Underneath Dublin?

do all the georgian basements count?

The sewer system? But i dont think its all that impressive unlike the London system.

Rivers
like the camac which emerges under Heuston station
The poddle which goes under dame street and emerges beside the millenium bridge
there are a few more rivers but I cannot think of them at the moment.
there is also the railway tunnel under the phoenix park (goes under the zoo i think)

http://indigo.ie/~kfinlay/Dublin%20Streets/rivers.htm

Read somewhere that there was meant to be a tunnel which ran from the old monastery at mary’s abbey to christchurch so that the monks could attend services- if it existed it would have been some feat of engineering

Sounds like myth – up there with the one “the bridge in Stephens Green is the original bridge from the O’Connell bridge site”

How about the Liffey Tunnel from Ringsend. Its 33m below street level and 250m long and 2.1 m in diamete. (according to ‘The Liffey in Dublin’)

Several Irish country houses had ‘tunnels’ from within the house to a relatively remote and screened location within the grounds of the estate, apparently to permit domestic staff to enter and exit from the house without ‘disturbing’ the designed prospect.

And to escape if the local population decided to rise!!

read somewhere that there is an underground tunnel that links government buildings (department of the Taoiseach) to Leinster house, supposedly the tunnel is nuclear proof, if thats the correct term…and its purpose is to accommodate the cabinet in case of a nuclear disaster, sellafield etc.

At C.B.S Synge Street, of the South Circular Road, there is quite an extensive network of tunnels that link the monastry buildings, the tunnels are connected to the art room, i spent most of my art classes down there – the teacher never seemed to notice that half of the class would have slipped down to explore the tunnels!

there are also supposed to be a series of underground tunnels linking the various buildings in UCD. the campus was designed around the time of mass student riots around europe so these tunnels probably made sense to the authorities then.

the crypts of Christchurch, St. Patrick’s cathedral and City Hall must also count as some of the most interesting underground spaces in Dublin.

on the Country houses with tunnels for staff

Lissadell in sligo (Gore Booths) has one from the basement under the rear garden-about 20 metres long i think. it has been about 10 years since I was there.

Lough Key Forest park, Boyle has a large collection of tunnels to the lake side, other areas in the park etc from the former basement of the old house.

I think I remember hearing about a passage under Merrion Street from Government Buildings to the former department offices (now Merrion Hotel) opposite.

And what about the series of tunnels linking the blocks of the James Connolly Mermorial Hospital where that old patient died last year.

a fully-integrated, cutting-edge underground rail system for the entire city? sigh….

Actually refering to an earlier note – the Bridge in St Stephen’s Green is actually named O’Connell Bridge. (i think thaty naming predated the Carlile bridge widening) – I believe the remains of Carlile Bridge are out in a Garden in Killiney

Some say thar be tunnels & creatures that should not be all the wher.

Na…..them creatures dwell on the surface mid filth n’ dirt!

Myths banished

There is a tunnel between the the two front wings of Government Buildings in Merrion Street. As it is only about four feet down it is not, of course intended for any purpose but communication and of no value in WWIII.

There are indeed passages connecting Govt Buildings and the Dail(into the Dail office area,- not so the Taoiseach can appear in a puff of smoke in the Dail chamber), but these are above ground and again for mundane purposes, especially to avoid rain.

There is no passage under Merrion Street, but the cellars under the hotel seem to run well out into the roadway, which may be the cause of that one.

As for the Belfield myth, there are heating ducts from the Boiler house but only the lab rats are likely to escape the fury of the undergrads that way.

On the subject of passages
there is the one between the provosts house in Trinity to front square.

“There is no passage under Merrion Street, but the cellars under the hotel seem to run well out into the roadway, which may be the cause of that one.”

If you go to henrietta street at the moment you have the chance to see how far the Georgian basements extended out into the street. One of the basements which had been in need of repair has been exposed back to the springing point of the original brick vault(presumeably to enable reconstruction-which would be worth seeing as its a skill not exercised much these days)

Am I correct in saying that there is no pedestrian underpass running under a (on grade) road anywhere in Dublin?

I certainly do not recall one.

