Swans at the twelfth lock               Parks and Waterways in Dublin 15


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The Dublin 15 area, to the south west of Fingal, boasts three waterways, the Liffey, the Tolka and the Royal Canal. The Liffey Valley, in particular, is beautifully contained between steep wooded hills around the famous Strawberry Beds. Buildings of historic interest include Luttrellstown Castle, which was in ownership of the Guinness Family for generations, and the nearby Shackleton Mills. The Mills were once owned by Ernest Shackleton, a famous Antartic Explorer.

                                                         THE RIVER LIFFEY
Named Anna Livia Plurabelle by James Joyce and lifeblood of the city since and indeed before the Vikings plunged their longships into its estuary nearly 1,200 years ago

 The River Liffey rises in the Sally Gap near Kippure in the Wicklow Mountains.It meanders for 75 miles (125km) before joining the tidal waters of the sea which reach inland as far as Islandbridge. Several of its tributaries, which used to course in the open through the city, are now ignominiously confined to underground channels. Not a large river by the standards of other capital cities the Liffey nevertheless has always had a central role in the prosperity (or otherwise), history, literature and culture of the city.

                                                      THE ROYAL CANAL
The Royal Canal was built to rival the Grand Canal. 

Starting at Spencer Dock, just below the Custom House and joined initially by a spur from Broadstone Harbour in Phibsborough (this spur is now a fine linear park), the canal did not finally reach the Shannon until 1817.

By this time the Grand Canal was well established and business on its rival never really took off. The Royal Canal was sold in 1845 to the Midland Great Western Railway who wished to build a rail line along its banks.

The canal became the responsibility of Coras Iompair Eireann (C.I.E.), the state national transport company formed in 1944 from the amalgamation of the Dublin United Tramway Company and the Great Southern Railway, the then new owners of the Midland Great Western). Dúchas, The Heritage Service, is now in charge of the Royal Canal.

In a pilot plan put together by Dublin Corporation and Waterways Ireland major work is to take place on the Royal Canal from Newcomen Bridge on the North Strand to Clonliffe Bridge at Russell Street.

                                                   ELMGREEN GOLF CENTRE
Elmgreen Golf Centre first opened its doors in 1995 and was quickly established as a firm favourite with the local golfing public. The Golf Centre has played host to almost 2 million golfers since then, whilst the Pitch & Putt Course, along with the floodlit Driving Range have enticed hundreds of thousands more to visit Ireland's largest golf centre.

For more details on the Elmgreen Golf Centre - click here

  The Phoenix Park               THE PHOENIX PARK

The Phoenix Park's 1730 acres of grassland make it one of the largest city parks in the world. Being bigger than both Central Park and Hyde Park, the Phoenix Park has a wide variety of activities and is also home to the President of Ireland.

Dublin Zoo is one of the main attractions in the park. It is the third oldest zoo in the world having been opened in 1830. It is home to animals such as hippos, rhinos, orangutans and lizards as well all the other regular zoo animals.

Áras an Uachtaráin is also in the Phoenix Park. Home to the Irish President, it was where the British representative also stayed prior to the Free State. Built in 1751, there have been many extensions to the building including the most major one being in 1816 by the architect Francis Johnston. It was outside this building that the brutal murder of the Chief Secretary, Lord Cavendish and his understudy took place in 1882. The crime was attributed to an extreme nationalist group called the Invincibles. The American ambassador to Ireland also has his residence in the Phoenix Park.

The headquarters of the Garda Síochana, also in the park, contains the small but interesting police museum.

The Phoenix Park is under the care and management of the Office of Public Works. They have in the last 10 years taken on a program of tree replanting with over 10000 trees having been planted since the program was started.

                                                      MILLENNIUM PARK
Work is in the course of completion at Tolka Valley Park, Blanchardstown and it is proposed to provide a playground in the Millennium Park, Blanchardstown.

                                                      

 

 

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