Poolbeg

Last updated

Aerial view of Poolbeg Poolbeg-aerial-2003.jpg
Aerial view of Poolbeg

Poolbeg (Irish : An Poll Beag) is an artificial peninsula extending from Ringsend, Dublin, into Dublin Bay.

Contents

History

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 sand bar known as the South Bull. As the various sections of the Great South Wall were built, further sand bars formed where the river Liffey left its silt, and these were gradually filled with rubble and built upon.

The name “Poole Begge” referred originally to a tidal pool located out into Dublin harbour and surrounded by sand bars. [1] This was where the Poolbeg lighthouse was built in 1767. The lighthouse was connected to land by the Great South Wall completed in 1795.

Overview

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.

Poolbeg Chimneys

Great South Wall South Bull, Poolbeg, Dublin. Ireland - geograph.org.uk - 345327.jpg
Great South Wall

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 207.48m (680 ft 9in) high, while Number 2 chimney is 207.8m (681 ft 9in) high. The chimneys are featured prominently in the 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.

View of Poolbeg Chimneys From Sandymount Strand View From Sandymount Strand (6050706895).jpg
View of Poolbeg Chimneys From Sandymount Strand

They were subsequently listed as protected structures in July 2014. [4]

21st century plans

New residential area and bridge

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 100,000sqm 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 construction of a €30 million bridge linking Dublin’s south Docklands with the planned new “urban quarter” on the Poolbeg peninsula. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dublin Bay</span> Inlet of the Irish Sea around Dublin, Ireland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandymount</span> Coastal suburb of Dublin, Ireland

Sandymount is an affluent coastal suburb in the Dublin 4 district on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivana Bacik</span> Leader of the Irish Labour Party

Ivana Catherine Bacik is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been Leader of the Labour Party since 24 March 2022 and a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin Bay South constituency since winning a by-election on 9 July 2021. Bacik previously served as Leader of the Labour Party in the Seanad from 2011 to 2021, and a Senator for the Dublin University constituency from 2007 to 2021. She previously served as Deputy leader of Seanad Éireann from 2011 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ringsend</span> Suburb of Dublin, Ireland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dublin Port</span> Leading sea port of both country and island of Ireland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dublin Docklands</span> Area of the city of Dublin, Ireland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poolbeg Generating Station</span> Power generating station in Dublin, Ireland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poolbeg Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in Dublin, Ireland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bull Wall</span> Sea wall and breakwater at the Port of Dublin, Ireland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Britain Quay</span> Street and quay in Dublin, Ireland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Bull Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

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.

Michael Smith had the idea for the reward that led to Ireland's Planning Tribunal (1997–2012), was chairman of An Taisce, Ireland's National Trust and largest campaigning environmental NGO (1999–2003), and an activist opposing bad planning and environmental degradation; and is now editor of leftist magazine, Village.

Dublin City Council published a plan in 2011 to supply up to 350 million litres of water a day from Lough Derg to Dublin city and region. In January 2014, Irish Water took over management of the project which is currently in the Planning Stage. In 2016 it was proposed that over two million people will benefit from the water supplying not only Dublin but also an area including Arklow, Athlone, Athy, Carlow, Drogheda, Mullingar, Navan, Portaloise and Tullamore. In 2018 Irish Water announced plans to seek planning permission for the project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Bank Lighthouse</span> Irish lighthouse

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint John's Point, County Down</span> Cape on the coast of Ireland

Saint John's Point or St. John's Point is a cape at the southern tip of the Lecale peninsula of County Down, Northern Ireland, separating Dundrum Bay from Killough Harbour, which forms its northern extremity. The cape is mostly surrounded by the Irish Sea and derives its name from a now ruined church dedicated to Saint John, being recorded here since at least 1170. A well-known beacon in the north-eastern Irish Sea, St. John's Point Lighthouse, built in 1844, sits near its southern tip and, at 40 m (130 ft), is the tallest lighthouse in Ireland.

References

  1. Map of Dublin in 1685 by Thomas Phillips. British Library. Reproduced in Irish Historic Towns Atlas no. 19, Dublin part II, 2008.
  2. Plea to save iconic twin stacks. Irish Independent 2007-07-07.
  3. Poolbeg's chimneys puff their last plumes SADNESS: Landmark now looks doomed despite preservation bid. Evening Herald, 2010-03-31.
  4. Carbery, Genevieve. "Lit up Poolbeg stacks could be 'as beautiful as Eiffel Tower'". The Irish Times . Dublin. ISSN   0791-5144.
  5. Stephen McDermott (25 January 2017). "New town with 3000 homes planned for Poolbeg". Dublin Live.
  6. Olivia Kelly (11 July 2016). "New bridge will connect Poolbeg peninsula to the docklands". The Irish Times . Dublin. ISSN   0791-5144.