The East and West Piers of Dún Laoghaire: a walking guide

Dún Laoghaire has two piers, asymmetric, both built of unmortared granite, both finished in the mid-19th century. The East Pier is the busier of the two, granite-paved end to end, and is the canonical evening walk for the town. The West Pier is rougher underfoot, quieter, and favoured by photographers and locals who want a longer stretch of harbour without a crowd. You can do either in under an hour return; you can do both in a morning if you want a sense of the full harbour.

The East Pier

Start at the foot of Marine Road, where Crofton Road meets the seafront promenade. The pier extends about 1.3 kilometres out into Dublin Bay. The Victorian cast-iron bandstand sits roughly halfway and is where most casual walkers turn around; the granite lighthouse at the end is another fifteen minutes on. The whole pier is flat, smooth, and wheelchair-accessible. A public toilet sits near the bandstand on the return walk. There is no shelter from the sea wind once you are past the bandstand; in winter the seaward end can feel five degrees colder than the town.

The West Pier

Start at the harbour car park, off Harbour Road on the western side of the basin. The West Pier is longer than its eastern counterpart and rougher in places. The inner section near the harbour is accessible; the seaward end has uneven granite slabs that ask for sensible shoes. It is the better pier for inner-harbour bird-watching: brent geese overwinter in the basin and cormorants dry their wings along the pier wall year-round.

The local logic

The East Pier fills up between five and seven in the evening, especially on long-light summer days. The West Pier never really fills up. If you want the sunset look that the postcards trade on, the East Pier is the one; arrive about an hour before sunset and the light catches the lighthouse cleanly as you walk out. If you want the walk without the people, take the West Pier the same evening and watch the East Pier crowds from across the basin.

Combining the walk

If you are doing both in a morning, do the West Pier first while the harbour is quiet, then walk back into town along the seafront, pick up coffee on Marine Road, and finish with the East Pier as the day's activity settles in. Roughly two hours total at a comfortable pace.