Dalkey (Irish: Deilginis, meaning "thorn island") is a heritage town in County Dublin.

Understand

Castle Street, Dalkey

The locals pronounce Dalkey as dah-kee without pronouncing the "l", which sounds like donkey without pronouncing the "n".

Dalkey has a 10th Century church and two 14th Century Norman castles, one of which houses The Heritage Centre. Castle Street is lined with colourful, picturesque shops. The town's buildings have various architectural styles spanning many centuries.

If you walk to Coliemore Harbour or to Sorrento Park, you will get views of the uninhabited Dalkey Island with its well-preserved ruins of a 10th century church dedicated to Saint Begnet and early 19th century Martello (defensive) tower. (There is a second Saint Begnet Church also in ruins near Dalkey Castle.)

Get in

Train

There is DART train service from Connolly Station and Tara Street Station. Take the train in the direction of Bray. The trip takes about 30 minutes.

The Dalkey railway station was opened in 1854.

Get around

The town is very small and you can walk to Coliemore harbour in about 20 minutes from the town centre.

See

• 1 Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre, Castle Street. Monday-Friday 10am-5pm but closed Tuesday, Saturday-Sunday 11am-5pm.. Fifteenth century fortified stone townhouse/castle. Views of surrounding sea and mountains from the battlements. Museum. Models of Dalkey Quarry and the Funicular & Atmospheric Railways in the Exhibition space. Guided tours. 
• 2 Coliemore Road (Starts at the east end of the town centre.). This is a picturesque residential road along Dublin Bay. It sometimes has a Mediterranian look with some white villas with palm trees. You can also see small cottages, an apartment building shaped like a castle and a manor house. This appears to be the high rent district. 
• 3 Coliemore Harbour (20 minute walk from Dalkey centre along Coliemore Road). This picturesque small harbour has a view of Dalkey Island with its stone tower. 
• 4 Sorrento Road (Starts at the east end of the town centre.). This residential Road goes through a pleasnt residential area and ends scenically at Dublin Bay. Coliemore Road is more attractive than Sorrento Road but you might want to walk along one road and back on the other. 
• 5 Sorrento Park (Coliemore Road near the intersection of Sorrento Road and Vico Road.). You can get a view of Dalkey Island in Dublin Bay from the top of the hill in Sorrento Park. Near the summit, you need to climb a dirt path. 

Do

If you are willing to walk for over an hour (2.5 km), you could walk along the pictoresque Dublin Bay via Coliemore Road and Vica Road to Killiney DART Station. The DART train follows Vica Road and will also offer bay-side views between Dalkey and Killiney.

Buy

There are a number of shops along Castle Street.

• 1 Craft and Farmers' Market, The Tramyard, Castle Street. Saturday, 10am-4pm. There are also a few permanent shops as well at the end of the Tramyard. (updated Oct 2015)

Eat

• 1 The Tramyard Café, Castle Street, Dalkey, Co Dublin (In an alley with old streetcar tracks). Light lunch meals. The restaurant bar is in the body of an old double-decker streetcar which can be better seen at the outside rear of the restaurant. The restaurant is on the site of an old tram depot closed in 1958. Many tracks are still in place. (updated Oct 2015)
• 2 Idlewilde Cafe, 20 St Patrick Rd, Dalkey, County Dublin, ☏ +353 1 235 4501. 8:00 am - 6:00 pm. A charming café in this pretty heritage town on Dublin's southside coastline. The Cafe is set in a leafy courtyard and offers great breakfast and lunch as well as excellent coffee and smoothies. Great place to spot the local celeb's. €8-12.