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History

Stories shaped by
sea, stone and sail.

A new home for the original local-history collection: the harbour, islands, landmarks and people behind the Skerries you see today.

Baldongan ruins in evening light
A landscape with layers

Look beyond the view.

The sea made Skerries a harbour town; the islands shaped its horizon; mills, churches and coastal defences left landmarks that still define the place.

Follow the longer local accounts without leaving the redesigned site.

Begin the story
Historic places

Follow the story across the landscape.

Harbour & fishing

The working shore

Explore the development of Skerries Harbour and the fishing tradition that grew around it.

Harbour history
Headland & islands

Red Island, Shenick & Lambay

Discover the stories attached to the headland and islands visible from the Skerries coast.

Start at Red Island
Coastal defence

The Martello towers

Learn why defensive towers were built at Red Island and Shenick in the early nineteenth century.

Explore the towers
On the horizon

Rockabill lighthouse

Read about the lighthouse on Rockabill, offshore from Skerries.

Lighthouse history
Living heritage

Skerries Mills

Meet the town’s watermill and two windmills through the dedicated, current visitor guide.

Visit the Mills guide
St Patrick in Skerries

A saint, an island and a story carried forward.

Local tradition

The St Patrick connection

Explore the story of St Patrick’s association with Skerries, the islands and the town’s place names.

Read the St Patrick connection
Another telling

Skerries and St Patrick

Discover the longer local account and the legend that became part of Skerries tradition.

Read the local story