Dún Laoghaire

The port was a 19th-century creation, renamed "Kingstown" for the 1821 visit of King George IV. Dublin was the ancient port, but the approach was hazardous, with several tragic shipwrecks. An alternative harbour was sought and Howth and Dún Laoghaire competed for this role. Howth lost out because it kept silting up, so for almost 200 years Dún Laoghaire was the main port of entry to Ireland, with ferries from England and Wales, and connected to the city by Ireland's first railway. In the early 21st century Dublin regained its role with greatly improved docks and approaches, and a motorway tunnel so that vehicles could bypass city congestion. The ferry terminals moved there and Dún Laoghaire harbour became much quieter, though cruise liners sometimes call.

The town was historically in County Dublin, which has been divided so it's now in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County, which in 2022 had a population of 234,000.

By train:

DART trains run every 10 min from Malahide and Howth through central Dublin (Connolly, Tara St and Pearse stations) and the southern suburbs to 1 Dún Laoghaire Mallin Station. The trains continue south to Dalkey, Bray and Greystones. All these stations are within the Dublin "short hop zone", see Dublin#Get around for fares.

Four or five mainline trains per day call on the route between Dublin Connolly, Wexford and Rosslare, which has ferries from Fishguard and Pembroke.

From Belfast, Newry, Drogheda or Sligo, change at Connolly for the Dart train. From other cities such as Galway, Limerick or Cork, trains run to Dublin Heuston, take the tram to reach Connolly.

By bus:

Dublin Bus 46a runs here from city centre every 10 min. The route is from Phoenix Park, Dublin Northside through Phibsborough, O'Connell St downtown, then south via Leeson St, Donnybrook, and Stillorgan Rd (N11) to Foxrock then turning up Kill Lane, Mountjoy and York Rd to Dún Laoghaire railway station.

Aircoach 703 runs hourly between Dublin Airport and Dún Laoghaire, stopping by the Royal Marine Hotel, and continuing to Dalkey and Killeney. It's scheduled to take an hour but is often snarled in southside traffic. Aircoach 702 from the airport to Bray and Greystones runs further inland via Cabinteely and Loughlinstown.

Inter-city buses bypass Dún Laoghaire so you have to travel into central Dublin and come out again. The closest approach is by the bus from Wexford, which calls at Loughlinstown 4 km south, you could pick up a local bus or taxi there. But the train would bring you to town centre.

By boat: