See our news page for details of the lecture re-run at the Lexicon Library in Dun Laoghaire November/December 2019

Bullock Harbour bicentenary 1819-2019

Before 1800 Dublin Bay was shallow with sandbanks and meandering river channels access by sea under sail very treacherous. Deep water off the rocky Dalkey shore sheltered by the island made the landing of cargo easier. Dalkey functioned as the port for Dublin, and its seven fortified ‘castles’ were warehouses for trans-shipment of cargo by road to the city.  The building of the South Bull Wall (1795) and North Bull Wall (1842) created a shipping channel to Dublin.  Dun Laoghaire Refuge Harbour (built 1817-42) and the replacement of sail by steam power all eliminated the importance of Dalkey as a commercial port.

The small sheltered tidal creek at Bullock Castle had been the location for fisheries under the control of St Mary’s Abbey.  The rocky outer breakwater became the foundation of the harbour we see today, built by the Ballast Board over the winter of 1818/19 to facilitate the shipping of granite from their quarry on Harbour Road to construct the city quays.  One element of the bicentenary celebrations will be a lecture series on the heritage of Bullock Harbour and its close relationship with the Dublin Port Company , which still owns the harbour today.

Bicentenary celebrations

Bullock Harbour Preservation Association and Dublin Port Company are organising a series of talks over the winter and spring months in Dalkey Castle and Heritage Centre at 8pm each evening.  Admission is free and there is no need to book a place – just turn up at the heritage centre.

Tuesday 20 November 2018: “Port Collections – History of Dublin Port and the Port Archive” by Lar Joye, Port Heritage Director, Dublin Port Company

Tuesday 4 December 2018:  “The History and Heritage of Bullock Harbour”, Rob Goodbody, Historic Building Consultant & Local Historian

Tuesday 22 January 2019:  “The Building of Bullock Harbour”: Elizabeth Shotton, Assoc Professor, UCD School of Architecture, Planning  & Environmental Policy

Tuesday 12 February 2019:  “Bullock Harbour into the Future; Monitoring and Repairs” , Eamon McElroy, Port Engineer, Dublin Port Company – for more details, see our blog post on harbour repairs.

Tuesday 12 March 2019 : “Dublin Port and its Links to the City”, Eamonn O’Reilly, CEO of the Dublin Port Company

Tuesday 9 April 2019  “Dublin Bay Biosphere”  Panel discussion

Tuesday 7 May 2019  “Hugh Leonard Walk”  – a celebration on the hoof of the work of the departed Bullock resident and Dalkey playwright by his daughter Danielle Keyes Byrne.  See this website and local publicity re details of time, route and booking.