The Guinness tunnell that runs from James’s St.under the bowels of the brewery down to where the barrells used to be loaded onto the Guinness barges at Victoria Quay for transit to the Guinness ships at Sir John Rodgerson’s Quay is certainly worth exploring. This is usually included if one asks for an engineering tour of the brewery from the Chief Engineer.

There used to be a pedestrian walkway under north wall quay from the old railway terminal to the quay wall for passengers
I don’t know if it has been filled in or just blocked off

This is not in dublin but I thought it might be of interest
Brunels early beginnings http://www.museumweb.freeserve.co.uk/brunel.htm

Was’nt Isambard Kingdom Brunel a genius of the 19th century and what a handle of a name too!

http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~jarvis/brunelstory/brunel.html

I think I saw that Pat Liddy (I think) had written a book on this matter

I believe there is a vast underground chamber
under the liffy my wifes uncle as a fifeteen yr old and in the employ of the waterworks remembers playing football there in the 1950S

I have heard that there are passages under Henrietta street from the time when the law courts were held in the kings inns and judges were living in the street and would use the tunnels to pass back and forth from the Chambers to their houses.

The underground chamber underneath the liffey sounds great. is there any documentary proof? and why was it built?

Apparently there are underground WW2 bunkers beneath Mountjoy Square. Most of them are waterlogged, and have been blocked off. According to the parkie one of the raised hatches near the centre of the park leads to one of the few open chambers.

Must look up the bunkers… surprised I havent heard of that elsewhere

Originally posted by iuxta
I have heard that there are passages under Henrietta street from the time when the law courts were held in the kings inns and judges were living in the street and would use the tunnels to pass back and forth from the Chambers to their houses.

Doubtful,
Henrietta street was built before The Kings inns & when the kings inns was being completed henrietta street was already beginning to decline in stature after the act of union.

The “tunnels” in Henrietta street legend is from the time that roadwoks led to the roofs of the cellars (which ran to the middle of the street) collapsing and exposing same

Was on a tour of the gate theatre during the year. the guy in charge told us that thre are dry tunnels from the rotunda, gate theatre running all the way to dublin castle. he had been down them but chickend out somewhere near the gresham. they date from same time as wide streets etc. they can be entered from the carpark at the rear of the theatre.(tell no one!)

they’d have to do down fairly deep under the liffey — and why would they link the rotunda to the castle

Gate Theatre – Dublin Castle
Drama Queens – Castles
sounds logical

I only have the word of a goaty old thesbian who swore the legitimacy of these underground delights. Heed my words all ye disbelievers for when the apocalypse comes, I shall be living a life of culture and sophistication beneath the ground with the cast of such delightful productions as pride and prejudice. ey yes.

And another tunnel that leads to the lake isle of inishfree no doubt…

There was an interesting thesis in fifth year exhibition in UCD this year about tunnels under the city ect. Did you know that there are tunnels under UCD also and they are not blocked off (entrance near the watertower).

It’s probably local “folklore”, but there are alleged tunnels running from Deerpark in Mount Merrion to Mount Anville School. And potentially one from Mount Anville to Knocrabo (the large house across Mount Anville Road).

fjp

rumour has it that a tunnel is currently being dug under the Heritage Coucil HQ by a young dissident webmaster, wielding an arsenal of explosives and unique page impression stats 😉

The water tower tunnel in ucd only runs as far as the science block – went wandering down there in first year – the things you do to avoid study huh!

I was in St Bricin’s Military Hospital, Arbour Hill last Friday. There is a tunnel which runs from there, via Arbour Hill Prison (formerly the military prison) to the former Collins Barracks, all downhill to move prisoners around. It is closed up for security but essentially still there.

I heard that there was a stop built under O’Connell street for the underground that would inevitably be built, or so they thought. It was around the time they were building the underground in London, so they thought it would only be a matter of time before Dublin had an underground system. Is this true or is someone mixing the public toilets with an underground stop?

I was walking down to bus aras last week and there is a deep excavation on Store Street.
It reveals a load of services running all over the place but also a brick tunnel running along the centre line of the street.

