History · Source to sea
Origins
Why a small stream ended up at the centre of the city.
Origin story
The stream rises in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains. Its catchment is bounded by the Dodder to the south and the Camac to the north.
Both of those rivers are larger than the Poddle, but the Poddle is the one that runs to the heart of the city, while its neighbours pass to the east and west of the centre.
Its route is what puts the Poddle at the heart of Dublin, physically and in its history. Today almost all of its last four kilometres, under the south inner city, runs in culverts.
Source and names
The river rises around Cookstown, north-west of Tallaght, about 92 metres above sea level, where its first stretch is known as the Tymon River. Its catchment covers about 16 square kilometres, almost all of it now built up.
The name has changed over the centuries: Podell in 1493, Puddell in 1603, and Poddle from 1695. In Irish it is An Poitéal, and it was also called the Salach, the dirty river.
