Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [113]
Dalkey is on the DART suburban train line or, for a slower journey, you can catch bus 8 from Burgh Quay in Dublin. Both cost €2.
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HOWTH
The pretty fishing village of Howth (Binn Éadair), built on steep steps that run down to the waterfront, is a popular excursion from Dublin and has developed as a residential suburb of the city. The most desirable properties are on the hill above the village, located on a bulbous head that juts into the northern edge of Dublin Bay. The views from the top are magnificent. Although the harbour’s role as a shipping port has long gone, Howth is a major fishing centre and yachting harbour.
In 1914 noted Irish Nationalist Robert Erskine Childers (better known as Erskine) had his yacht, Asgard, bring a cargo of 900 rifles into the port to arm the Nationalists. During the Civil War, Childers was court-martialled by his former comrades and executed by firing squad for illegal possession of a revolver. His son, also called Erskine, became the fourth president of Ireland. The Asgard is now on display at Kilmainham Jail in Dublin.
Howth (the name rhymes with ‘both’) is only 15km from central Dublin and easily reached by DART or by simply following Clontarf Rd out around the northern bay shoreline. En route you pass Clontarf, site of the pivotal clash between Celtic and Viking forces at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Further along is North Bull Island, a wildlife sanctuary where many migratory birds pause in winter.
Sights
AROUND THE PENINSULA
Most of the town backs onto the extensive grounds of Howth Castle, built in 1564 but much changed over the years, most recently in 1910 when Sir Edwin Lutyens gave it a modernist make-over. Today the castle is divided into four very posh and private residences. The original estate was acquired in 1177 by the Norman noble Sir Almeric Tristram, who changed his surname to St Lawrence after winning a battle at the behest (or so he believed) of his favourite saint. The family has owned the land ever since, though the unbroken chain of male succession came to an end in 1909.
On the grounds are the ruins of the 16th-century Corr Castle and an ancient dolmen (tomb chamber or portal tomb made of vertical stones topped by a huge capstone) known as Aideen’s Grave. Legend has it that Aideen died of a broken heart after her husband was killed at the Battle of Gavra near Tara in AD 184, but the legend is rubbish because the dolmen is at least 300 years older than that.
The castle gardens (admission free; 24hr) are worth visiting, as they’re noted for their rhododendrons (which bloom in May and June), azaleas and a long, 10m-high beech hedge planted in 1710.
Also within the grounds are the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey (Abbey St, Howth Castle; admission free), originally founded in 1042 by the Viking King Sitric, who also founded the original church on the site of Christ Church Cathedral. The abbey was amalgamated with the monastery on Ireland’s Eye (below) in 1235. Some parts of the ruins date from that time, but most are from the 15th and 16th centuries. The tomb of Christopher St Lawrence (Lord Howth), in the southeastern corner, dates from around 1470. See the caretaker or read instructions on the gate for opening times.
A more recent addition is the rather ramshackle National Transport Museum ( 832 0427; www.nationaltransportmuseum.org; Howth Castle; adult/child & student €3/1.25; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat Jun-Aug, 2-5pm Sat, Sun & bank holidays Sep-May), which has a range of exhibits, including double-decker buses, a bakery van, fire engines and trams – most notably a Hill of Howth electric tram that operated from 1901 to 1959. To reach the museum, go through the castle gates and turn right just before the castle.
Howth is essentially a very large hill surrounded by cliffs,