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Further south from Sandycove along the coast lies the little town of DALKEY . Immortalized, if that's the word, in Flann O'Brien's satirical The Dalkey Archive , Dalkey (pronounced Dawkey ) is nowadays a charming, prosperous seaside town, and nothing much besides. Its origins as a walled medieval settlement and important landing place for travellers from England are evident though, especially in the massive Archibold's Castle which dominates the main street. There are narrow lanes with fine, bourgeois residences and, back in the main street, a really excellent new and secondhand bookshop, with plenty of recent review copies. John Dowland, the melancholy Elizabethan lutenist and composer, may have been born here, and George Bernard Shaw certainly lived at Torca Cottage on Dalkey Hill: he later claimed to be "a product of Dalkey's outlook". When the sun is shining, Dalkey has an almost Mediterranean holiday atmosphere, and it's thoroughly pleasant just to stroll about and drink it all in. In the summer you can rent a boat to take you out to Dalkey Island , where you'll find a bird sanctuary; another in the series of Martello towers that were built to defend the coast from Napoleonic attack; and the ruins of the early Irish St Begnet's Church. A curious ritual involving the "King of Dalkey", complete with crown and sword, was once enacted here: originating in the eighteenth century, it started out as a student joke, but became increasingly political until it was stamped out by Lord Clare in 1797. Finnegans , Sorrento Road (daily noon-3pm; tel 285 8505), has a fine lunchtime menu, usually featuring seafood freshly caught from nearby Coliemore Harbour served in a beautiful mahogany lounge bar (if you miss lunch, you can dine on the excellent Guinness). If you fancy something a little more exotic then down the hill from Finnegans and the DART station is the Thai House restaurant (tel 284 7304), regarded as one of the best Thai restaurants in the country. Munkberry's on Castle Street, serving predominantly Mediterranean cuisine, is becoming popular with Dalkey's discerning locals; Sunday brunch, served to a backdrop of live jazz, is especially recommended. From Dalkey Hill a ridge leads to the public park on Killiney Hill (pronounced Kill-eye-nee ), with terrific views of Dublin Bay and the Wicklow Mountains. The best way to reach this is to walk along Sorrento Road (the first right down the hill from the station), crossing the small bridge at the end of the road and ascending the steep Knockaree Road. After the old British postbox (now painted green) are the Gorse Hill Gates through which is a pleasant walk along the ivy-clad walls of the old castle, leading to Torca Cottage: the former home of George Bernard Shaw and now a private residence. Running alongside the cottage is the path to Killiney Hill Park from which the landscape opens out before offering you an overwhelming view of the sweep of the bay with the blue sea on one side and the weird bulk of the Sugarloaf mountain on the other. It could well have been these very hills that inspired Shaw to write "Men of Ireland are mortal and temporal, But her hills are eternal". Continue to follow the castle walls and the path leads down Killiney Hill to the beach and Killiney station. Alternatively there are good views from the DART which stops right on the beach in KILLINEY itself. The entire coastline from Dun Laoghaire to Bray is good for fishing . Off Dalkey Island the dominant catches are conger, tope, pollock, skate and coalfish; further out, on the Burford and Kish banks, turbot, brill, dab and plaice are common. Fishing from the rocks and piers at Dun Laoghaire is free, and you can rent boats at Bullock and Coliemore harbours.
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