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Dublin Port News
Port Perspective – Dublin Port has launched its 2026 behind-the-scenes bus and boat tour programme, offering visitors a closer look at Ireland’s busiest commercial port from land and sea.
Dublin Port has launched its 2026 season of behind-the-scenes bus and boat tours, offering visitors a closer look at Ireland’s busiest port. The tours explore the working operations of Dublin Port, which handles €165 billion worth of freight and 1.6…
“Bay
Arctic and Common Terns returning to Dublin Bay for the 2026 breeding season will be welcomed by two new nesting pontoons installed by Dublin Port and BirdWatch Ireland. The floating nesting structures have been deployed near the Dublin Port Greenway…
Spear Tradition — Lord Mayor of Dublin Councillor Ray McAdam performs the historic ‘Casting of the Spear’ ceremony on Dublin Bay at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. Photo: Conor McCabe Photography
The annual “Casting of the Spear” ceremony was staged on Dublin Bay on Friday as Lord Mayor of Dublin Councillor Ray McAdam revived one of the capital’s oldest maritime traditions. Hosted by Dublin Port Company at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat…
Purpose-built for polar navigation, National Geographic Endurance, berthed at Dublin, is designed to operate year-round and safely explore such uncharted waters. Following the visit to the capital, the small expedition ship is today (27 April) off the Giant’s Causeway.
The National Geographic Endurance, named to honour Irish-born explorer Ernest Shackleton and his legendary Transantarctic Expedition, made a visit to Dublin Port at the weekend, writes Jehan Ashmore. The first new polar cruise ship built for operator Lindblad Expeditions' 50-year…
Dock ’N’ Roll – Oasis guitarist Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs tours Dublin Port, pictured beside a visiting cruise ship during a behind-the-scenes look at port operations.
Oasis co-founder Paul ‘Bonehead’ Arthurs was given a behind-the-scenes tour of Dublin Port during a visit on 24 April. The guitarist, who performed at Croke Park with Noel and Liam Gallagher last August, explored port operations and key landmarks, including…
“Routine
An oil spill occurred during refuelling operations on the Stena Hibernia at Dublin Port Company on Monday evening (Apr 20). The incident happened at approximately 20:05 at an operational berth on the eastern side of Dublin Port. The port’s Oil…
“Dublin
Dublin Port has launched its 2026 Cultural Events Programme, unveiling a wide-ranging series of exhibitions, tours, talks and performances running from April to October. The programme also marks the launch of a new Great South Wall self-guided walking tour on…
Port Power: International delegates join Belfast Harbour leaders and UNCTAD officials to share expertise on port management, digital systems and global trade development during the training workshop
Belfast Harbour is hosting an international port management workshop this week, led by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The nine-day programme runs from 25 March to 1 April and brings together senior port professionals from countries including Nigeria, Kenya, Namibia,…
“Rock
The Great South Wall roundhead at Poolbeg Lighthouse has reopened to the public following the completion of €2.5 million in remedial works by Dublin Port. The project addressed damage caused by December’s Storm Bram, one of the most severe storms…
Wall Of Defence: Poolbeg Lighthouse stands at the tip of the Great South Wall as Dublin Port begins €2.5m rock armour repairs following Storm Bram damage to the historic breakwater.
Dublin Port has begun a €2.5 million programme of repairs to the Great South Wall following storm damage. The five-week works focus on rock armour displaced during December’s Storm Bram, described as the fifth strongest storm ever recorded on the…
Port Power Walk — Minister Peter Burke and Dublin Port CEO Barry O’Connell walk through Alexandra Quay East to mark delivery of new €3.4m refrigerated container infrastructure boosting cold chain capacity.
Dublin Port Company has invested €3.4 million in new refrigerated container infrastructure to expand its cold chain capacity. The development creates 140 new power outlets for temperature-controlled containers at the Port’s Alexandra Quay East terminal. The project was formally marked…
Dublin Port CEO Barry O’Connell and Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy and Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien TD at the launch of Dublin Port’s Liffey-Tolka Project.
Dublin Port has commenced enabling works on a major active travel and public amenity project, the Liffey-Tolka Project, as part of its continued drive towards integrating the working port with the busy city, with Minister Darragh O’Brien TD marking the…
“The
The Little Museum of Dublin has launched the ‘I Love Dublin’ education programme for schools, kindly sponsored by Dublin Port. Every Wednesday morning, the Little Museum will welcome schoolchildren from all over Ireland for a free visit to the museum.…
Dublin Port expects strong trade growth, handling a record number of containers in 2025.
Dublin Port expects 2025 to be a record year for shipping containers, reflecting the resilience of the Irish economy. As The Irish Independent reports, up to €165bn in trade and goods passed through Dublin Port. The capital handles 80pc of all…
“The
A Common Tern, which was ringed in Dublin Port earlier this year, has been recorded in Kartong Bird Observatory in the Gambia – a distance of over 4,575 km as it flies. The arrival in the Gambia was confirmed on…
“Experts
Maritime art and Dublin Bay, the photography of the late Pat Sweeney and mapping and recording shipwrecks are among the themes of a series of talks in Dublin Port as part of the Dublin Festival of History. The first marine-related…

About Dublin Port 

Dublin Port is Ireland’s largest and busiest port with approximately 17,000 vessel movements per year. As well as being the country’s largest port, Dublin Port has the highest rate of growth and, in the seven years to 2019, total cargo volumes grew by 36.1%.

The vision of Dublin Port Company is to have the required capacity to service the needs of its customers and the wider economy safely, efficiently and sustainably. Dublin Port will integrate with the City by enhancing the natural and built environments. The Port is being developed in line with Masterplan 2040.

