Portrane

Portrane or Portraine is a small seaside settlement, one kilometre from, and merging into, the small town of Donabate in Fingal, Ireland. It lies in the Barony of Nethercross, in the historic County Dublin.[1]

Portrane

Irish: Port Reachrainn
Village
Portrane Martello Tower
Portrane
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°29′36″N 6°06′53″W
CountryIreland
ProvinceLeinster
CountyDublin
Local Authority.Fingal
Government
 • Dáil ÉireannDublin Fingal
 • EU ParliamentDublin
Population
 (2006)
 • Urban
1,532
Time zoneUTC+0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid ReferenceO254510

Portrane has a 2 km (1.2 mi) long sandy beach backed by sand dunes. There is a carpark, but access to the beach is restricted to pedestrians. At the north end of the beach is a National Heritage Area which is visited by many migratory birds during the winter.[2]

St. Ita's Hospital
Main article: St. Ita's Hospital

Portrane's most prominent feature is Tower Bay, and the asylum, Portrane Asylum. Built in the early 1900s, the asylum is made up of a number of Victorian red brick buildings which dominate the peninsula. Features within the main asylum building include two churches and the clock tower. In the hospital grounds is a monument to George Hampden Evans, a replica of an Irish Round Tower. This was an old-style hospital for mental patients, many of whom were locked away there for years.[3] It was closed to inpatients in 2011,[4] and to outpatients as well in 2014.[5]

Erosion

The coast in this area is subject to erosion, and since the 1980s, 100 acres (40 ha) of beach at Portrane has been lost. Many houses on the peninsula were demolished in the 1960s due to the dangers of erosion. A storm in March 2018 caused erosion of low cliffs backing the beach, and one home was destroyed. Concrete structures known as sea bees have been placed below the cliffs, but the erosion continues and further houses are threatened.[6]

Music

Members of the band U2 owned a caravan in Portrane where they composed some of the music and lyrics for their 1981 album, October.[7] Lead singer Bono and guitarist The Edge were baptized on a beach in Portrane by members of the Shalom religious group.[8] Rock band the Delorentos are Portrane natives.[9]

Television

Portrane has been used as a location for a number of film and television shoots. Parts of the Channel 4 television series Father Ted were filmed in Portrane, most notably Funland in the first series was filmed in Tower Bay. It also featured in the BBC series "Murphy's Law" starring James Nesbitt.[8]

References
  1. Samuel Lewis (1849). A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. S. Lewis and Company. p. 428.
  2. "Portrane Beach". Dublin: See and do. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  3. Niewoadomski,Jack (9 July 2016). "Behind closed doors: Portrane". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  4. "St Ita's Hospital is closed to inpatients". Irish Health. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  5. "Gerry recalls 40 years at St Ita's". The Independent. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  6. O'Loughlin,Ciara (19 October 2019). "Swept by the sea: Dublin woman's home falls onto beach from coastal erosion and now her dad's house is at risk". extra.ie. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  7. Cogan, Višnja (2008). U2: An Irish Phenomenon. Pegasus Books. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-933648-71-2.
  8. "Lynders Mobile Home Park". Lynders Mobile Home Park. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  9. "Delorentos - In Love With Detail". RTÉ. 20 April 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
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