Poolbeg (Irish : An Poll Beag) is an artificial peninsula extending from Ringsend, Dublin, into Dublin Bay.
The Poolbeg peninsula was built between the mid-18th century and the present day, starting with the Ballast Office Wall, the first section of the Great South Wall to be built on what was then a sandbar known as the South Bull. As the various sections of the Great South Wall were built, further sandbars formed where the River Liffey left its silt, and these were gradually filled with rubble and built upon.
The name "Poole Begge" originally referred to a tidal pool located out in Dublin Harbour and surrounded by sandbars. [1] This was where the Poolbeg Lighthouse was built in 1767. The lighthouse was connected to land by the Great South Wall, which was completed in 1795.
The Poolbeg "peninsula" is home to a number of landmarks, including the Great South Wall, the Poolbeg Lighthouse, the Irishtown Nature Park, the southern part of Dublin Port, an energy-from-waste facility, and a power station, formerly Dublin's main power station, which includes the two landmark chimneys, Dublin’s tallest structures.
The thermal station chimneys at Poolbeg Generating Station are among the tallest structures in Ireland and are visible from most of Dublin city. Number 1 chimney is 207.48 m (680 ft 9 in) high, while Number 2 chimney is 207.8 m (681 ft 9in) high. The chimneys are featured prominently in the music video for the song "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" by U2. Dublin City Councillor and historian Dermot Lacey began a process to list the chimneys for preservation to safeguard their future after the Station was to close in 2010. [2] [3] This was later refused by the Council Planning Department.
They were subsequently listed as protected structures in July 2014. [4]
The Poolbeg West development consists of 34 hectares of land which has been designated for fast-track planning permission for the construction of nine-storey apartment blocks and up to 100,000 square metres of commercial and retail space, including 3,000 homes and commercial space for 8,000 workers. [5]
In June 2016, Dublin City Council announced that it would fast-track the construction of a €30 million bridge linking Dublin's south Docklands with the planned new "urban quarter" on the Poolbeg peninsula. [6] However, construction had not begun as of 2024 [update] . [7] [8]
Dublin Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea on the east coast of Ireland. The bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north–south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sand banks lay, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.
Ringsend is a southside inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the southern terminus of the East Link Toll Bridge. Areas included in Ringsend are the south side of the Dublin Docklands, and at the west end is the area of South Lotts and part of the Grand Canal Dock area. Neighbouring areas include Irishtown, Sandymount and the Beggars Bush part of Ballsbridge to the south, and the city centre to the west. A key feature of the area is the chimneys of Poolbeg power station.
Dublin Port is the seaport of Dublin, Ireland, of both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximately two-thirds of Ireland's port traffic travels via the port, which is by far the busiest on the island of Ireland.
Spencer Dock is a former wharf area, close to where the Royal Canal meets the River Liffey, in the North Wall area of Dublin, Ireland. As of the 21st century, the area has been redeveloped with occupants of the Spencer Dock development including the Convention Centre Dublin, PricewaterhouseCoopers' Irish headquarters, Credit Suisse and TMF Group. The Central Bank of Ireland and NTMA have offices in the nearby Dublin Landings development.
Bull Island, more properly North Bull Island, is an island located in Dublin Bay in Ireland, about 5 km long and 800 m wide, lying roughly parallel to the shore off Clontarf, Raheny, Kilbarrack, and facing Sutton. The island, with a sandy beach known as Dollymount Strand running its entire length, is a relatively recent, and inadvertent, result of human intervention in the bay. The island lies within the jurisdiction of, and is mostly owned by, Dublin City Council, and is managed by the Council's Parks and Landscape Division.
East Wall is an inner city area of the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Built on reclaimed ground in the 1820s, the area is also 30 minutes walk from Dublin's main thoroughfare, O'Connell Street.
North Wall is an area east of the inner north side of Dublin, along the River Liffey where it forms one of the Dublin quays.
Dublin Docklands is an area of the city of Dublin, Ireland, on both sides of the River Liffey, roughly from Talbot Memorial Bridge eastwards to the 3Arena. It mainly falls within the city's D01 and D02 postal districts but includes some of the urban fringes of the D04 district on its southernmost side.
