Dublin Port is Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

's biggest sea port. It has both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximatively two-thirds of the Republic of 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,...

's port traffic goes via Dublin Port. Recently, the port and its land, mostly at the eastern end of Dublin's Northside

Northside (Dublin)

The Northside is the area in County Dublin, Ireland bounded to the south by the River Liffey to the east by Dublin Bay, to the north and west by the boundaries of County Dublin.- Introduction :...

, were valued at €25 billion - €30 billion.

Location

The modern Dublin Port is located either side of the River Liffey

River Liffey

The Liffey is a river in Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water, and a range of recreational opportunities.-Name:The river was previously named An Ruirthech,...

, out to its mouth. On the north side of the river, the main part (205 hectares / 507 acre

Acre

The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...

s) of the port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 lies at the end of East Wall

East Wall

East Wall is an inner city area of the Northside of Dublin, Ireland.-Location:East Wall is bounded by the North Strand Road to the west, by North Wall and the Royal Canal to the south, and was bounded by East Wall Road, Dublin to the north until land reclamation extended that part...

 and North Wall

North Wall (Dublin)

North Wall is an inner city area on the Northside of Dublin.Dominated by a combination of older housing, dockland activities and new development, from apartments and offices to hotels and the planned multi-purpose Point Village, North Wall lies downstream of the city centre....

, from Alexandra Quay. The element of the port on the south side of the river is much smaller (51 hectares / 126 acres), and lies at the beginning of the Pigeon House

Pigeon House

Pigeon House may refer to:*a dovecote*the former Pigeon House generating station in Dublin, Ireland: see Poolbeg Generating Station*A house in which some pigeons live...

 peninsula

Peninsula

A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....

.

Services

The main activity of the port, as per the statistic above, is freight handling, with a wide range of vessels, from large container carriers to small diesel lighters, visiting daily.

Roll-on/roll-off ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 services run regularly across the Irish Sea

Irish Sea

The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...

 to Holyhead

Holyhead

Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....

 in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and in the summer months to Douglas

Douglas, Isle of Man

right|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...

, Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

. The largest car ferry in the world, the Irish Ferries

Irish Continental

Irish Ferries is an Irish ferry operator. The company operates on the Dublin Port –Holyhead route, and from Rosslare Europort to Roscoff, Cherbourg, and Pembroke....

 ship MV Ulysses

MV Ulysses

A number of motor vessels have been named Ulysses., the former Empire Creek, which was wrecked in 1979*MS Ulysses, a RO-RO ferry used by Irish Ferries since 2001...

which can carry up to 2000 passengers, runs on the Holyhead route.

Dublin Port is also a docking area for cruise liners.

Dublin Port Company

The port is operated by the semi-state

State-sponsored bodies of the Republic of Ireland

A State-Sponsored Body is the name given in Ireland to a state-owned enterprise , that is to say, a commercial business which is benficially owned, either completely or majority, by the Irish Government...

 Dublin Port Company, incorporated on 28 February 1997 (formerly the Dublin Port and Docks Board and successor to the Ballast Board founded in 1707), whose headquarters are located just beyond the main port entrance north of the Liffey. According to the DPC, the port handled 23.5 million tonne

Tonne

The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...

s of cargo in 2003, as well as 1,426,000 passengers. That year 7,917 ships docked in the port, including 54 cruise liners carrying 54,000 visitors.

In April 2010, the Dublin Port Company announced its "busiest week ever", following restrictions placed on European airspace because of the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland. Some 72,118 passengers were reported to have travelled through the ferry terminals during the week 15–21 April.
That week saw the culmination of increased trade in Dublin Port, as the company's figures for the first quarter of 2010 would eventually reveal. March 2010 saw a 13.5% trade increase when compared with March 2009, and that month was declared by the company as the fourth consecutive month of trade increase since the economic downturn.

The Dublin Port Company is responsible for pilotage services within Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south...

, and manages the three port lighthouses (but not those of Howth or Kish Bank). It also operates three diesel tugboat

Tugboat

A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...

s and two drydocks (located near Alexandra Quay), and provides divers

Scuba diving

Scuba diving is a form of underwater diving in which a diver uses a scuba set to breathe underwater....

 for underwater hull inspections. It licenses private companies to provide stevedoring

Stevedore

Stevedore, dockworker, docker, dock labourer, wharfie and longshoreman can have various waterfront-related meanings concerning loading and unloading ships, according to place and country....

 services.

Other activities

Within the main port enclave, on the north side of the river, are a power generating station (gas-fired), several oil terminals and number of slightly-related businesses, such as car dealerships, and a Topaz fuelling station on Bond Road. Entered at the north side of the port, but lying in East Wall, is one end of the Dublin Port Tunnel

Dublin Port Tunnel

The Dublin Port Tunnel is a road traffic tunnel in Dublin, Ireland, that forms part of the M50 motorway....

.

History

The medieval

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...

 port of Dublin was located on the south bank of the Liffey near Christ Church Cathedral

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin

Christ Church Cathedral is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the Ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the Church of Ireland...

