The old Dun Leary pier light (lost lighthouse)

 

There has been a harbour at Dún Laoghaire, then called Dunleary, since medieval times, though this would have been used only by small fishing boats. In later years, from at least as early as the 17th century, some passenger boats called in at the harbour to avoid the difficulties of accessing Dublin port. By the 18th century, some forty coal boats were trading with ports in England and to facilitate this a new pier was built in the 1760s, supervised by the military engineer, Charles Vallancey. The pier that commenced in 1817 had no connection with the old harbour at Dunleary, however, but was designed solely as a means of providing shelter for the safety of shipping during major storms. The port of Dublin was difficult to access due to a sand bar that ran across the mouth of the Liffey and, as there was nowhere else in Dublin Bay capable of sheltering ships, there were hundreds of wrecks in the bay over the centuries.

As stated, the 1760s pier was often frequented by coal boats coming from South Wales and thus became known as the Coal Pier. In the 1st edition OS map above (1843?) it is clear that it was situated near to the start of the West Pier. There had been a Martello Tower nearby as well. The Coal Pier had also been prone to silting too, prior to the building of the new harbour and was also known as the Dry Pier. It is still there today.

The above map from 1813 shows the old harbour prior to the commencement of work on the East and West piers. The Martello Tower can be clearly seen. Apparently there was a light on the end of the old pier, though whether it dated back to the building of the pier in the 1760s, or had been originated in the early 1800s, is uncertain. Nor do we know what sort of light it was, or the fuel used or the tower that housed it. All that we know for certain is that, when the East Pier reached out further to sea than the old pier, the light on the end of the old pier was discontinued.

The plate at the top of the page is dated 1st January 1799. Did the pier have a light at this stage? When you zoom in on the roundel at the end of the pier though, it shows a man holding a stick and the other arm indicating the way into the harbour. Whether its a real man or a statue is difficult to ascertain, but it does remind me of the Metal Man in Tramore and Sligo!