Settlement in Bullock

Bullock Harbour, Dalkey

Bullock harbour was part of a walled town dating from about the twelfth century. The monks in St.Mary’s Abbey started off this fishing area and gradually it developed. They sent and received cargo, including fish, from the harbour. The Pilot’s Cottages visible in the postcard were built in 1807 approximately, to house the men sailing boats out to sea and towards the Dublin port. They were known as pilots.

Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Bullock Harbour, Dalkey
Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Bullock Harbour, Dalkey

Bullock harbour was part of a walled town dating from about the twelfth century. The monks in St.Mary’s Abbey started off this fishing area and gradually it developed. They sent and received cargo, including fish, from the harbour. The Pilot’s Cottages visible in the postcard were built in 1807 approximately, to house the men sailing boats out to sea and towards the Dublin port. They were known as pilots.

Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

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Bullock Harbour owes its development to the monks of St. Mary's Abbey in Dublin. It began life as a walled town around the twelfth century and was used to send fish to Dublin markets and receive city bound cargo. Every vessel that used the port had to 'pay' with a toll of one fish. The monks needed to protect this fishery and so they built a castle. This all gradually grew into a settlement. The name 'Bullock' has two possible derivatives. One is Scandinavian and means 'Blue Haven' and the other is a Gaelic word for a tidal blow- hole existing in rocks.

The harbour has quite a tumultuous history, including being attacked by Royalist troops during the Rising of 1641 when 56 people were drowned. The Pilot's Cottages are visible in the postcard print. They were built around 1807 to house the men who sailed pilot boats out to sea and guided them to the port in Dublin. The waters around here were often treacherous and so the pilots' role was a crucial one. Other people began to inhabit the cottages over the years besides pilots.

Bullock Castle

Bullock Castle was built around the twelfth century to help protect the fishing industry the monks had built up there. An adjoining house was added to the castle in the eighteenth century and a tower was located near the top of the steps to the castle. William Hutchinson (later Harbour Master in Dun Laoghaire) stayed in Bullock Castle for a period from 1817 to supervise quarrying in the area and to manage the pilots who sailed the boats out of the harbour. Today the castle is an historic monument and cultural centre.

Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Bullock Castle
Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Bullock Castle

Bullock Castle was built around the twelfth century to help protect the fishing industry the monks had built up there. An adjoining house was added to the castle in the eighteenth century and a tower was located near the top of the steps to the castle. William Hutchinson (later Harbour Master in Dun Laoghaire) stayed in Bullock Castle for a period from 1817 to supervise quarrying in the area and to manage the pilots who sailed the boats out of the harbour. Today the castle is an historic monument and cultural centre.

Image acquired from The Collectors' Shop, Blackrock.

Enlarge image

Bullock Castle overlooks the harbour and was part of the town that the monks had set up. It is made of solid granite and so has remained in a good state over the years. It is officially recognised as an historic monument and cultural centre. Over the years the castle provided shelter for many a visitor. Perhaps its most famous guest was William Hutchinson, later to become Harbour Master in Dun Laoghaire. He was employed in a supervisory role and had responsibilities for the pilots, the lifeboat in Sandycove and stone quarrying in the area.

The quarrying process improved the harbours at Bullock and Sandycove. A house was added to the castle in the 1700s, three storeys high and which survived until the 1980s. It was demolished to accommodate the extension of an institution for older people, set up by the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm.