Muckross Stream

There are a lot of hidden streams in and around the Donnybrook area that either stem from or flow into the River Dodder. Some were formed naturally and some were manmade down through the centuries. These served as powerhouses to the local industries of the time. Entrepreneurship was very much to the fore in and around Donnybrook at the time of these streams were active, with mills small and large, stone masons, farm houses and other industries dependent on the powerful force of water to keep to cogs of their business’s turning. One such stream is that of the Muckross Stream that stretched from neighbouring Milltown to Donnybrook.

Origin and Course

The origin of this small stream was somewhere south east of the present Mageogh Home in “Cowper” area of Rathmines. It meandered west of Sandford School at the back of Hollybank Avenue houses to the southeast end of Sandford Terrace past no 7. Crossing Sandford Road it passed eastward into St Mary’s Dominican Convent, Muckross Park College grounds, half way along its south west boundary. Then coursing through the triangular grounds, 80 metres to its hypotenuse north boundary. Its line passed under 6 houses and gardens under Belmont Avenue and near St. Marys School on the south side.

The watercourse continued eastward and provided a valuable nutrients source to the orchard where Donnybrook Manor now stands and then on to the south end of Belmont Park in a 3 foot 3 inches by 2 foot six inches culvert. Passing by the Fire Station and Church Lane north end junction with Donnybrook Road it crossed the road to the Pembroke Cottages entrance.

The course of the stream took the route through the AIB bank on the site of the old Ever Ready garage through Tracy’s cottages (now gone). Here it flowed under the millrace pond and Donnybrook Flour Mills and the rampart lane on the east of the pond. It then went under some out offices at the elbow of Eglington Terrace (where the redbrick house meet the more modern houses).

The water course followed on an east north east line across Donnybrook Stadium to outfall to the Dodder opposite Hazeldine (formally Simmonscourt House) on the opposite bank. The rugby ground was the site of the Old Donnybrook fairground and the stream offered a great source of amusement and hygiene to more than a few of the pseudo crippled beggars who would be seen at the end of the old Donnybrook Fair drinking day, using his crutch with disastrous effect on shindy adversary’s. This low lying Fairground area was (and still is) subject to Dodder flooding and had the Muckross Stream traversing the ground.

Length

The length of Muckross stream now mainly defunct was 1.8 km (or 1.1 miles). There is still a portion of the stream visible along the boundaries of Muckross School.

External links

• Friends of Donnybrook (Community Forum) Web Site

Bibliography

Seán Brennan, Donnybrook, Dublin. Nov 2011, (Origin and Course paragraphs cited from page copy from book passage - Author Unknown info needed)