Coastal groove – in the footsteps of James Joyce

Ireland has me wrapped around its finger. The island boasts pretty towns, beautiful coastlines and lush green hills. It’s great that even a city trip to Dublin can easily be combined with day trips to the coast and inland. Howth in the north and Killiney in the south of Dublin, for example, are two beautiful coastal towns that can be reached from Dublin in less than an hour by public transport.

I want to create an image of Dublin, so complete that if one day the city suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth, it could be completely rebuilt from my book. – James Joyce

The traces of the Nobel Prize winner for literature James Joyce lured us to Dun Laoghaire. His famous work Ulysses begins here in the Sandycove district, near the Martello Tower. It is now home to the James Joyce Museum. If you would like to visit the museum, you should check the Dun Laoghaire website for opening hours in advance. It was closed in our house.

The coastal town is also easily accessible from Dublin by public transport. You can choose to take the No. 46a bus or the DART (from Connolly Station or Tara Street, approximately every half hour).

In Dun Laoghaire we first took the time to stroll across the long pier. One mile is the distance from the shore to the outermost point where the lighthouse is located. With a bit of luck, attentive eyes will catch one or two seals frolicking in the pier area. But we were especially pleased with the warm rays of sunshine that fought their way through the dark cloud cover. On the way, we actually met a few hard-boiled ladies and gentlemen who were enjoying themselves in the waters of the sea. Well, it seems that even at the beginning of October, bathing here is not an impossibility. The area also exudes a touch of Mediterranean flair. The palm trees in the front gardens contribute significantly to this. It’s no wonder that numerous celebrities have also bought a house here. Unfortunately, we didn’t find Bono’s mailbox anywhere.

Our walk took us through pretty residential quarters until we reached Dalkey. Here there are some sights to discover in a very small space. However, we left castles and churches to the left and allowed ourselves a short reinforcement break. In the cozy Corner Note Cafe I enjoyed an extremely delicious Bangers & Mash with award-winning sausages (at least that’s how it was advertised on the menu).

On the recommendation of the restaurant owners, we also tackled the last section of the way to Killiney on foot. It’s worth it, because we were rewarded with a great view of the offshore islets. Idyll in perfection.

Just before Killiney, we venture onto the narrow path that leads down to the beach. It wasn’t quite as easy as we had imagined from above. Before we reached the wide sandy beach, we had to perform a balancing act over the stones. After we had mastered it, we were left with a short longing look out into the sea before we took the DART back to Dublin.