Dunleary, Kingstown and Dalkey

CHAPTER IV

Passing in succession through the various localities along the Rock Road, we enter Kingstown, known prior to 1821 as Dunleary, (today the town is called Dun Laoghaire. KF) and still having portion of it distinguished by that ancient designation. Since that time the town has advanced from an obscure fishing village and watering place to one of the most important seaports in Ireland - a change in its fortunes due to two distinct causes - namely, the establishment of the Mail Packet station, with its fine harbour of refuge, and the connection with Dublin by rail.

The carrying out of the great works in connection with the Dublin and Kingstown Railway in the years 1 832A, excited an extraordinary amount of interest in Dublin, as it was the first railway constructed in Ireland. On the conclusion of the undertaking, *The Dublin Penny Journal *published a number of illustrated articles on the subject, in one of which, inspired by the importance of the occasion, it magnificently observed: - “Hurried by the invisible but stupendous agency of steam, the astonished passenger will now glide, like Asmodeus, over the summits of the houses and streets of a great city

presently be transported through green fields and tufts of trees - then skim across the surface of the sea, and taking shelter under the cliffs, coast along the marine villas and through rocky excavations, until he finds himself in the centre of a vast port, which unites in pleasing confusion the bustle of a commercial town with the amusements of a fashionable watering-place.”

When we consider the importance of the railway as a factor in the development of Kingstown, it is not a little amusing to learn that when it was proposed to build the terminus in its present position, the inhabitants offered every opposition to the proposed desecration of their town by this vulgar and democratic mode of conveyance, and ultimately succeeded in obtaining an alteration in the Bill for the construction of the railway, so as to prevent the company from bringing it nearer than the commencement of the West Pier. The terminus accordingly was erected at this point, and the grateful inhabitants, all danger being then over, presented Mr. Gresham, of hotel fame, with an address and 500 sovereigns in recognition of his valiant and successful defence of their town against the attempted invasion by the railway company. In after years, when the inhabitants had grown accustomed to the innovation, the railway was extended to the point occupied by the present station.

Wisdom comes frequently after the event, and if we feel inclined to laugh at what looks like folly on the part of the good folk of 1834, let us remember that a few years ago, when the electric trams first ran to Kingstown, the cars had to start from Northumberland Road; and that there was fierce opposition to the proposal to run them through the streets of the city.

The old picturesque name of Dunleary, meaning Leary’s Fort, was originally applied to a dun or rath, standing on ground where a Martello tower, long since taken down, was erected in the last century, and where the Coastguard Station now stands. This dun and many other interesting relics were ruthlessly swept away during the construction of the railway through the district.

This neighbourhood was in vogue as a summer watering-place so far back as the beginning of the 18th century, and although communication with England was, at that time, principally made from Ringsend direct, a considerable number of packets also sailed from Dunleary. Arthur Young, in his *Tour in Ireland, *relates how on 19th June, 1776, he embarked at Holyhead on board *The Claremont *packet, and arrived the next day at Dunleary. A hotel and coffee-house for the reception and entertainment of travellers then flourished at this place, and an illustration of it appears in *The Hibernian Magazine *for 1803. The old building, though much altered, still remains, overlooking the Monkstown gas works, and contains the original inn kitchen.

About 1760, a harbour was formed at Dunleary by the construction of a small pier about 200 yards in length, which although insufficient for the requirements of the locality, undoubtedly afforded effective protection against the east and south-easterly gales, so full of evil memories along this coast. In a few years, however, the harbour began to fill with sand, and in time became quite useless.

After some years of agitation, stimulated by the failure of Howth Harbour as a packet station, the necessary Parliamentary authority was obtained for the construction of a harbour of refuge, and in 1817 the first stone of the East Pier was laid by the Lord Lieutenant, the pier being finished four years later, when the visit of King George IV was made the occasion for superseding the old name of the town by the modern one. The construction of the west pier followed, together with many minor alterations and improvements which were not concluded until 1859.

The stones for this great work were drawn from Dalkey Hill on lorries running on a tramway, still owned by the Harbour Commissioners, and locally known as “The Metals. “The immense amount of stone taken from the hill materially decreased its bulk and quite altered its appearance, and so extensive were the various works in connection with the undertaking that the employment of a small army of workmen became necessary, descendants of whom remain to the present day near the original settlement beside the quarries.

