Dalkey - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Dalkey is suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

of Dublin and seaside resort

Seaside resort

A seaside resort is a resort, or resort town, located on the coast. Where a beach is the primary focus for tourists, it may be called a beach resort.- Overview :...

in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown

Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown is a county in Ireland. It is one of three smaller counties into which County Dublin was divided in 1994. Located to the south-east of Dublin city, its county seat is the town of Dún Laoghaire. It is one of the four constituent parts of the Dublin Region...

County, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. It was founded as a Viking

Viking

The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...

settlement and became an important port during the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

. According to John Clyn

John Clyn

John Clyn of the Friars Minor, Kilkenny, was a 14th century Irish monk and chronicler who lived at the time of the Black Death.-Background:...

, it was one of the ports through which the plague

Bubonic plague

Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...

entered Ireland in the mid-14th century. In modern times, Dalkey has become a thriving seaside suburb and a minor tourist attraction.

Etymology

The town is named after Dalkey Island

Dalkey Island

Dalkey Island is an uninhabited island about 16 km south of Dublin, near the village of Dalkey, 3 km south of Dún Laoghaire harbour...

, just offshore. The name is a meld of the Irish deilg (meaning "thorn") and the Old Norse

Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age, until about 1300....

øy (meaning "island"). The Island is the Shape of a thorn, Hence, "Thorn Island" (Deilg Inis) Inis means Island in Irish.

Quarry

Dalkey Quarry

Dalkey Quarry is a disused granite quarry located in the Dublin suburb of Dalkey. It was used for quarrying during the 19th century, and is now part of Killiney Hill Park, a public park...

is a disused granite quarry, stone from which was used during the 19th century to build Dún Laoghaire

Dún Laoghaire

Dún Laoghaire or Dún Laoire , sometimes anglicised as "Dunleary" , is a suburban seaside town in County Dublin, Ireland, about twelve kilometres south of Dublin city centre. It is the county town of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County and a major port of entry from Great Britain...

harbour, and is now a popular rock climbing

Climbing

Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...

location within Killiney Hill

Killiney Hill

Killiney Hill is the southernmost of the two hills which form the southern boundary of Dublin Bay . Crowned by an obelisk, the hill is 153 metres high and offers beautiful views over the surrounding areas : Dublin to the northwest; the Irish Sea and the mountains of Wales to the east and...

Park. During the building of the harbour, the quarry was connected to Dún Laoghaire via a metal tramway known as 'The Metals', which are still visible in some parts of Dalkey.

Harbours

There are several small harbours on the coast of Dalkey. Bulloch Harbour

Bulloch Harbour

Bullock Harbour is a harbour located on the southeast coast of Dublin Bay in Ireland. It is home to many seals and fishermen. It is possible to rent a boat at the harbour to go to Dalkey Island.-References:...

is the biggest; it is towards the northern part of Dalkey, and is a declared seal sanctuary. Coliemore Harbour is much smaller, and is in the southern part of Dalkey. It was formerly the main harbour of Dublin City. These harbours are used by tourists to hire boats for nearby fishing, and for getting to Dalkey Island

Dalkey Island

Dalkey Island is an uninhabited island about 16 km south of Dublin, near the village of Dalkey, 3 km south of Dún Laoghaire harbour...

Sports

Cuala CLG

Cuala is a Dublin GAA club based in a sports and social centre in Dalkey which is situated in the south of Dublin, Ireland. Cuala has playing facilities in Dalkey, Glenageary, Meadow Vale/Clonkeen Park, Shankill and Sallynoggin...

, a prominent Gaelic Athletic Association

Gaelic Athletic Association

The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...

sports club, and Dalkey United, an association football club, are both based at Hyde Park. Early in his soccer career, Paul McGrath

Paul McGrath (footballer)

Paul McGrath is a retired Irish footballer, who played as a defender. McGrath is widely recognised as one of the greatest players to have ever come out of Ireland....

played for Dalkey United. In the 1940s, the town produced another footballer of note, Peter Farrell

Peter Farrell

Peter Desmond Farrell was an Irish footballer who played as an a right-half for, among others, Shamrock Rovers, Everton and Tranmere Rovers. As an international, Farrell also played for both Ireland teams - the FAI XI and the IFA XI...

. Recently it has set up an athletics

Athletics (track and field)

Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...

club, the Dalkey Dashers.

Education

There are five schools in Dalkey. Loreto Primary School caters for boys from junior infants through first class, and for girls from junior infants through sixth class. Loreto Abbey Secondary School caters for girls from first year through sixth year. Harold Boys' National School caters for boys from second class through sixth class, and Saint Patrick's National School caters for boys and girls from junior infants through sixth class. Castlepark School is an independent preparatory school for boys and girls.

Transport

The Dalkey Atmospheric station at Atmospheric Road (29 March 1844 to 12 April 1854) was the terminus for the first commercial application of the atmospheric system

Dalkey Atmospheric Railway

The Dalkey Atmospheric Railway was an extension of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway to Atmospheric Road in Dalkey, Co. Dublin, Ireland. It used part of the Dalkey Quarry industrial tramway, which was earlier used for the construction of Kingstown Harbour...

of train propulsion.
The current Dalkey railway station

Dalkey railway station

Dalkey railway station serves Dalkey in County Dublin, Ireland.The station was opened on 10 July 1854 and was closed for goods traffic on 30 March 1964. It was preceded by Dalkey Atmospheric Railway station which opened on 29 March 1844 and closed on 12 April 1854....

was opened on 10 July 1854. The station is served by the DART

Dublin Area Rapid Transit

The Dublin Area Rapid Transit is part of the suburban railway network in Ireland, running mainly along the coastline of Dublin Bay on the Trans-Dublin route, from Greystones in County Wicklow, through Dublin to Howth and Malahide in County Dublin.Trains are powered via a 1500V DC overhead catenary...