The U2 Tower was a cancelled skyscraper which was proposed to be constructed in Dublin, Ireland. The site proposed was in the South Docklands (SODO) campshires, at the corner of Sir John Rogerson's Quay and Britain Quay, by the confluence of the River Liffey, the River Dodder, and the Grand Canal. The design announced on 12 October 2007 was by Foster and Partners. Reports suggested a building height of 120 metres, "well over 120 metres", and 180 metres, any of which would have made it the tallest building on the island of Ireland. The building was planned to be an apartment building, with a recording studio owned by the rock group U2 in a "pod" at the top. Construction was to begin in 2008 and end in 2011, at a cost of €200m. In October 2008, the project was cancelled because of the economic downturn at the time. Proposals to revive the plan were reported in July 2013. However, they did not come to fruition and the 79-metre, 22-storey Capital Dock development has since been built on the site.
Poolbeg Generating Station, colloquially known as The Poolbeg Stacks, is a power station owned and operated by the Electricity Supply Board of Ireland (ESB). There are two stations on the site, the older thermal station containing units 1, 2, and 3 and the combined cycle gas station containing units CG14, CG15 and ST16, which is located toward the eastern end of the site. The six units have a total installed capacity of 1020 MW.
Grand Canal Dock is a Southside area near the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. It is located on the border of eastern Dublin 2 and the westernmost part of Ringsend in Dublin 4, surrounding the Grand Canal Docks, an enclosed harbour where the Grand Canal comes to the River Liffey. The area has undergone significant redevelopment since 2000, as part of the Dublin Docklands area redevelopment project.
Poolbeg Lighthouse is an active aid to navigation at the mouth of the River Liffey, near Poolbeg in Dublin, Ireland. First established in 1767, it initially operated on candlepower but this was changed to oil in 1786. It was re-designed and re-built into its present form in 1820.
The Bull Wall, or North Bull Wall, at the Port of Dublin, extending from the estuary of the River Tolka and the district of Clontarf out nearly 3 km into Dublin Bay, is one of the two defining sea walls of the port, and faces the earlier-constructed Great South Wall. It has one of a trio of port lighthouses at the end of its extension breakwater, and a statue of Realt na Mara partway along, and was responsible for the formation of North Bull Island with its nearly 5 km of beach.
The Great South Wall, at the Port of Dublin, extends from the tip of the Poolbeg peninsula more than four kilometres out into Dublin Bay. It was the world's longest sea wall at the time of its construction and remains one of the longest in Europe. It faces the newer Bull Wall, and has one of four port lighthouses at its end.
Britain Quay is a street and quay in Dublin on the south bank of the River Liffey between Sir John Rogerson's Quay and the confluence of the River Liffey, River Dodder and Grand Canal.
The Dublin quays refers to the two roadways and quays that run along the north and south banks of the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. The stretches of the two continuous streets have several different names. However, all but two of the names share the same "quay" designation. The quays have played an important part in Dublin's history.
Bindon Blood Stoney FRS was an Irish engineer who also made some significant contributions to astronomy.
The North Bull Lighthouse, is an active aid to navigation located at the mouth of the River Liffey, near Dublin, Ireland. It is one of four lighthouses that help guide shipping into the Liffey, and the Port of Dublin, all of which are operated and maintained by the Dublin Port Company.
The North Bank or Northbank Lighthouse, is an active aid to navigation located at the mouth of the River Liffey, near Dublin, Ireland. It is one of four lighthouses that help guide shipping into the Liffey, and the Port of Dublin, all of which are operated and maintained by the Dublin Port Company. Built in 1882, it also affectionately called The Tea Caddy due to its architecture, and has also been described as "resembling a giant mailbox on stilts".
The Exo Building is a 17-storey office building located at the corner of North Wall Quay and East Wall Road in Dublin 1, Ireland. The building is adjacent to the Point Depot fronting on to the river Liffey and Dublin port. As of 2021, it was the tallest office building in the Republic of Ireland at 73 metres tall. The name Exo is in reference to its exoskeleton which reflects the traditional industrial crane and gantry landscape of the port area.