Dun Laoghaire (Dun Leary, in the pronunciation that takes visitors by surprise) is where Victorian Dublin came to breathe. The two great granite piers - East and West - that enclose the harbour were built between 1817 and 1859. The East Pier extends for 1.4 kilometres into Dublin Bay.
Walking the East Pier is a Dublin ritual: you go to the end, you look at the lighthouse, you turn around, and you walk back. The surface is flat stone, the air is cold off the Irish Sea, and the sequence of it - the approach along the sheltered inner face, the turn at the lighthouse into the open bay, the walk back with the wind behind you - is one of those simple urban pleasures that is exactly the right thing after a marathon.
The Dublin Marathon runs on the last Monday of October. The DART runs every 10 to 15 minutes from Pearse Street station south along Dublin Bay to Dun Laoghaire in 20 minutes. The fare is approximately €3 to 4. Dun Laoghaire station is a five-minute flat walk from the pier entrance.
The Piers
The East Pier begins at the pier gates (open 24 hours) and runs dead straight out into the bay for 1.4 kilometres, surfaced in granite block with a raised stone footway along the length. The walk to the lighthouse and back is 2.8 kilometres - a distance that most marathon runners will manage two days after the race, at recovery pace. The surface is even; the only gradient is the slight arching of the pier structure over the granite blocks.
The West Pier, across the harbour mouth, is longer (2 kilometres) and less frequented - it functions primarily as a walking pier rather than the social promenade of the East.
October conditions: Late October on Dublin Bay means sea winds and occasional rain. The East Pier walk is best done in the morning before the afternoon Atlantic fronts come in. The inner face provides some shelter; none at the head.
Dun Laoghaire Town
The Forty Foot bathing place at Sandycove, 2 kilometres south of the pier (accessible by the coast path), is a natural sea swimming spot used year-round by the members of the Forty Foot Bathing Association, who swim daily regardless of temperature. In late October the water sits at approximately 13°C. The nearby Martello tower where James Joyce briefly lived in 1904 and which forms the opening setting of Ulysses is now the James Joyce Tower and Museum (entry approximately €8).
Where to stay: The Royal Marine Hotel on Marine Road is the established Victorian seafront hotel with harbour views and flat access to the pier.
Where to eat: Caviston's Food Emporium on Glasthule Road - a deli and restaurant that has been operating since 1947 - is the definitive Dun Laoghaire food destination: the lunch restaurant serves fresh fish sourced from the proprietors' own fishing connections; the deli supplies smoked salmon, artisan cheese, and Irish charcuterie. Book the restaurant for lunch.
Practical Notes
The Holyhead ferry - Stena Line and Irish Ferries - operates from Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead in approximately 2 hours on the high-speed service. For runners who want to extend into Wales rather than flying home, this is the relevant connection.