The RTE Nationwide TV programme visits Dún Laoghaire Harbour on the south side of Dublin Bay to hear about a project supported by Local Government, which has given a new lease of life to some old harbour cottages.

As previously reported by Afloat, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council renovated the buildings as social homes in 2021.

The programme airs on Friday, May 3rd at 7 pm on RTE One and is also viewable on the RTE Player.

There are busy scenes at Dun Laoghaire Harbour this Thursday, April 25th as the second cruise liner of the 2024 season berthed off the harbour in Scotsman's Bay.

Passengers disembarked from the 330-metre Regal Princess just after 7 am at the new tender pontoon at the harbour's number three berth in front of the Royal St. George Yacht Club.

The visit follows Tuesday's arrival of the much smaller Viking Venus at 220-metres, marking the start of the town's cruise season, which will see 80 ships between April and October.

Making use of the new recently installed ship fendering at the number two berth on the Carlisle Pier adjacent to the National Yacht Club was the Bahamas-flagged 41-metre Research/Survey Vessel Fugro Helmert, having arrived from Swansea in Wales. 

Research/Survey Vessel Fugro Helmert berthed at Dun Laoghaire Harbour's Carlisle Pier

Yacht Racing 

Following last night's in-harbour 22-boat Water Wag race, Thursday evening (where light winds are expected) marks the start of the 2024 Dublin Bay Sailing Club Cruiser-racer season from Dun Laoghaire. A full programme of racing planned around an upgraded set of buoys now laid in the bay for the club's 140th anniversary season.

The visiting superyacht Sorceress, moored at a deepwater berth at Dun Laoghaire Marina, is almost three times the size of any competing DBSC cruiser, and the Marshall Island flagged yacht makes her presence felt with a black mast that towers over the 800-berth facility.

Much of the activity is viewable on three Dublin Bay webcams

Saturday’s (April 13th) Lift-in of yachts and boats at Dun Laoghaire Harbour in gusty westerly winds and sunny conditions marked the opening of the 2024 summer sailing season on the capital's waters of Dublin Bay. 

In the harbour, the National Yacht Club and neighbouring Royal St. George YC lifted in approximately 30 sailing cruisers apiece using mobile cranes in a day-long operation. On the West Pier, the DMYC also employed a mobile crane.

The boats had wintered ashore on hardstanding at the club premises.

The annual lift-in of boats at the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club on Saturday, April 13th ahead of the 2024 Dublin Bay Sailing Club summer season Photo: Afloat

At the same time, an-18 mile ISORA coastal race took place from Dun Laoghaire Harbour, drawing a fleet of eight from Howth, Dun Laoghaire and Greystones for the first coastal race of 2024 as Afloat reports here.

While in the Coal Harbour area, leading yacht broker MGM boats staged a showcase of new yachts and motorboats for the forthcoming season.

On Saturday night, a young girl was rescued from the sea at Dún Laoghaire Harbour in south County Dublin, thanks to a multi-agency rescue operation involving the Coast Guard, RNLI and gardaí.

The incident occurred at around 8.20 pm off the town's east pier. The child was taken to the hospital for treatment of her injuries, which have been described as non-life threatening.

It is unclear how the child ended up in the water, but high waves were noted in the area at the time. Prior to being safely taken on board an RNLI inshore lifeboat, several members of the public attempted to enter the water to rescue the girl.

The scene was attended by Dún Laoghaire Coast Guard, the RNLI, Rescue 116, and several other emergency services.

Heroic rescue just now in Dun Laoghaire. pic.twitter.com/ExrXcc73Kv

— Tom Lyons (@TomLyonsBiz) April 6, 2024

RTE News reports that Luke Nolan from Rathfarnham in Dublin was walking Dún Laoghaire pier with two friends when he said he heard a girl crying out for help.

The 24-year-old said he and his friends found a young girl and an older man on the edge of the pier, both soaked from head to toe, who were trying to reach the other young girl in the water.

Mr Nolan and his friends tried to tie a number of life rings together and enter the water but he said the waves were too strong.

"It was extremely wild, the wind was crazy and the waves just kept coming and coming".

He said he was relieved the girl was rescued and that she had appeared to remain calm throughout the incident which he said lasted around half an hour.

He said those who had witnessed the incident were shaken and that although he was a sea swimmer it would make him think twice about entering the water.

"I've never experienced anything like it to be honest".