About the time that Kingstown first assumed its modern title, a person standing on the ground now occupied by Sandycove Railway Station, and looking along the open country road towards the newly-named town, beheld a view which, except for its setting, would scarcely be recognised by a modern inhabitant. Not a house intervened between the observer and a group of cottages around the Royal Marine Hotel; and about midway on the inland side a massive rock surmounted by a half-moon battery overhung the road, forming a conspicuous object in the view. Only one pier, the eastern one, sheltered the new packet station, and as yet no pier lighthouse showed its welcome beams to the storm-tossed mariner seeking the refuge of the port. To the right of the main road, fields sloped down to the sea, where a few cottages and cabins were scattered at intervals along a rough bridle path that skirted the rocky shore. Opposite the Royal Marine Road, Patrick Street and Mulgrave Street were represented by a few small terraces, while to the right of these, rising through its scaffolding, was the tallest building in the neighbourhood, the Royal Marine Hotel, then in course of erection, towering high above the humble dwellings adjoining. In the distance might be seen the South Wall and the squat form of the old Poolbeg Lighthouse, with Howth and the northern shores of the Bay.

Immediately in the foreground to the right was a Martello tower, surrounded by a kind of circumvallation, partly artificial and partly natural, and situated on a slight eminence overlooking the harbour. This tower has long since been taken down to make room for building, but indications of the eminence on which it stood may be seen in the rising ground on the left hand side of Martello Avenue, close to Sandycove Railway Station.

The rock on which stood the battery was removed by blasting some fifty years ago, and while the operations were in progress, passengers and traffic were warned by a bell rung on the road some minutes before the firing. The name Stoneview, applied to the portion of Upper George’s Street now occupying its site, commemorates the existence of this almost forgotten landmark.

At the present day, instead of the rural aspect described above, houses extend the whole way from Kingstown to Dalkey, with the exception of a short open space beyond Bullock; and the once detached villages intervening have become absorbed in the adjoining townships.

Shortly after passing out of the main street of Kingstown and crossing the railway, we enter Glasthule, where may be seen traces of the original village which derives its name from a little stream *(Glas) *flowing into Scotch Bay, and Tuathail or Toole, a surname, the whole name meaning Toole’s stream.

Immediately adjoining Glasthule is Sandycove, a name which originated with the little haven there, and was subsequently applied to the rocky point on which a battery or fort, now dismantled, and a Martello tower were erected. The fort was, until a few years ago, occupied by the military, and at certain seasons of the year was utilised for artillery practice, the firing causing much havoc among the windows of the adjoining houses.

About the beginning of the last century an extravagant scheme was propounded to construct a ship canal from Sandycove by Monkstown and Stillorgan to Milltown, where it was to cross the Dodder valley by a gigantic aqueduct, proceeding thence in a direct course to James’s Street Harbour. The object was to connect Kingstown with the canal traffic through the interior of the country, but it is not clear what commensurate advantage could have been anticipated from so costly and chimerical a project as compared with sailing up the Liffey as far as Ringsend Canal Docks.

Beyond Sandycove is Bullock, a town of some note in ancient times, where the ruin of a fine castle stands in a commanding and conspicuous position over the harbour. The castle is an oblong building, originally two storeys high, flanked by towers of unequal height, rising above the body of the structure at the ends. One of these towers, upon its ground floor, contains the original doorway and inner porch. A spiral staircase communicates with the upper apartments and leads to a series of small rooms in the same tower. There is a garderobe on the first floor, and the upper walls are gracefully battlemented. There was formerly a rocking stone at Bullock, which was sketched by Gabriel Beranger in 1777, but was removed about the beginning of the last century.

Goshawks - so-called from their habit of preying on wild geese - were found in the neighbourhood of Bullock until about 100 years ago.

The port or harbour of Bullock was known from a very early period, and as far back as 1346 the Cistercian Monks of St. Mary’s Abbey, Dublin, who built the castle there, established their right to exact from every fishing boat entering the harbour a toll of one of their best fish, herrings excepted; and from every herring boat a meise (about 600 fish) annually .Bullock in early times seems to have been a self-contained settlement, enclosed by a wall, strongly fortified, besides being equipped with a church, so as to avoid any unnecessary risks to the inhabitants entailed by attendance at places of worship outside. (Ball’s History of the County Dublin.)

