The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dublin.

[6] Dún Laoghaire's origins are generally assumed to trace back to a fort that is believed to have stood there and mostly likely to have belonged to Lóegaire mac Néill.

[8] On the night of 18–19 November 1807, two troopships, the Prince of Wales, and the Rochdale, which had departed from Dublin, were driven on to the rocks between Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire with the loss of over 400 lives.

[11] Ireland's first railway, covering the five and a half miles from Dublin (Westland Row station) to Kingstown was opened on 17 December 1834.

The original station building was replaced in 1854 by a granite pavilion built in the neo-classical style by architect John Skipton Mulvany.

[21] The British 59th (2nd North Midland) Division disembarked at Kingstown in April 1916 and marched up the road to Dublin, to participate in the response to the Easter Rising.

Adjacent to the Carlisle Pier and overlooked by the National Maritime Museum of Ireland, there is an anchor, recovered from the wreck of the mailboat RMS Leinster which was torpedoed by the Imperial German Navy over the Kish Bank in 1918, with the loss of over 500 lives.

[23] Dún Laoghaire was hit by stray German bombs during the Second World War, with a couple of them landing near the People's Park at Rosmeen Gardens.

[27] An obelisk standing on four granite balls located near the old ferry port terminal at the harbour commemorates the departure of King George IV and the renaming of the place as Kingstown.

[34] Overlooking the harbour and beside the maritime museum is the DLR Lexicon, the central library and cultural centre of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown.

Dún Laoghaire was also formerly served by the Dublin tramways routes 7 and 8 and was the terminus for the former until the tram lines ceased operations on 9 July 1949.

An Aircoach service links the area with Dublin Airport 24 hours a day with stops at County Hall and the Royal Marine Hotel.

Route 703 travels from Killiney to Dublin Airport via Dalkey, Glasthule, Dún Laoghaire, Monkstown, Blackrock, Booterstown, Tara Towers hotel, Strand Road and The Point (3Arena).

From the 19th century, the town was the principal passenger port for ferries between Ireland and Britain, with a frequent service to Holyhead in Anglesey, Wales.

From early 2015 Stena Line concentrated their Holyhead routes on Dublin Port, and withdrew the service to Dún Laoghaire.

[42] In the early 2000s, Lower George's Street underwent pedestrianisation, placing a ban on all general traffic with the exception of bus routes toward central Dublin.

The Water Wag Club[47] was founded in Kingstown in 1887 to "Establish a class of sailing punt with centreboard all rigged and built the same so that an even harbour race can be had with a light rowing and generally useful boat".

The 820-berth marina is the largest in the country, and opened in 2001 following resistance for over 15 years by a group led by the late John de Courcy Ireland, the maritime historian.

[citation needed] The town had a golf club from 1909 to 2007, but its members agreed to sell the course to housing developers and move to Ballyman Road, near Enniskerry in County Wicklow.

Recent years have seen some commercial development of the land around the George's Street area, including, notably, the old Pavilion Cinema and Theatre site opposite the County Hall.

There has been plenty of new investment in the area recently, and the Dún Laoghaire Shopping Centre will be subject to renovation by its owners Coltard, starting from 2016.

[citation needed] Dún Laoghaire is home to St Michael's Hospital as well as a number of private clinics, therapists and general practitioners.

Samuel Beckett came from nearby Foxrock and is said to have experienced an artistic epiphany, alluded to in his play Krapp's Last Tape, while sitting on the end of one of Dún Laoghaire's piers; a bronze plaque marks the spot.

[citation needed] The black equestrian and circus owner Pablo Fanque, immortalised in the Beatles' song Being for the Benefit of Mr.

A 20 ft-high, eight-tonne sculpture by Irish sculptor Michael Warren entitled 'Gateway' existed close to the Pavilion retail and theatre complex in the centre of Dún Laoghaire from 2002 to 2009.

Made from corten steel, the sculpture had been the subject of controversy from the beginning occupying a prominent position at the bottom of Marine Road.

[59] A statue of Roger Casement, over 3 meters tall and standing on a high plinth, overlooks Dún Laoghaire's baths.

The Royal Marine Hotel first opened in 1865 and has since hosted several heads of state, monarchs and celebrities, including Frank Sinatra, Laurel & Hardy and Charlie Chaplin.

Specifically, the plan revolved around promoting Dún Laoghaire Harbour as a prime location for both ferries and cruise ships.

[64] For elections to Dáil Éireann the town is part of the Dún Laoghaire constituency which is currently represented by four TDs: two from Fine Gael, one from PBP, and one from Fianna Fáil.