The Poddle

History

How the Poddle shaped Dublin

From the black pool of Dubh Linn to the flood scheme being built today. This is a friendly telling, drawn from many sources that sometimes disagree; where the record is thin we say so, and corrections are always welcome.

Dublin c. 840
Dublin c. 840
Dublin c. 1000
Dublin c. 1000
Dublin c. 1170
Dublin c. 1170
Dublin c. 1370
Dublin c. 1370
  1. c. 840 onwardsAt the heart of DublinDrinking water, defence and power for the medieval city.
  2. Source to seaOriginsWhy a small stream ended up at the centre of the city.
  3. Before 1244The first diversionTurning the Dodder into the Poddle at Balrothery.
  4. 1245The second diversionThe Stone Boat splits the river for St Thomas’s Abbey.
  5. 1245 to 1324The City Watercourse and the Abbey StreamTwo channels made for the monks and the city, and how to find them on the map.
  6. 1719The 1719 ActParliament acts to clean up the city’s water.
  7. 1240s to the 1960sThe millsSeven centuries of water power, from abbey mills to cotton and poplin.
  8. 1437 to 2027Floods and the flood schemeSix centuries of flooding, and the scheme being built to stop it.
  9. 2019 to 2023What the planning file saysFacts and figures from the flood scheme’s planning application and environmental impact report.