Commenting on the callout, Dun Laoghaire RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Ed Totterdell said, ‘Our thoughts are with the young child and their family, after what must have been a frightening experience. We would also like to thank the members of the public who raised the alarm by contacting the Coast Guard so quickly.

‘I am very proud of my lifeboat crew for their actions and swift response. We train every week for every possible scenario and this was one of those times where every second counted. I hope that this young person makes a full and swift recovery.’

If you find yourself in the water, the RNLI advice is FLOAT TO LIVE. Lie on your back and make a star shape, relax and try to control your breathing, using your hands to help you stay afloat. If you see someone in difficulty in the water, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coast Guard.

The Navy's LE George Bernard Shaw was one of the first arrivals of the season to use the new ship fender installation at Dun Laoghaire Harbour's Carlisle Pier. 

As regular Afloat readers recall, the installation in August 2023 of nine new fenders supported on tubular piles is to increase the capacity and flexibility of the quay for berthing a range of vessels which moor at the Harbour.

LE George Bernard Shaw arrived for the St. Patrick's Day festivities, and her crew took part in the town's first St. Patrick's Day parade for decades.

Visitors to 'berth number three' include Navy ships, cruise liners, wind farm service and research vessels, beam trawlers and visiting superyachts. 

Some of the new ship fenders visible to the left of the bow of the the Navy's LE George Bernard Shaw Photo: Afloat

The project required the demolition and removal of three existing concrete buttresses and steel fender collars. 

It has been a busy time for upgrading the 200-year-old harbour as the fender installation occurred, as separate €2m works were completed to the revetement at the back of town's East Pier.

The works follow extensive repairs since March 2018, when Storm Emma caused serious damage to the East Pier.

There was a strong maritime presence for the rebirth of Dun Laoghaire's St Patrick's Day Parade, which attracted up to 30,000 people to Ireland's biggest boating centre in the spring sunshine.

Among the 46 groups participating was the Irish Navy, which arrived by sea on the L.É. George Bernard Shaw and moored in Dun Laoghaire Harbour for the National Holiday weekend.

The Irish National Sailing School based at the West Pier, Dun Laoghaire had three floats, including a Viking Ship under sail Photo: Afloat

Organisers were not disappointed when the Irish National Sailing School answered the call for colourful floats with a fully-crewed Viking Ship under sail as part of their three-float participation that also included an RS21 keelboat and a 7-metre RIB.

The seafront parade lasted for approximately one hour, from 11 a.m. to 12 noon. The route ran along the Dublin Bay coast and ended at the Marine Road junction into the Harbour, with parade participants dispersing into the Harbour area.

Sailors from the Irish Navy's L.É. George Bernard Shaw participated in the St. Patrick's Day Parade Photo: Afloat

Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI lifeboat and the Dun Laoghaire Coastguard Unit were well represented.

It was the first Dun Laoghaire Parade in decades, with the last being held in the 1960s.

Crowds on the seafront at Dun Laoghaire's Newtownsmith Green for the start of the 2024 Dun Laoghaire St. Patrick's Day Parade Photo: Afloat

Organisers say the Parade allowed local residents and visitors to gather and celebrate local culture, heritage, community and 'everything we are proud of' and involved local schools, sports clubs, community, music and dance groups and businesses.

At sea level, the majestic granite construction of Dun Laoghaire Harbour blends so well with the many of the older buildings on the town's waterfront and its coastal surroundings that, after 200 years and more of its existence, many folk tend to think of this completely artificial haven as a natural part of Dublin Bay. And certainly, it is only with aerial photos that we get some idea of how much work was involved in re-purposing extraordinary quantities of stone quarried from the nearby hillside in Dalkey in order to create this massive yet totally artificial facility.

It is only with aerial photos that we get some idea of how much work was involved in the construction of Dun Laoghaire Harbour on Dublin Bay

Today, with everyone accustomed to costs inevitably spiralling out of control on major public projects, it's impossible to calculate how much it might cost to build it again, even with the best of 21st-century technology and equipment. Yet in the early 19th Century, using equipment that was sometimes very unusual and often extremely primitive, they went ahead and did it, and in a manageable time span, too.

Too often today, we take Dun Laoghaire Harbour for granted. Rob Goodbody has become an acknowledged expert on just what a remarkable project it was and is, and his talk (open to all) to the Dublin Bay Old Gaffers Association at Poolbeg Y&BC at 8.0pm on Thursday, February 15th will be a timely reminder of what a wonder of human ingenuity we find and enjoy on the shores of Dublin Bay.

