Poulaphouca

Infobox lake
lake_name = Poulaphouca Reservoir
"Taiscumar Pholl an Phúca"
image_lake = IMG PollaphucaDam4446w.jpg
caption_lake = Blessington Lake.
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location = County Wicklow
coords = coord|53|8|N|6|31|W|type:waterbody_region:IE|display=inline,title
type = Reservoir
inflow =
outflow = River Liffey
catchment =
basin_countries = Ireland
length =
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Poulaphouca (irish place name|Poll an Phúca|The Ghost's Hole) is a tiny village located in County Wicklow, Ireland, on the border with County Kildare. It is primarily known for its hydroelectric generating station and artificial lake, known as Poulaphouca Reservoir, Poulaphouca Lake, or Blessington Lake. The once famous Poulaphouca Waterfall has little water running over it any longer due to the hydroelectric project.

Reservoir

The reservoir at Poulaphouca has been designated as a Special Protection Area by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, and is of international importance for its Greylag Goose population. The reservoir was created in the late 1930s and early 1940s by damming the River Liffey as part of a collaboration between the ESB and Dublin City Council to build a second hydroelectric station in Ireland while the reservoir could be used to supply water to the Dublin region. The Reservoir and Dam were also the subject of a KFM Radio radio documentary, focusing on those people whose homes were submerged to create the lake.cn|date=July 2008

Railroad

A four and a half mile extension to the Dublin and Blessington Steam Tramway was built by the Blessington and Poulaphouca Steam Tramway, with its end-of-line terminus at Poulaphouca, and opened on May 1, 1895. [ [http://gofree.indigo.ie/~nigelo/dbstframes.htm The Dublin & Blessington Steam Tramway] ] [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2098-1648324,00.html Ticket to hide] , 12 June, 2005, The Times. Retrieved on 25-07-06.] The line was closed in 1932. The ticket office still exists and is a private residence located on the eastern side of the N81 road, that formerly overlooked the Poulaphouca Waterfall on the River Liffey before the construction of the dam.

Trivia

* Poulaphouca appeared in the Christy Moore song, "Encore".
* The word Poulaphouca appears in the novel "Ulysses" as the sound of a waterfall.

References

ee also

* List of towns in Ireland.

External links

* [http://www.esb.ie/main/about_esb/history_hydro.jsp ESB history of hydroelectricity development]
* [http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=303&si=1404886&issue_id=12541 2005 Irish Independent article about the sale of the Tramway House at Poulaphouca]