Portmarnock Port Mearnóg | |
|---|---|
Suburb (village core) | |
 Portmarnock, Dublin | |
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  Portmarnock Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:53°25′18″N6°08′14″W / 53.4217°N 6.1372°W /53.4217; -6.1372 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | Dublin |
| Local authority | Fingal |
| Elevation | 3 m (10 ft) |
| Population | 10,750 |
| Eircode routing key | D13 |
Portmarnock (Irish:Port Mearnóg) is a coastal suburban settlement ofDublin inFingal, Ireland, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. As of 2022[update], the population was 10,750,[1] an increase of 13.5% on the 2016 census figure of 9,466.[2]
Portmarnock is also acivil parish in the ancientbarony ofCoolock in the traditionalCounty Dublin.[3]
Portmarnock lies on the coast betweenMalahide andBaldoyle. Portmarnock could also be said to border, at sea,Sutton and perhapsHowth in the form ofIreland's Eye. Its major beach, the Velvet Strand, is monitored by a lifeguard during the summer season from early April to the start of October.[4]
Adjacent to Portmarnock is a narrow beach which extends onto a sandy peninsula with beaches on all sides. Portmarnock's beach is nicknamed the Velvet Strand due to the smooth sand along the beach, and is popular with wind- and kite-surfers.[5]
The beach was the starting point for two important pioneering flights. On 23 June 1930, Australian aviatorCharles Kingsford Smith and his crew took off in theSouthern Cross on the second westbound transatlantic flight (toNewfoundland), after which they continued on toOakland, California, completing a circumnavigation of the world. The firstsolo westbound transatlantic flight began from Portmarnock beach whenJim Mollison, a British pilot, took off in ade Havilland Puss Moth on 18 August 1932 bound forPennfield Ridge, New Brunswick, Canada.[6]
The sculpture Eccentric Orbit (byRachel Joynt andRemco de Fouw, erected 2002) on the seafront is of limestone, bronze and stainless steel. The needle points to the North Star, an age-old navigation point. The sculpture commemorates the epic flights of theSouthern Cross (the second non-stop east–west North Atlantic flight, in 1930), theHeart's Content (the first east–west non-stop solo North Atlantic flight, 1932) and the abandoned solo North-Atlantic flight ofFaith in Australia (1933).[7]
Portmarnock is home to one of the 29NapoleonicMartello Towers in the Greater Dublin Area.[8]
The district's name derives from the Irish wordport – meaning "port" – andSaint Marnoch or Mernoc, said[7] to have arrived in what is now Portmarnock in the fifth century AD.
The area had been settled inNeolithic times, as evidenced by flints and other tools excavated on the northern fringe of Portmarnock and the remains of a ring fort visible from the air at the south of the town. The son of Queen Maedhbh ofConnaught – Maine – is also said to have been buried locally.[9]
During theIrish War of Independence,Michael Collins stayed at the Portmarnock house ofMoya Llewelyn Davies, using it as asafe house.[10]
In February 1988,An Garda Siochana discovered aProvisional IRA arms cache at Station Road. 30AK-47s, 3 machine guntripods, 12RPGs, 31,000rounds of ammunition and 227 kg ofSemtex was discovered.[11][12]
Portmarnock is on thenorthern commuter railway line out of Dublin (also theDublin–Belfast main line);Portmarnock railway station, opened on 25 May 1844 upon the opening of theDublin and Drogheda Railway,[13] and is now on theDART network.[14] The village is served byDublin Bus routes 32, 32X, 42, 42N (Nitelink) and 142 andGo-Ahead Ireland routes 102 and its a/c/p/t branches.[15] Owing to its proximity toDublin city, it is a form ofdormitory village 15 km (9.3 mi) north-northeast of the city centre.
There are two primary schools – St. Marnock's and St. Helen's – and also a secondary school,Portmarnock Community School.[16]
Situated on the coast of Portmarnock are the ruins of the old Saint Marnock's Church, with an adjacent cemetery.[17][18] Today, Portmarnock holds aRoman Catholic parish and the church of St Anne.[19] TheChurch of Ireland parish of Portmarnock was united withMalahide in 1873, and the newer St Marnock's Church, consecrated in 1790, operated up until 1960;[20] parishioners are now served by churches in Malahide and north of Balgriffin.
Portmarnock is famous for the world-class golf course atPortmarnock Golf Club, which formally opened on 26 December 1894. Occupying much of the sandypeninsula to the south of the village, the club has hosted many golf tournaments, including the 1960 Canada Cup (now known as the World Cup), the 1991Walker Cup and theIrish Open on many occasions. Another links course, part of the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links complex, that opened in the 1990s, was designed by German golferBernhard Langer.[21] That golfing hotel is built around St. Marnock's, the former home of a branch of theJameson distilling family, which had its own private golf course.[22] St. Marnock's was largely built in the late 1890s to the designs of British architectSir Robert Lorimer.
Naomh Mearnóg is the localGaelic Athletic Association club.[23]
Other local sports clubs include Portmarnock Tennis Club, Portmarnock A.F.C., AUL Premier A side Seaview Celtic F.C., and the Portmarnock Sport & Leisure Club, which encompasses 16 sporting activities and has a swimming pool with some public access hours.[citation needed]
Portmarnock Pitch & Putt Club was founded in 1958 and moved to its current location in 1961. It has been affiliated with thePitch and Putt Union of Ireland since its foundation in 1961 and is currently a members club with over 400 adult and 120 under-16 members in 2023.[citation needed]
Portmarnock lies in theDublin Fingal[24] Dáil constituency and in the modern administrative county ofFingal.[25] Before 2016 it was in theDublin North-East constituency.[26]
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