Thanks to dedicated fundraising by members of the Dublin Motorcycle Touring Club (DMTC), Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI received a generous donation of €6,300 as a result of multiple events undertaken by DMTC members throughout 2023.

Founded in 1971, DMTC is the largest multi-make motorcycle club in Ireland and selected RNLI as its charity for the year.

Michael Donohoe from Dun Laoghaire RNLI’s fundraising branch thanked all those who took part in the fundraising endeavours to raise much-needed funds for the busy Dun Laoghaire lifeboat station on Dublin Bay: ‘Our station operates an all-weather Trent class lifeboat and a D class inshore lifeboat.

The funds raised are an important support for the continuing work of the RNLI and will assist our volunteers with future lifesaving operations. We are delighted to have such strong links to the local community and wish to thank DMTC members for their generous donation.’

At noon on Christmas Eve (Sunday, 24 December) Dun Laoghaire Harbour RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew will gather at the end of the East Pier to lay wreaths at sea and remember 15 of their lifeboat colleagues who lost their lives while on a rescue mission in gale force conditions in 1895.

The ceremony, which the public is invited to attend, is also held to remember all those who lost their lives through drowning around the coast, on inland waters and abroad.

As the RNLI prepares to mark its 200th year in operation in 2024, the station will mark the anniversary by placing wreaths in the sea from the all-weather lifeboat to pay tribute to their colleagues who lost their lives while on a service. The annual ceremony has become a Christmas Eve tradition for the Dublin lifeboat station. Both Dun Laoghaire RNLI’s inshore and all-weather lifeboat will launch, and volunteer lifeboat crew will lay the wreaths off the east pier in view of the public. This year, Olympic sailing medallist Annalise Murphy will read an account of the disaster, published at the time of the tragedy.

Piper Ruairí Somers will play a lament from the Lighthouse Battery and musician, William Byrne, will perform the ‘Ballad of the Palme.’

On 24 December 1895, the 'Civil Service No. 1' Dun Laoghaire lifeboat was wrecked while proceeding to the assistance of the SS Palme of Finland. The entire crew, 15 in total, were drowned. The lifeboat capsized 600 yards from the distressed vessel and, although every effort was made to send help to the lifeboat and to the Palme, nothing could be done.

The second Dun Laoghaire lifeboat 'Hannah Pickard' also launched but it too capsized under sail, fortunately all crew returned safely. The Captain, his wife, child and 17 crew were eventually rescued on the 26th December by the SS Tearaght.

The short ceremony takes place under the lighthouse at the end of the East Pier. It includes an ecumenical blessing, a reading from a news article published at the time and music.

Commenting on the event Dun Laoghaire RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Ed Totterdell said, ‘The loss of fifteen lifeboat volunteers devastated the local community at the time but the lifeboat service kept going. This event has grown from honouring an incredible act of service, to remembering all those who have lost their lives through drowning. Our lifeboat crew, as well as so many other lifeboat volunteers, are on call this Christmas, and every day of the year.’

Dun Laoghaire Harbour saw the arrival of an unusual seaborne visitor this morning with the arrival of the Geoquip Seehorn supply vessel to the Dublin Bay harbour.

Sailing under the flag of Cyprus, the integrated geotechnical survey vessel (IGSV) arrived from Liverpool. 

The ship was converted in 2015 to be a geotechnical drilling vessel and is fitted with a large yellow-coloured drilling tower.

Seehorn is equipped to carry out large-scale research projects that have a combination of seabed CPT and borehole locations. A dedicated launching mechanism offers a quick, smooth and safe switch between drilling mode and seabed CPT mode through the large moonpool.

Her carrying capacity is 2500 t DWT, and her current draught is reportedly 5.5 metres. Her length overall (LOA) is 83.45 meters, and her width is 18.01 meters.

The ship is among the first to benefit from the new ship fender installation on the town's Carlisle Pier, which began in August.

As regular Afloat readers know, the installation of nine new fenders supported on tubular piles is designed to increase the capacity and flexibility of the quay for berthing a range of vessels that moor at the harbour.

These visitors to 'berth number three' include Navy ships, cruise liners, wind farm service and research vessels, beam trawlers and visiting superyachts,