Greystones (Irish: Na Clocha Liatha) is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Wicklow, Ireland.

[1] The town is bordered by the Irish Sea to the east, Bray Head to the north and the Wicklow Mountains to the west.

This site occupied an area now known as the Grove, north of Greystones harbour, but only the ruins of a chapel, St. Crispin's Cell, survive.

However, Greystones was put on the map with the coming of the railway in 1855, a difficult undertaking which was performed in consultation with the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

The original pier, dock, sea wall and boat slip remained pre-2009 but had endured substantial damage.

In the early 20th century, the town felt the effects of coastal erosion (which is still a major problem); the loss of fields and most of the houses on the North Beach Road, and the costly inland relocation of the railway have all resulted.

At the end of World War II, cars and petrol became widely available, allowing Greystones to gradually expand, filling in space between itself and outlying areas such as Blacklion, Killincarrig and Delgany.

However, the popularity of the railway declined; its very existence being in jeopardy during the 1980s, as government cutbacks reduced the service to just a few trains per day.

The second boom in construction came during the Celtic Tiger period of the early 2000s which saw developments such as Charlesland (the biggest) just south of the town, which includes over 1,000 units.

A number of large-scale developments were taking place, mainly on the western fringes of the town, in the harbour area and around Charlesland.

The main schemes included Seagreen and Waverly in Blacklion, Glenheron and Archer's Wood beside Charlesland and Marina village at the harbour.

[citation needed] Greystones is accessible from the N11 Dublin–Wexford road; via an interchange (Junction 11 on the N11) near Charlesland connects with the town via a dual carriageway.

Iarnród Éireann diesel Commuter and InterCity trains also serve Greystones, linking the town with Wicklow, Arklow, Gorey, Wexford, and Rosslare Europort to the south, and Dublin's Connolly Station to the north.

As of 2024[update], three of Wicklow's five TDs are based in Greystones: Stephen Donnelly (FF), Simon Harris (FG) and Jennifer Whitmore (SD).

[15] The development includes a new harbour, 341 apartments, a 230 berth marina, a new public plaza and facilities for local sporting clubs.

An oral hearing was held and the board requested the developers to make certain changes which resulted in the plans being scaled down by approximately 10%.

On 9 August 2007, the board approved the final plans, while imposing 13 conditions on construction works, including the retention of public access to the Cliff Walk during the development period, strict guidelines in relation to dust suppression, the re-use of demolition materials, and limitations on the hours of operation and noise levels.

[19][20] In February 2010, it was announced that development of the marina would be paused indefinitely due to conditions in the Irish property market.

[citation needed] The town is home the association football club Greystones United,[24] which is based at Woodlands near the south beach.

[citation needed] Éire Óg Greystones GAA club is located on Mill Road, at the south end of the town.

In the early 21st century, the club undertook development and improvement works on the clubhouse, pitches, lighting and parking facilities.

[citation needed] Greystones has many marine-based clubs including sailing and wind-surfing, angling, diving, rowing and Sea Scouts.

Greystones Lawn Tennis Club has 12 outdoor floodlit courts and a clubhouse located on Mill Road at the south end of the town.

[45] The town also has four secondary schools: Wicklow County Council manages a Carnegie library opposite Burnaby Park on the main street (Church Road).

[52] The Greystones area is the home to several businesses, including The Happy Pear food company[54][55] and Goldfish Telecom.