Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire) Harbour

The most important market for postcards in Dublin, at that time, proved to be Dun Laoghaire (Kingstown as it was known then). This was due to its geographical importance, being the main point of departure and arrival for people, cargo and ships to and from Britain. It therefore occupies a substantial part of the narrative history and provides several postcard images.

Kingstown Harbour.

Work began on Kingstown Harbour in 1815. It took over forty years to finish and cost over one million pounds. The harbour consisted of two piers and created an area of about 250 acres. The Coal Harbour was very busy and an outer Coal Harbour was built in 1855 to be followed in 1859 by Carlisle Pier. 1863 saw more developments for the harbour including a battery/fort, a lighthouse, keepers’ cottages and a coastguard station. The Mailboat service ran from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead and continued until the 1970s. In 1969 the Car Ferry Terminal was built. In 1995 a new terminal was built on Carlisle Pier and the HSS Stena Explorer was launched.

Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Kingstown Harbour.
Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Kingstown Harbour.

Work began on Kingstown Harbour in 1815. It took over forty years to finish and cost over one million pounds. The harbour consisted of two piers and created an area of about 250 acres. The Coal Harbour was very busy and an outer Coal Harbour was built in 1855 to be followed in 1859 by Carlisle Pier. 1863 saw more developments for the harbour including a battery/fort, a lighthouse, keepers’ cottages and a coastguard station. The Mailboat service ran from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead and continued until the 1970s. In 1969 the Car Ferry Terminal was built. In 1995 a new terminal was built on Carlisle Pier and the HSS Stena Explorer was launched.

Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

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Prior to 1821 Kingstown was known as Dunleary. The name was changed to Kingstown in honour of King George IV's visit that year. This name remained until 1920 when Dun Laoghaire was again adopted, albeit this time in the Gaelic form. Due to the volume of traffic (people and goods) the harbour was deemed necessary. Initially the harbour was to act as a haven or a refuge for ships in the treacherous waters around the area. Work began on the harbour in 1817 and was not completed for over forty years. It consisted of the erection of two piers costing over one million pounds and protecting about 250 acres.

The granite needed to build the harbour was quarried from Dalkey Hill and Glasthule Quarry. This quarry was to become the People's Park and was purchased in 1889 for £500. The park was designed by J.L.Robinson and planned around a bandstand and two iron fountains. The design was very formal and very much in keeping with the Victorian era. Since the 1930s the design has been modified and is less formal. The harbour has seen many changes and developments over the years due to its emergence as a passenger and mail port instead of just an asylum for ships.

One of these was the building of Carlisle Pier in 1853 and it came to be known as the Mailboat Pier. More people were coming into the harbour due to the opening of the railway link between Holyhead and London in 1848.The Dublin Steam Packet Company, operating from Kingstown in 1848, decided to use Holyhead as its terminal instead of Liverpool.Three new steamers arrived and took passengers from Holyhead over to Kingstown. These passenger ferries came to be known, albeit inaccurately as 'mailboats', hence the renaming of the pier. The Dublin Company also secured the coveted mail contract and held onto it for over seventy years.

As an addition the railway line (Dublin to Kingstown) was extended to Carlisle Pier so that passengers could get from the ship to the train more easily. Carlisle Pier accommodated the ferries until 1995, when a new terminal was built.

Information about the below images and many more from the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown local history collection is available in 'Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown' by Pat Walsh, Librarian.Launched in June 2005 the book can be bought in all Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown libraries and from some booksellers.