Royal Dublin’s Less Well-Known Neighbour On The Tiny Island That’s Home To Two Great Links

The evolution of Dublin’s North Bull Island is a fascinating one, for it owes its creation directly to Captain William Bligh. His soundings of Dublin Bay in 1800 paved the way for an island, five kilometres wide, of low dunes. Today, it is home to a vast beach, a bird sanctuary and two links courses.

There is room for little else. It is surrounded by a cityscape that is dominated by the tall red and white striped Poolbeg chimney stacks, set against the Dublin Mountains. Ferries, cruise liners and cargo ships routinely slink by, heading sedately across the Irish Sea.

To the south of the island is Harry Colt’s revered Royal Dublin, while to the north is a course that recently celebrated its centenary, but is little known. It is a low links of constant ripple, and, like the passing ships, there is a sedate slinkiness to its movement.