About Balbriggan

Balbriggan is a beautiful, old, Irish sea-town, that is not only one of the fastest growing towns in Ireland, but also one of the most multicultural, with over 31 per cent of the population made up of non-Irish ethnicities. 

People recognised  Balbriggan's great potential and ideal location thousands of years ago and have been building settlements around the area and it's natural harbour since the Neolithic era. During the construction of one of today’s housing estates, an archaeological dig uncovered a Neolithic house that was upwards of 4,000 years old. Even the passage tombs north of the town at Bremore are thought to be older than Newgrange.

​In the past centuries, its harbour made Balbriggan an obvious settlement for fishing. But the town’s industrial and commercial growth was actually founded on quality textile products. It became an important centre for cotton manufacturing in the 1700s, and the local firm Smyth & Company sent their popular undergarments all around the world, putting Balbriggan in the Oxford English Dictionary. In the US, long johns were nicknamed Balbriggans and even Queen Victoria kept her bottom warm in lovely Balbriggan stockings.

​The town is only a 20 min drive from Dublin airport and a 40 minute drive from Dublin City Centre and, the train will get you to Tara Street in a reliable three-quarters of an hour. Trains run every 10-15 minutes at peak times, then every hour or so for the rest of the day.

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Tourist Attractions 

​LOCAL

• Balbriggan Harbour and Lighthouse

• Balbriggan Beach Walk

• Ardgillan Castle and Park 

• Fourknocks Passage Tomb 

• SS Peter & Paul’s Church with Harry Clarke's stained glass artworks

• St. Patrick's Island off Skerries

NEARBY

• Dublin - Guinness Storehouse

• Dublin - Book of Kells 

• Dublin Castle

• Dublin - St. Patrick’s Cathedral

• Glendalough

• Newgrange Tomb