In 1402, Prince Thomas of Lancaster, the King’s son, landed at Bullock as Lord Lieutenant, and in 1559 the Earl of Sussex, as Lord Deputy. In 1611 the town and lands of Bullock are described as consisting of one castle, one ruinous tower, thirty dwelling-houses, 10 acres of meadow, 200 acres of pasture and furze, with the fishing and haven to the main sea. (Dalton’s History of the County Dublin).

Clarendon’s *History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in Ireland *contains the following reference to Bullock:-“In the same week [2 November, 1641] 56 Men, Women and Children, of the village of Bullogge (being frighted at what was done at Clontarff) took boats and went to sea, to shun the Fury of a party of Soldiers come out of Dublin, under the command of Colonel Crafford, but being pursued by the Soldiers in other boats, were overtaken and thrown overboard.

“The incident at Clontarff referred to is the burning of the village by Sir Charles Coote in 1641.A serious affray between a party of smugglers and the local Revenue officers occurred here in 1735, and is described as follows in *The Dublin Weekly Journal *of 26th April, 1735: -“Last week some of the King’s officers made a seizure of a large quantity of tea and brandy at Bullock; and next morning several persons attempted to rescue it from the officers, which occasioned a great battle, in which several were wounded on both sides; one Mr. Brown, an officer, was shot through the thigh, and ‘tis thought two of the smugglers were killed.”

As we pass the little harbour, the road rises considerably, affording an extensive view of Dublin Bay, and we now enter on the only remaining bit of wild rocky country between Dublin and Dalkey - a gap which doubtless, within the next few years, will be filled by terraces and dwellinghouses.

We next reach Dalkey, formerly a port of great importance, to which most of the goods consigned to Dublin by sea were at one time shipped, owing to the difficulty of navigating the Port of Dublin before the construction of the great South Wall.

In 1306, it appears that the King made a complaint that the wines sent to him from Ireland arrived in a sour and deteriorated condition, and an inquiry upon oath was thereupon instituted to ascertain the cause. The commissioners found that the wines in question were shipped from Bordeaux to Dalkey where they were reshipped to Skinburness on the Solway Firth, and that the deterioration complained of was caused, not by any default of the mariners or merchants, but by the tempestuous nature of the latter voyage, which was usually from one to two months in duration.

In 1369 one Reginald Talbot was sued in the Court of Exchequer for delivering therein, as the rent of his estate at Dalkey, one goshawk, which on inspection and examination proved unsound, unfit, and of no value, and inasmuch as the same was a fraud on the Court, and a grievous damage to the King, the said Reginald Talbot was fined.

Goshawks were highly prized in the days of falconry as being a large and powerful variety of hawk.

Many passengers of distinction landed here from time to time, and in 1396 the place had become of such note that King Richard II. granted to the Archbishop of Dublin the privilege of exercising the rights of Admiral or Water Bailiff of this port. A contemporary document on this subject states that “there is no anchorage or good lying for great ships coming into the Port of Dublin with wines, salt, corn, and other merchandises, freighted for Dublin from foreign parts, only at the Port of the Archbishop of Dublin in the town of Dalkey, which is six level miles from Dublin, and out of the port and liberties of the city, at which place they are bound to unload, and there is no other port in the neighbourhood where they can ride so safe from storm, and the merchants were wont to buy their goods at said port of Dalkey as well as in the port of Dublin and other ports, to land same and to bring it up on cars or in boats to the city) and there land same and pay the customs.” (Dalton’s History of the County Dublin)

It was at this period of its history that the castles of Dalkey, originally seven in number, were built for the storage of the merchandise and valuables landed there, where they could be protected against the predatory incursions of “the Irish enemie” until such time as they could be safely escorted to Dublin.

In 1451 the King appointed as bailiff of Dalkey, James Prendergast, portion of whose duties was to receive all customs and dues, payable to the municipal authorities of Dublin, arising out of the sale of merchandise and wares at the fairs of Dalkey, of which seven were annually held; such customs, &c., to be applied towards walling and paving the city of Dublin, of which Dalkey was then the port. In 1538 Walter Cowley landed here with treasure for the ‘King’s service in Ireland. An account of his disbursements in this behalf is preserved in the State Paper Office, and the treasure is certified to have been conveyed in two hampers on pack horses to Holyhead *via *St. Alban’s, Brickhill, Towcester, Daventry, Coventry, Lichfield, Vyleybridge, Stone, Nantwich, Chester, Conway, Rhuddlan and Beaumaris .For further information in regard to this locality and Dalkey Island, see next chapter.

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