Dún Laoghaire << duhn LAIR uh >> is a town on the east coast of Ireland. It lies 7 miles (11 kilometers) southeast of Dublin. Dún Laoghaire means the fort of Laoghaire in Gaelic. Laoghaire was an Irish king in the A.D. 400’s. Dún Laoghaire is a residential area for people who work in Dublin. It also has some light industries. It is a center of fishing, yachting, and other tourist activities. The town has some Victorian architecture, but most of its buildings are modern.
Originally called Dunleary, the town was renamed Kingstown in 1821. Its development dates from the construction of its harbor, begun in 1817. The town was named Dún Laoghaire in 1920, but it is still called Dunleary. In 1930, it joined other nearby towns to form a borough.