The tunnel is big enough for a single person to walk along. I’m not sure if it was a pedestrian tunnel or a water duct, although it seems to have a flat floor, rather then the curved one you would normally associate with a sewer

Might have been a pipe of some sort, or the remains of a cellar or something – there were old stores there prior to Busaras on the edge of the Custom House Dock (now filled in – partly under Busaras and the road between it and the IFSC)….

victorian brick sewer by the sounds of it

probably a bit like this
http://www.usgennet.org/usa/nj/state/Essex-NewarkSewerPics.htm

The people behind that site have way too much time on their hands

There’s a reasonably susbstantial network of wide tunnels under front square in Trinners – – the dons use them to store the college wine collection I believe.

Originally posted by monZQ
I heard that there was a stop built under O’Connell street for the underground that would inevitably be built, or so they thought. It was around the time they were building the underground in London, so they thought it would only be a matter of time before Dublin had an underground system. Is this true or is someone mixing the public toilets with an underground stop?

Now if this were true, it would be fabulous to see but I imagine its a closed down toilet block. I think there’s a sealed off one down near the O’Connell Monument, you cann see the metal panels set into the paving.

Originally posted by MG

Now if this were true, it would be fabulous to see but I imagine its a closed down toilet block. I think there’s a sealed off one down near the O’Connell Monument, you cann see the metal panels set into the paving.

I remember this one
I think they closed it down in the late eighties

Try this

http://www.darkpassage.com/gate.htm

unpromising title

interesting US site though

The tunnel from Collins barracks was originally built by the British army for bringing horses from the barracks to the army veterinary and quarantine stables which used to stand between Arbour Hill and St Bricins hospital. To assist the horses on the steep incline, the floor of the tunnel was cobbled.
It was never built as a pedestrian way but was used the odd time to move prisoners to Arbour Hill Prison from the old provost prison which once stood at the North East corner of the barracks (Wolfe Tone was incarcerated in the old Provost prison).

They are definitely planning to build an underground train station under O’Connell Street right now as part of the Luas works. It will be put in place at the junction with Abbey Street to link in with the future Metro.

The vanishing Underground Public Loo

The earlier reference in the post, regarding underground loos, led me to reflect on this vanishing facility.

There are, I think, four I know of in Dublin, all closed.

1. Under the Thomas Moore statue, opposite the Bank of Ireland
(mentioned by James Joyce “as the meeting of the waters”, no less)

2. On the Liffey quay side, across and down from O’Connell Bridge House,
(an over ground ladies here is also gone.)

3. At the Five lamps (if I recall correctly?)

4. In O’Connell Street, in the central median.

Were there / are there any more?

The George Michael and druggie brigade put an end to them

Originally posted by kefu
They are definitely planning to build an underground train station under O’Connell Street right now as part of the Luas works. It will be put in place at the junction with Abbey Street to link in with the future Metro.

This is not quite right – There’s a sub-station (for electrical power) going in at that point. That’s all.

Regarding the link to Metro – I don’t think that’s likely to happen at O’Connell St.
The DTO stategy doc put that line to the east of Busarus. See
http://www.luas.ie/plan/strategy.asp

Hello all,

I did some work in a cyber cafe on O’Connell Street (under the amusements). Underneath it is an old ice cream factory that stretches way back down towards The Abbey. At the “front” of the factory, there is an entrance (almost totally blocked up) to a tunnel that runs right accross O’Connell Street to apparently underneath what is now “Supermacs” on the other side of the street. Its apparently one of several that crisss-cross the street. Couldnt persuade the guy to let me have a look though. Will try to find out some more detail.

Regards,

Simon

That’s interesting because there is a disused and closed toilets near there… I wonder was the tunnel designed as an escape route…

Theres a 3 metre diameter tunnel running along under the south bank of the Grand Canal, I think one quadrant carries a watermain but it may be out of service. It was built back in the late seventies/ early eighties i think.

Anyone know where it finishes?

Somebody e-mailed me this. Sounds very interesting.

LÉARGAS

Thursday 14 November 2002
7.00 A FASCINATING JOURNEY UNDER THE STREETS OF DUBLIN

“We’re entering the kingdom of the rats. This is their world. They live in the underground of Ireland, not just of Dublin. But they are afraid of you as you are of them. Up to now they haven’t bothered me personally”. (David Green, Dublin City Council Drainage Division, speaking in the underground Poddle river.)

