THE IRISH PENNY JOURNAL.
| Number 21. | SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 1840. | Volume I. |
THE SOUND AND ISLAND OF DALKEY, COUNTY OF DUBLIN.
The little rocky island of Dalkey forms the south-easternextremity of the Bay of Dublin, as the bold and nearly insulatedpromontory of Howth forms its north-eastern termination.It is separated from the mainland of the parish fromwhich it takes, or to which, perhaps, it gives its name, by achannel called Dalkey Sound, which is about nine hundredyards long, three hundred and eight yards wide at its southentrance, and two hundred and nine yards wide at its northentrance; the soundings in mid-channel varying from ten tofive fathoms. This channel was anciently considered a tolerablysafe and convenient harbour, and was the principal anchoragefor ships frequenting the little castellated seaport townof Dalkey, from which merchandise was transferred to Dublin,as well by boats as by cars. Hence also the harbour of Dalkeywas frequently used in former times on state occasions forthe embarkation or landing of the Irish viceroys and otherstate officers. The Lord Deputy Philip de Courtney landedhere in 1386, and Sir John Stanley, the deputy of the Marquisof Dublin, in the following year. In 1414, Sir John Talbot,then Lord Furnival, and afterwards the renowned Earl ofShrewsbury, landed here as Viceroy of Ireland; and in 1488,Sir Richard Edgecombe embarked at this harbour for England,after having taken the homage and oaths of fidelity ofthe nobility who had espoused the cause of Lambert Simnel.Here also landed Sir Edward Bellingham, Lord-Lieutenant in1548, and Sir Anthony St Leger in 1553; and it was fromthis harbour that the Earl of Sussex, in 1558, embarked alarge body of forces to oppose the Scottish invaders at the isleof Rathlin; and lastly, again, it was here that the unfortunateSir John Perrot landed as viceroy in 1584. The conversionof this sound into an asylum harbour was at one time contemplatedby government, and a plan for the purpose was proposedby the Committee of Inland Navigation; but from certainobjections which were made to it, the project was abandoned.The situation would certainly have been a more imposing andmagnificent one than that ultimately chosen.
The island of Dalkey is of a nearly oval form, having avery irregular surface, in part rocky, and in part consistingof a fertile salt marsh, very valuable for the cure of sick cattle,who by feeding on it quickly recover and fatten. It isfive hundred and twenty-eight yards long from north tosouth, and three hundred and eight yards wide from east towest, and comprises about twenty-nine acres of pasture. Itsshore is rocky, and in some parts precipitous, and it commandsthe most beautiful views of the bays of Dublin and Killiney.Among several springs of fresh water on it, one on its south-westside has long been considered to possess sanative properties,and was formerly much resorted to for the cure ofscurvy and other diseases. On the same side there are theroofless walls of an ancient church dedicated to St Benet orBenedict, the patron of the parish; and at its south-easternextremity there is a battery, and a Martello tower which differs[Pg 162]from all the other structures of this class erected on theIrish coast, in having its entrance not at the side but on itstop. It is traditionally stated that during the remarkableplag