, some kilometers upstream from its current location. In 1715, the Great South Wall

Great South Wall

The Great South Wall , at the Port of Dublin, extends from Ringsend nearly four miles out into Dublin Bay. It was the world's longest sea-wall at the time of its building, remaining one of the longest in Europe...

 was constructed to shelter the entrance to the port. Poolbeg Lighthouse

Poolbeg Lighthouse

Poolbeg Lighthouse in Dublin Bay was built in 1768 and initially operated on candlepower but changed to oil in 1786...

 at the end of the South Bull Wall was constructed in 1767.

In 1800, a survey of Dublin Bay conducted by Captain William Bligh

William Bligh

Vice Admiral William Bligh FRS RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A notorious mutiny occurred during his command of HMAV Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers...

 recommended the construction of the Bull Wall

Bull Wall

The Bull Wall, or North Bull Wall, at the Port of Dublin, extending from the estuary of the River Tolka and the district of Clontarf out nearly 3 km into Dublin Bay, is one of the two defining sea walls of the port, and faces the earlier-constructed Great South Wall...

. After the completion of the wall in 1842, North Bull Island slowly formed as sand built up behind it.

After James Gandon

James Gandon

James Gandon is today recognised as one of the leading architects to have worked in Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century. His better known works include The Custom House, the Four Courts, King's Inns in Dublin and Emo Court in Co...

's Custom House

The Custom House

The Custom House is a neoclassical 18th century building in Dublin, Ireland which houses the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government...

 was built further downstream in 1791, the port moved downstream to the north bank of the river estuary, where the International Financial Services Centre

International Financial Services Centre

The International Financial Services Centre is a major financial services centre in North Wall, Dublin, Ireland. The centre employs 14,000 people and was the brainchild of an associate of businessman Dermot Desmond...

 is currently located. The noise and dirt associated with the port traffic contributed to the decline of the Mountjoy Square area, with many wealthy families moving to the Southside

Southside (Dublin)

The Southside is not an official administrative area but a colloquial term referring to the area of County Dublin bounded to the north by the River Liffey to the east by Dublin Bay, to the south and west by the boundaries of County Dublin...

.

With the advent of containerization

Containerization

Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...

 in the second half of the 20th century, the port moved about a kilometer downstream again, to its current locations.

Future

Proposals have been raised about moving the port to the new Port of Drogheda facility proposed for Bremore in north County Dublin

County Dublin

County Dublin is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Dublin Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Dublin which is the capital of Ireland. County Dublin was one of the first of the parts of Ireland to be shired by King John of England following the...

 near Balbriggan

Balbriggan

Balbriggan is a town in the northern part of the administrative county of Fingal, within County Dublin, Ireland. The 2006 census population was 15,559 for Balbriggan and its environs.- Name :...

.

Over many years, the Dublin Port authorities have been exploring a controversial proposal to in-fill 21 hectares (52 acres) of Dublin Bay - a continuation of historical practice, as all of the port land was once part of Dublin Bay anyway. Residents on areas near the proposed in-fill, on the north side of the Liffey, are strongly opposed to the plan.

Passenger

Ferry Company	Destination	Terminal
Irish Ferries	Holyhead	1
Isle of Man Steam Packet Company	Douglas	1
P&O Irish Sea P&O Irish Sea P&O Irish Sea was the trading name of P&O Ferries in the Irish Sea from 1998 - 2010. It has now merged back to being P&O Ferries.-History:P&O Irish Sea was formed in 1998, following the merger of the Cairnryan-based service of P&O European Ferries Ltd and Pandoro...	Liverpool	3
Seatruck Ferries Seatruck Ferries Seatruck Ferries is a UK based freight-only ferry company which commenced services in 1996. It is part of the Clipper Group, a shipping company based in The Bahamas. The company operates out of five ports on the Irish Sea, including Heysham and Liverpool....	Heysham, Liverpool	5
Stena Line Stena Line Stena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators, with ferry services serving Scotland, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere, a grouping of Stena AB,...	Holyhead	2

Freight

Ferry Company	Destination	Terminal
BG Freight Line	Antwerp, Rotterdam	MTL
Celtic Forwarding	Antwerp, Rotterdam	DFT
CMA CGM CMA CGM CMA CGM S.A. is a French container transportation and shipping company, headed by Jacques Saadé. It is the third largest container company in the world, using 200 shipping routes between 400 ports in 150 different countries...	Le Havre	MTL
Cobelfret	Rotterdam, Zeebrugge	CUCT
Eucon Irish Continental Group Irish Continental Group is an Irish shipping and transport group. Operating roll on/roll Off passenger, freight and container freight services on routes between Ireland, the United Kingdom and Continental Europe...	Antwerp, Rotterdam, Rouen, Southampton	DFT
Samskip	Rotterdam, Zeebrugge	MTL
Zim Integrated Shipping Services Zim Integrated Shipping Services Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. , formerly ZIM Israel Navigation Company Ltd. and Zim American Israeli Shipping Inc., is the biggest cargo shipping company in Israel, and 10th largest in the world...	Rotterdam	DFT

External links

• Dublin Port Company website
• RTÉ Radio 1 programme about South Bull Wall http://www.rte.ie/radio1/shanksmare/rams/2006/1september.smil