“C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea” sounds inviting. Dublin Bay North awaits. This bay is more than just a scenic view. It is a place of ecological significance.
Dublin Bay North is about 10 kilometers wide. It stretches from Howth Head to Dalkey Point. The bay is about 7 kilometers long to the center of Dublin.
Vikings founded Dublin near Dublin Bay North. They forded the River Liffey. The city then spread along the coastline. It went towards Howth and Dalkey.
Dublin Bay North is a biosphere reserve. UNESCO designated it as such. This recognizes its unique habitat. It also acknowledges the area’s biological diversity.
Dublin Bay North has many sandbanks and rocky outcrops. These made it notorious for shipwrecks. Many ships were lost near the coastline. This happened between Howth and Dun Laoghaire. This treacherous area was less than a kilometer from shore. Old maps showed narrow shipping channels to help ships.
The bay has two inshore sand banks. These are North Bull and South Bull. The North Bull began to build up rapidly after the Bull Wall was built. It formed North Bull Island. The Great South Wall was built earlier. It did not result in island formation. The South Bull remains an area of mud flats and strand. Kish Bank is another offshore sandbank. It has a lighthouse. Clontarf or Mud Island was once a sand bank-turned-island. It has disappeared now.
Dublin Bay North features beaches. They include Sutton Strand and Dollymount Strand. Dollymount Strand is on North Bull Island. Other beaches include Sandymount and Seapoint. They are south of Dun Laoghaire. The remaining coast is rocky or muddy. Howth Head has cliffs. Much of the Raheny coastline has bluffs.
The River Liffey is the most significant inflow. Its tributaries include the Dodder, Poddle and Camac. The River Tolka is the second largest river by volume. It enters between East Wall and Clontarf.
The Poolbeg Generating Station has 207-meter chimney stacks. They dominate the skyline. These stacks have been a protected structure since 2014.
William Bligh charted Dublin Bay North. He also mapped it at the start of the 19th century. Bligh proposed improvements to Dublin Port. He wanted a refuge harbor at Dun Laoghaire.
The steamship RMS Leinster sank in 1918. A German U-boat torpedoed it. Over 500 crew and passengers died. The ship lies in 33 meters of water.
In 1972, a plan arose to build an oil refinery in Dublin Bay. Seán D. Loftus opposed this plan. He feared pollution. Loftus changed his name to “Seán Dublin Bay Loftus”. He ran for election. Though not elected, he publicized the issue. The Minister for Local Government rejected the proposal.
In 2010, plans arose to infill 52 acres of Dublin Bay. Residents, politicians and environmentalists opposed it. An Bord Pleanála refused permission.
Dublin Bay North sees significant shipping traffic. This includes freight, passenger ferries and cruise ships. The port authority offers pilotage. Many lighthouses help secure passage.
Coastal flooding can occur at high tide. This happens in Clontarf and Sandymount.
Dublin Bay North has faced pollution. This comes from watercourses, shipping, and sewage discharges. Some bathing areas are sometimes unavailable.
Parts of Dublin Bay North have designations. These include Proposed NHA. It also includes Special Area of Conservation. North Bull Island has a Special Protection Area. It also has a Ramsar and Biosphere Reserve.
Dublin Bay North supports leisure activities. These range from swimming to kite-surfing.
James Joyce set much of Ulysses around the bay. Buck Mulligan washed in the Forty Foot. Leopold Bloom made love to his wife Molly under Howth’s rhododendrons.