Dublin Port Company is currently investing about €277 million on its Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR), which is due to be complete by 2021. The redevelopment will improve the port's capacity for large ships by deepening and lengthening 3km of its 7km of berths. The ABR is part of a €1bn capital programme up to 2028, which will also include initial work on the Dublin Port’s MP2 Project - a major capital development project proposal for works within the existing port lands in the northeastern part of the port.

Dublin Port has also recently secured planning approval for the development of the next phase of its inland port near Dublin Airport. The latest stage of the inland port will include a site with the capacity to store more than 2,000 shipping containers and infrastructures such as an ESB substation, an office building and gantry crane.

Dublin Port Company recently submitted a planning application for a €320 million project that aims to provide significant additional capacity at the facility within the port in order to cope with increases in trade up to 2040. The scheme will see a new roll-on/roll-off jetty built to handle ferries of up to 240 metres in length, as well as the redevelopment of an oil berth into a deep-water container berth.

Dublin Port FAQ

Dublin was little more than a monastic settlement until the Norse invasion in the 8th and 9th centuries when they selected the Liffey Estuary as their point of entry to the country as it provided relatively easy access to the central plains of Ireland. Trading with England and Europe followed which required port facilities, so the development of Dublin Port is inextricably linked to the development of Dublin City, so it is fair to say the origins of the Port go back over one thousand years. As a result, the modern organisation Dublin Port has a long and remarkable history, dating back over 300 years from 1707.

The original Port of Dublin was situated upriver, a few miles from its current location near the modern Civic Offices at Wood Quay and close to Christchurch Cathedral. The Port remained close to that area until the new Custom House opened in the 1790s. In medieval times Dublin shipped cattle hides to Britain and the continent, and the returning ships carried wine, pottery and other goods.

510 acres. The modern Dublin Port is located either side of the River Liffey, out to its mouth. On the north side of the river, the central part (205 hectares or 510 acres) of the Port lies at the end of East Wall and North Wall, from Alexandra Quay.

Dublin Port Company is a State-owned commercial company responsible for operating and developing Dublin Port.

Dublin Port Company is a self-financing, and profitable private limited company wholly-owned by the State, whose business is to manage Dublin Port, Ireland's premier Port. Established as a corporate entity in 1997, Dublin Port Company is responsible for the management, control, operation and development of the Port.

Captain William Bligh (of Mutiny of the Bounty fame) was a visitor to Dublin in 1800, and his visit to the capital had a lasting effect on the Port. Bligh's study of the currents in Dublin Bay provided the basis for the construction of the North Wall. This undertaking led to the growth of Bull Island to its present size.

Yes. Dublin Port is the largest freight and passenger port in Ireland. It handles almost 50% of all trade in the Republic of Ireland.

All cargo handling activities being carried out by private sector companies operating in intensely competitive markets within the Port. Dublin Port Company provides world-class facilities, services, accommodation and lands in the harbour for ships, goods and passengers.

Eamonn O'Reilly is the Dublin Port Chief Executive.

Capt. Michael McKenna is the Dublin Port Harbour Master

In 2019, 1,949,229 people came through the Port.

In 2019, there were 158 cruise liner visits.

In 2019, 9.4 million gross tonnes of exports were handled by Dublin Port.

In 2019, there were 7,898 ship arrivals.

In 2019, there was a gross tonnage of 38.1 million.

In 2019, there were 559,506 tourist vehicles.

There were 98,897 lorries in 2019

Boats can navigate the River Liffey into Dublin by using the navigational guidelines. Find the guidelines on this page here.

VHF channel 12. Commercial vessels using Dublin Port or Dun Laoghaire Port typically have a qualified pilot or certified master with proven local knowledge on board. They "listen out" on VHF channel 12 when in Dublin Port's jurisdiction.

A Dublin Bay webcam showing the south of the Bay at Dun Laoghaire and a distant view of Dublin Port Shipping is here
Dublin Port is creating a distributed museum on its lands in Dublin City.
 A Liffey Tolka Project cycle and pedestrian way is the key to link the elements of this distributed museum together.  The distributed museum starts at the Diving Bell and, over the course of 6.3km, will give Dubliners a real sense of the City, the Port and the Bay.  For visitors, it will be a unique eye-opening stroll and vista through and alongside one of Europe’s busiest ports:  Diving Bell along Sir John Rogerson’s Quay over the Samuel Beckett Bridge, past the Scherzer Bridge and down the North Wall Quay campshire to Berth 18 - 1.2 km.   Liffey Tolka Project - Tree-lined pedestrian and cycle route between the River Liffey and the Tolka Estuary - 1.4 km with a 300-metre spur along Alexandra Road to The Pumphouse (to be completed by Q1 2021) and another 200 metres to The Flour Mill.   Tolka Estuary Greenway - Construction of Phase 1 (1.9 km) starts in December 2020 and will be completed by Spring 2022.  Phase 2 (1.3 km) will be delivered within the following five years.  The Pumphouse is a heritage zone being created as part of the Alexandra Basin Redevelopment Project.  The first phase of 1.6 acres will be completed in early 2021 and will include historical port equipment and buildings and a large open space for exhibitions and performances.  It will be expanded in a subsequent phase to incorporate the Victorian Graving Dock No. 1 which will be excavated and revealed. 
 The largest component of the distributed museum will be The Flour Mill.  This involves the redevelopment of the former Odlums Flour Mill on Alexandra Road based on a masterplan completed by Grafton Architects to provide a mix of port operational uses, a National Maritime Archive, two 300 seat performance venues, working and studio spaces for artists and exhibition spaces.   The Flour Mill will be developed in stages over the remaining twenty years of Masterplan 2040 alongside major port infrastructure projects.

Source: Dublin Port Company ©Afloat 2020.