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KILLINEY

CO. DUBLIN · IE

Killiney
Cill Iníon Léinín, Co. Dublin

The Ireland's Ancient East
STOP 02 / 08

Cill Iníon Léinín · Co. Dublin

A hill, a bay, a road with expensive houses on it, and a view of Wales on a clear day. Come for the walking.

Killiney is known to Dubliners as the expensive hillside suburb between Dalkey and Shankill - the place with the bay views and the celebrity residents and the Vico Road that anyone who has driven it remembers. It is known to visitors, when it is known at all, as the hill with the 1742 obelisk and the panoramic view of Killiney Bay, the Wicklow Mountains, and on a clear day the mountains of Wales.

The obelisk was built by John Mapas, a local landowner, during the famine of 1740-41, as a relief project to give local families paid work and income. The inscription reads: 'Last year being hard with the poor, walks about these hills and this were erected by John Mapas, June 1742.' The park was gifted to the public in 1887 as a Jubilee memorial. It is still free, still open, still largely as it was.

The rest of Killiney is residential - DART commuter territory, with a station on the seafront and a beach ten minutes' walk below it. The FitzPatrick Castle Hotel is on the hill above, an 18th-century castle building with views over the bay. The Vico Road connects Killiney to Dalkey and is worth walking or cycling if you don't mind a gradient. The famous residents - Bono, Enya, Van Morrison have all lived here - are behind walls and hedges. They are not the destination. The view is.

Population

~9,000

Walk score

Killiney Hill to the beach is the walk. Takes an hour.

Founded

Obelisk on the hill dates to 1742

Coords

53.2667° N, 6.1167° W

01 / 07

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 Killiney Hill

153 metres, obelisk at the top, views to Wales.

The hill is 153 metres high with a 1742 obelisk on the summit - built by a landowner, John Mapas, as famine relief work. On a clear day you can see the mountains of Wales to the east, the Wicklow Mountains south, Dublin Bay north. The park has been open since 1887. There are no entrance fees, no queues, and usually some wind.

Walks & outings → 02 The Vico Road

Coastal road between Killiney and Dalkey. Worth the detour.

The Vico Road runs along the clifftop between Killiney and Dalkey - expensive houses, palm trees, sea below. Bono lives somewhere behind a wall on this road. So do several others you have heard of. The road itself is the point, not the houses.

Stories & lore → 03 The beach

Killiney Beach. Shingle, not sand. Still very good.

The beach below the hill is pebble and shingle - not a sunbathing beach, but a walking and swimming beach that earns its keep. The DART station is a five-minute walk from the shore. Come in late September when the crowds are gone and the water is still swimmable.

Walks & outings →

02 / 07

Where to sleep.

Place	Type	Local note
FitzPatrick Castle Hotel	4-star hotel, 18th-century castle building	On the hill above Killiney, a short walk from the park. Views over Dublin Bay. Four-star, castle-building aesthetic, full hotel facilities. A good base for the south Dublin coast if Dalkey is full.

03 / 07

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

1742. Famine relief. Still there.

The obelisk and the famine

The 1742 obelisk on the summit of Killiney Hill was not built for decoration. John Mapas, a wealthy local landowner, commissioned it during the Irish famine of 1740-41 as a public works project - paid labour to keep local families from starving. The inscription carved into its base is matter-of-fact about it: 'Last year being hard with the poor, walks about these hills and this were erected by John Mapas, June 1742.' You can climb inside the base via a doorway on the east side to reach a small viewing chamber and a platform at the top. The stairs are narrow. The view is worth it.

The expensive road above the sea

The Vico Road

The Vico Road runs between Killiney and Dalkey along the top of the cliff, with the sea below and the houses above. It is named after Vico Equense, the Italian village on the Bay of Naples that the views supposedly resemble. Killiney Bay has been compared to the Bay of Naples often enough that the comparison has become a cliché - but the road itself, on a clear morning, does not disappoint. Bono's house is here. So are those of several other musicians and writers who chose the south Dublin clifftop over anywhere else. You will not see the houses; you will see the sea, which is better.

Open sea swimming. All year.

The Forty Foot

The Forty Foot at Sandycove - one kilometre north, technically in the Dalkey/Sandycove area - is an open-sea swimming spot that has been in continuous use since the 18th century. It appears in Ulysses. It is used year-round by people with no apparent threshold for cold water. From Killiney beach you can walk north along the shoreline and arrive at it. The temperature in January is not a topic of discussion. You either get in or you don't.

04 / 07

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Killiney Hill loop Up from Killiney village through the park to the obelisk at the summit, then down the other side toward the beach or back the way you came. The ascent is steady, not steep. The summit view justifies every step.

3-4 kmdistance

1-1.5 hourstime

Vico Road walk From Killiney train station walk north on the coastal road to Dalkey, passing above the sea on the Vico Road. Downhill, mostly. Do it in the morning before the traffic builds.

3 km one waydistance

45 mintime

Killiney Beach to the Forty Foot Walk north along the shore from the beach toward Sandycove. The Forty Foot open sea bathing spot is the end point. Walk in the other direction and you get Shankill. Either way, the bay is on your right.

3 km returndistance

45 mintime

05 / 07

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

The hill is excellent in spring light. Clear days in April give the best visibility toward Wales. Quiet before the summer crowds reach the beach.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

The beach gets busy. The hill is manageable. Parking near the train station and beach fills up on hot weekends; take the DART.

◐ Mind yourself

Autumn

Sep-Oct

The best season. The water is still swimmable, the hill is quiet, the Vico Road has colour. September is the locals' month here.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

The hill walk in a clear winter morning is one of the better free things in south Dublin. Cold, yes. The views are longer in winter. The FitzPatrick Castle bar is warm.

◉ Go

06 / 07

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Driving the Vico Road in a hurry

The road is narrow, the views are the point, and tailgating the car in front means you miss the sea. Park at Killiney station and walk it. Or pull over and look at it properly.

The beach on a cold day expecting sand

Killiney beach is shingle and pebble. It is excellent for walking and swimming. It is not a sand beach. Pack shoes you don't mind getting wet, not flip-flops.

Celebrity spotting on the Vico Road

The houses are behind walls, hedges, and gates with cameras. The residents are not available. The view of the bay is available. Focus on the available thing.

Getting there.

By car

Killiney is 16 km south of Dublin city centre on the N11/M11 and R119. Parking near the beach and train station is limited on summer weekends.

By bus

Dublin Bus 59 serves the area from Dún Laoghaire. Infrequent. The DART is a better option.

By train

DART to Killiney station - 25 minutes from Tara Street. The station is a 10-minute walk from the beach and a 15-minute walk from the start of the hill path. By far the easiest way.