Laoghaire and Dublin further enhanced the villages' status.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

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Kingstown became the station of the City of Dublin Steam Packet Company's mail steamers to Holyhead in connexion with the London & North-Western railway. The Company held the contract from 1860 to 1920, with its group of four provinces (Munster, Leinster, Connaught and Ulster). The original group were a four funnelled paddle-powered design, refitted as 2 funnel in 1886. They reached a speed of 18 knots on trials. The advancement to screw-propeller ships in 1896-97 meant that this fleet took over from the steam-paddle "Ireland" of 1885, the most advanced ship of its type, the carrying of the time from Greenwich to Ireland. This function was preformed in the form of a special chronometer.

Paddle-steamer 'Ireland', Dún Laoghaire harbour

A view of a mailboat moored off Carlisle Pier. It is of the same class and is probably identifiable as the “Ireland” in service from 1885. A 2,400 ton steel paddle-steamer, the “finest cross-channel steamer ever built”, before they began to be replaced by screw-propeller steam-ships.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

Paddle-steamer 'Ireland', Dún Laoghaire harbour
Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

Paddle-steamer 'Ireland', Dún Laoghaire harbour

A view of a mailboat moored off Carlisle Pier. It is of the same class and is probably identifiable as the “Ireland” in service from 1885. A 2,400 ton steel paddle-steamer, the “finest cross-channel steamer ever built”, before they began to be replaced by screw-propeller steam-ships.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

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Ireland's standard time between 1880-1916 was 25 minutes behind Greenwich (noon in Dublin equalled 12:25 in London). Dublin is six degrees fifteen minutes west of London/Greenwich each degree is worth four minutes. The Ballast Office, on the corner of Westmoreland and D'Olier Street at O'Connell Bridge had a timeball that fell at 12:35 Dunsink time, or 1pm Greenwich until Ireland adopted the British standard time in 1916. Dun Laoghaire's position as a port and a suburban town of considerable size was strengthened by the introduction of a serviceable electrified tramway after 1896. This facilitated commuter connections with the city of Dublin.

The Princess Alexandra

A view of the Commissioners of Irish Lights steam yacht “The Princess Alexandra”, beside the mail-paddle steamer at Carlisle Pier. It served with the Irish lighthouse service from 1863 until it was sold for £1,110 in 1904.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

The Princess Alexandra
Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

The Princess Alexandra

A view of the Commissioners of Irish Lights steam yacht “The Princess Alexandra”, beside the mail-paddle steamer at Carlisle Pier. It served with the Irish lighthouse service from 1863 until it was sold for £1,110 in 1904.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

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The town of Kingstown reverted to its old name in 1920 and the harbour also changed over to Dún Laoghaire Harbour in 1924. Sea transport from Ireland maintained its traditional scope up to the 1960s dependant on the Irish Sea ferries, (there was no direct service to France until 1968), and came to lag behind services in the English Channel. The switch over to container handling in the 1960s saw the beginnings of change, followed by the RoRo ferries. The state-controlled ferry companies, Sealink and B& I operated with a fleet of fairly old ships and faced completion with airlines for passenger numbers. The entry into the EU in 1973 and the expansion in the freight market meant a major change in the way things operated. Investment in passenger ships increased and a St. Michaels (Car ferry) Pier was converted in the mid-1990s to facilitate the Stena HSS (high-speed ships), a new breed of fast jet-propelled ferries.

The mailsteamer leaving Kingstown

A view of a paddle steamer leaving the Harbour of Dun Laoghaire, with the West Pier behind. The ship is two funneled so the image was taken between its overhauling in 1886 and its replacement in 1896. In the background is one of the smaller sail ships used for transporting coal to Dun Laoghaire.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

The mailsteamer leaving Kingstown
Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

The mailsteamer leaving Kingstown

A view of a paddle steamer leaving the Harbour of Dun Laoghaire, with the West Pier behind. The ship is two funneled so the image was taken between its overhauling in 1886 and its replacement in 1896. In the background is one of the smaller sail ships used for transporting coal to Dun Laoghaire.

Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

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Another important aspect of Dún Laoghaire Harbour is its position as a major yachting centre. There are four yacht clubs currently operating in the harbour most of them dating back to the nineteenth century. Yachts and yachting has become the prime function of the harbour as an amenity. This has been underlined by the new marina constructed in 2001 with its attendant breakwaters in the western half of the harbour.