The element of the port on the south side of the river is much smaller (51 hectares or 130 acres) and lies at the beginning of the Poolbeg peninsula.

In April 2010, the company announced its "busiest week ever", following restrictions placed on European airspace because of the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland.

The key functions of the Ballast Office were the imposition of port charges and the maintenance of the navigation channel, the latter of which had been a perennial problem.

[10] After James Gandon's Custom House was built further downstream in 1791, the port moved further towards the north bank of the river estuary.

In 1800, a three-month survey of Dublin Bay conducted by Captain William Bligh recommended the construction of the Bull Wall.

[11] The advent of containerisation in the second half of the 20th century resulted in the port gradually moving a mile further downstream to enable new wharves with deeper water to be constructed.

The proposed development of Dublin Port which would have increased its capacity by 50 per cent was rejected by Bord Pleanála in June 2010.

[13] The main activity of the port is freight handling, with a wide range of vessels, from large container carriers to small diesel lighters, visiting daily.

Roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry services run regularly across the Irish Sea to Holyhead in Wales and in the summer months and at Christmas to Douglas, Isle of Man.

[citation needed] There are eleven passenger, freight and border inspection terminals at Dublin Port, serving several operators.

[25] A number of workers have died whilst working at Dublin Port, including James Byrne (June 2018),[26] Dennis Gomez (November 2018)[27] and Matthew Grimes (May 2021).