Dublin has been the focal point of numerous predatory attentions over the centuries. The Bronze Age Celts settled on the banks of the Liffey, living peacefully until 9th century. Vikings greedily descended on the wealth of the Irish monasteries and destined Dublin to become an important trading post in their new world order. The year 1172 saw Henry II declare Dublin capital of his Irish kingdom after an indecisive victory, inaugurating centuries of British colonialism and Irish rebellion. Throughout the turbulent 18th century, calls for Catholic freedom and an end to the Protestant Ascendency led to skirmishes between the British Army and the native Irish. The formation of the "United Irishmen," with their doctrine of religious equality and the unity of the Irish people, reflected the rise of Irish national consciousness during this period. As Britain industrialized, it exploited Irish farmers, remunerating them poorly for their exported potatoes. The advent of potato blight in the mi…

Belfast is Northern Ireland’s capital. It was the birthplace of the RMS Titanic, which famously struck an iceberg and sunk in 1912. This legacy is recalled in the renovated dockyards' Titanic Quarter, which includes the Titanic Belfast, an aluminium-clad museum reminiscent of a ship’s hull, as well as shipbuilder Harland & Wolff’s Drawing Offices and the Titanic Slipways, which now host open-air concerts.

Dingle is a small port town on southwest Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula, known for its rugged scenery, trails and sandy beaches. A statue of long-time harbour resident Fungie the dolphin is by the waterfront. Dingle Oceanworld Aquarium has penguins, otters and sharks. To the northwest, Gallarus Oratory is an ancient dry-stone church with sloping sides. Clifftop Dún Beag is a prehistoric promontory fort to the southwest.

Bantry is a town in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge in the barony of Bantry on the coast of West Cork, County Cork, Ireland. It lies at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for 30 km to the west. The Beara Peninsula is to the northwest, with Sheep's Head peninsula to the southwest.

The Port of Cork is the main port serving the South of Ireland, County Cork and Cork City. It offers all six shipping modes. In 2015, over 11 million tonnes of freight were shipped through the Port of Cork, making it Ireland’s second busiest port.

The Isles of Scilly are an archipelago off the Cornish coast, in southwest England. The islands are covered in heathland, and fringed by sandy beaches such as Great Bay on St. Martin’s. On Tresco, one of the 5 inhabited islands, Tresco Abbey Garden is home to subtropical plants and also the Valhalla Museum, displaying shipwrecked figureheads. The tower of 17th-century Cromwell’s Castle stands at the north of Tresco.

Gijón began as a fishing village nearly 3,000 years ago, according to the records of the Campa Torres Archaeological and Nature Reserve in Gijón. Today the city is an important port on the Atlantic coast of Spain. The historic fishing village, known as Cimadevilla, is located on a penninsula that divides the port in half. The village is the main tourist attraction of the city. Most of the streets are cobble stone and barely two cars wide. Many of the buildings have been renovated to display the colorful life of the village. Those that have not are evidence of centuries of construction designed to withstand the powerful forces of the Atlantic. A hike up the hill and through Cimadevilla leads to Cerro de Santa Catalina. It is a park on the tip of the pennisula that provides a view of the outstretched coastline forming the port. On the very edge of the penisula is a sculpture the size of a house, Eligio del Horizonte, or Praise of the Horizon. It is one of 16 large sculptures placed in p…

La Coruсa, the largest city in Spain's Galicia region, is among the country's busiest ports. The remote Galicia area is tucked into the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula, surprising visitors with its green and misty countryside that is so much unlike other parts of Spain. The name “Galicia” is Celtic in origin, for it was the Celts who around the 6th century BC occupied the region and constructed fortified defenses. La Coruсa was already a busy port under the Romans.They were followed by an invasion of Suevians, Visigoths and, much later in 730, the Moors. It was after Galicia was incorporated into the Kingdom of Asturias that the epic saga of the Pilgrimage to Santiago (St. James) began. From the 15th century, overseas trade developed rapidly; in 1720, La Coruсa was granted the privilege of trading with America - a right previously only held by Cadiz and Seville. This was the great era when adventurous men voyaged to the colonies and returned with vast riche…

The Port of Leixões is one of Portugal's major seaports, located 4 km north of the mouth of the Douro River, in Matosinhos municipality, near the city of Porto. Leixões Sport Club, commonly known simply as Leixões, is Matosinhos' sports club.