Bullock Harbour or Bulloch Harbour ( ga, Cuan Bhlóic) is a small working

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

located near the heritage town of

Dalkey Dalkey ( ; ) is an affluent suburb of Dublin, and a seaside resort southeast of the city, and the town of Dún Laoghaire, in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown in the historic County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded as a Viking settlement ...

on the southeast coast of

Dublin Bay Dublin Bay ( ga, Cuan Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north–south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dub ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The current harbour quay and walls were constructed of local granite in the early 19th century where previously a rocky inlet had provided a natural harbour. Bullock Harbour is the subject of a specific local objective (SLO22) in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council's county development plan.

History

Bullock, a small fishing village, has been known to many races, since pre-Christian Druids first built a standing stone circle here (since quarried to build the Martello towers). The name is said to derive from the Scandinavian for "Blue Haven" and again from the Gaelic word for a tidal blow hole which existed in the rocks. The land at Bullock was given to the Cistercian monks by an Irish king 'beyond the memory of man'. Fishing rights came with the land and it was to protect these lucrative fisheries from the Wicklow tribes that Bullock Castle was built in the 12th century and around the castle grew up a tiny town, completely walled and protected at intervals by towers.

Name

The name of the harbour and castle has variously been called Bullock, Bloyke and Bullog.

Location

Bulloch Harbour is located at the Sandycove (northern) end of Harbour Road in Dalkey, County Dublin. Bulloch Castle, an imposing Norman structure, overlooks the harbour which is ten minutes walk from Dalkey Dart Station.

Harbour activities

There are two businesses offering boats for hire for fishing, sightseeing or to visit

Dalkey Island Dalkey Island ( ) is an island for which the nearby village of Dalkey is named ( ga, Oileán Dheilginse meaning "thorn island", with ''ey'' the Old Norse (Viking) version of "island"). It is an uninhabited island located in the Barony of Uppe ...

, about a kilometre away. Lobster and crabs are harvested when weather permits, and mackerel is fished for in season. Marine leisure activities include kayaking, sea scouts, sea fishing and angling, and rock climbing. View from outside the Martello Tower - geograph

View from outside the Martello Tower - geograph

Wildlife

A family of seals live at the harbour and like being fed by local children and tourists. Common and bottleneck dolphins have been reported in the vicinity. The diversity of marine flora and fauna reflects that of the Dalkey coastline.

References

External links

Bulloch Harbour Crane
{{coord, 53.28533, -6.10785, region:IE_type:landmark, display=title Ports and harbours of the Republic of Ireland