Dún Laoghaire has two main piers, the West and East Piers which shelter a marina and ferry terminal. The inner harbour is good for divers, grebes and auks in winter. The seaward sides of both piers can be good for gulls in winter and terns in summer. The West Pier is the first pier you meet coming from the Dublin side. It runs out into Dublin Bay and is over 1.5km in length. The bay and the inner harbour can be viewed from anywhere along it’s entire length. Grebes, divers and auks can be seen in winter on both the seaward side and on the inner harbour.  There are two turns on the pier, known locally as ‘elbows’. At the second elbow, you can take a path along the seaward side and this stretch of pier frequently holds Snow Buntings in winter. In summer, feeding terns can be seen well from this path. The next pier is the East Pier which also runs for over 1km out into the bay. However, this is more widely used by the public than the West Pier and so is not as good.

Grebes, divers and auks can be seen from both sides of the pier, with Black Guillemots preferring the inner harbour near the base. Purple Sandpipers are also common along the seaward side of the pier. To the right of the base of the East Pier is an old bathing area and this is excellent for gulls in winter. Black Redstarts are also frequently found here in winter.  Terns can be seen well from the pier in summer.