, which passes through a tunnel south of Dalkey, emerging on a cliff giving spectacular views over Killiney Bay.

An Aircoach

Aircoach

Aircoach is a Republic of Ireland based subsidiary company of the United Kingdom based FirstGroup. It provides airport bus express coach services from Cork, Greystones, Bray, South Dublin and Dublin City Centre to Dublin Airport. It also operates contracted bus service for airport car parks...

service starting at Hyde Park on the Hyde Road links the area with Dublin Airport whilst Dublin Bus

Dublin Bus

Dublin Bus is a public transport operator in Ireland. It operates an extensive bus network of 172 radial, cross-city and peripheral routes and 18 night routes in the city of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area. The company, established in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann which is...

services 59, 7d and 8 link the area with the city centre.

People

Dalkey is the original home town of three well-known Irish writers, novelists Maeve Binchy

Maeve Binchy

Maeve Binchy is an Irish novelist, newspaper columnist and speaker. Educated at University College Dublin, she worked as a teacher then a journalist at The Irish Times and later became a writer of novels and short stories.Many of her novels are set in Ireland, dealing with the tensions between...

and Roddy Doyle

Roddy Doyle

Roddy Doyle is an Irish novelist, dramatist and screenwriter. Several of his books have been made into successful films, beginning with The Commitments in 1991. He won the Booker Prize in 1993....

, and playwright Hugh Leonard

Hugh Leonard

Hugh Leonard was an Irish dramatist, television writer and essayist. In a career that spanned 50 years, Leonard wrote more than 18 plays, two volumes of essays and two autobiographies, one novel and numerous screenplays and teleplays, as well as writing a regular newspaper column.-Life and...

. It is also the setting for Flann O'Brien

Flann O'Brien

Brian O'Nolan was an Irish novelist, playwright and satirist regarded as a key figure in postmodern literature. Best known for novels such as At Swim-Two-Birds, The Third Policeman and An Béal Bocht and many satirical columns in The Irish Times Brian O'Nolan (5 October 1911 – 1 April 1966) was...

's novel The Dalkey Archive
The Dalkey Archive
The Dalkey Archive is a novel by the Irish writer Flann O'Brien. It is his fifth and final novel, published in 1964, two years before his death. It features a mad scientist, De Selby, who tries to destroy the world by removing all the oxygen from the air. He has also many strange inventions...

. In recent years several well-known Irish and international figures bought property in the area such as U2

U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

members Bono

Bono

Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...

and The Edge

The Edge

David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...

; Enya

Enya

Enya is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter. Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to...

, the music artist; and musicians Chris de Burgh

Chris de Burgh

Chris de Burgh is a British/Irish singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1986 love song "The Lady in Red".-Early life:...

and Van Morrison

Van Morrison

Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...

. Former host of the Late Late Show

The Late Late Show

The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...

, Pat Kenny

Pat Kenny

Patrick "Pat" Kenny is an Irish broadcaster and former disc jockey and continuity announcer. He is employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann and is their highest paid presenter. He presents Today with Pat Kenny on RTÉ Radio 1 each weekday morning between 10:00 and midday...

, and TV3 current affairs host Vincent Browne

Vincent Browne

Vincent Browne is an Irish print and broadcast journalist. He is a columnist with The Irish Times and The Sunday Business Post and a part time barrister....

are residents.
Film directors Neil Jordan

Neil Jordan

Neil Patrick Jordan is an Irish filmmaker and novelist. He won an Academy Award for The Crying Game.- Early life :...

and Jim Sheridan

Jim Sheridan

Jim Sheridan is an Irish film director. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Sheridan is perhaps best known for his films My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Get Rich or Die Tryin and In America.-Life and career:...

also live in the town, while Formula One drivers Damon Hill

Damon Hill

Damon Graham Devereux Hill OBE is a retired British racing driver. In 1996 Hill won the Formula One World Championship. As the son of the late Graham Hill, he is the only son of a world champion to win the title...

, Eddie Irvine

Eddie Irvine

Edmund "Eddie" Irvine, Jr. is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He grew up in Conlig, County Down, and was influenced by his parents, who were also involved in motor racing...

, used to live in Dalkey.
Gavin O'Reilly

Gavin O'Reilly

Gavin Karl O'Reilly is a Dublin-born businessman with Irish and Australian citizenship, the second son and fourth child of Irish media magnate Tony O'Reilly and Australian Susan Cameron...

, CEO of the Independent News & Media

Independent News & Media

Independent News & Media plc , is a media organisation based in Dublin, Ireland, with interests in 22 countries on 4 continents worldwide. The company owns over 200 print titles, more than 130 radio stations, over 100 commercial websites and many billboard locations, and is a leading press player...

of Ireland and his (separated) wife, actress and model Allison Doody, lived at Bartra House, a 10000 square feet (929 m²) home overlooking the sea.

Wildlife

Dalkey Island is home to a colony of seals which has greatly expanded in recent years. A herd of wild goats live on the island also. Birdwatch Ireland have established a colony of Roseate Terns on Maiden Rock just north of Dalkey Island. More recently a pod of three bottlenose dolphins has begun frequenting the waters around Dalkey Island.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.