This week Léargas, in a programme called Baile Átha Cliath Faoi do Chosa, goes places where no camera has been before – into the dark and sometimes dangerous world of Dublin’s underground. Presenter Fachtna Ó
Drisceoil and David Green of the City Drainage
Department, brave sewage and rapidly rising waters in a tour of Dublin’s underground river, the Poddle. Archaeologist Annaba Kilfeather travels the same journey on the surface, revealing the Poddle’s secret history as she goes. The programme discloses some of Dublin’s best kept secrets. We enter the Liffey tunnel, close to the East Link Toll Bridge. We travel through the Phoenix Park rail tunnel, which isn’t used for passenger rail even
though it connects Heuston and Connolly stations.

A newly discovered medieval slipway in a Merchant’s Quay basement is still covered at high tide by the Liffey’s waters, just as it was 700 years ago. The City’s original poor house – which later became the Foundling Hospital – has been re-discovered and incorporated into the basement of a modern extension to St. James’s hospital.

The programme also features the mummies in the crypt of St Michan’s Church and – bringing us right up to date – the first television pictures from inside the Dublin Port Tunnel.

Quotations:

“While a lot of work is done in the Liffey tunnel,
it’s out of sight and out of mind. If the work wasn’t done properly and there was no water in the tap and the sewage was coming back up the toilet people would know all about the Liffey tunnel!” (Peadar O’Sullivan, Senior Engineer with Dublin City Council, talking about the Liffey tunnel which carries main
water and sewage pipes, as well as electricity
cables.)

“It’s very quiet there and if you are interested in philosophy it’s a good place to meditate. In the middle of the city, with the Financial Centres behind, you can be in tune with nature down in the tunnel!” (Peadar O’Sullivan.)

“For those who are directly in the face it’s one of the toughest jobs you can find. They work in very confined space. It’s very hot. It’s incredibly noisy. Let me put it this way -it’s not the most desirable occupation but they are tough men and they’d need to be.” (Timothy Brick, Deputy City Engineer speaking
about the Dublin Port Tunnel.)

“There is so much stuff under our feet that people would be really amazed. They think they’re walking down modern streets but the footprint of the past is just beneath them.”
(Linzi Simpson, Archaeologist)

Sounds good, they must have been eavesdroping here and come up with the idea 😉

The medieval slipway can be seen here
http://www.archeire.com/buildings_ireland/dublin/southcity/quays/merchants/9merchants.html

The Gresham Hotel has a whole series of tunnels, not only wine vaults, but tunnels which run under O’Connell Street to the Carlton Cinema area. This was the case during the War of Independence when Michael Collins used this network of tunnels to escape British forces durning one of their many attempts to capture him. The tunnels remain in place to this day, but many are blocked up. It will be interesting to see how the Carlton development will try to deal with this upon commencement of construction.

Would they still be there, afterall both the Gresham and the Carlton are post WofI

sounds great… is it really true that the tunnel under the pheonix park connects heuston & connolly ??? anyone know of its dimensions / condition ?

It used for freight nowadays so obviously in okay of nick, it enters under Conygham Road and comes out on the other side in Cabra.

The GAA wanted to open it up so that trains from Kerry and Cork could wheel around as far as Connolly, nearer Croke Park.
But Iarnrod Eireann said it was a big job, capacity wise, and would require a new turning circle, which the GAA would have to pay for.
Other than that, it is in perfect knick. It connects with the Mullingar-Connolly line near Glasnevin cemetery.

There’s quite an impressive Victorian stone sewage tunnell beneath Westmoreland Street, not as large as Bazelgette’s in London, but still walkable through, approx 4 feet wide and 10 feet high.

Article in The Sunday Times

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2098-473370,00.html

There are lots of tunnels under Dublin, the sewage system which dates back centuaries is supposed to be very impressive. I heard once that they reckon there are more rats under the streets in dublin than people.

My Dad used to work the trains out of Hueston station and they used to pick up carriages through a tunnel from Connolly.

Yeah……there are probably more rats than people living under the streets of Dublin ……..but the way mental illnesss and alcoholism and broken homes aka disfunctional families affect us poor Irish (is that some sort of a jibe), maybe you had the streets of Brazil in mind….where the police shoot dead homeless children such is the epidemic of homelessness.
To counteract rats, get a few Cats….they are great pets …..Bastet …..Egyptian cat Godess.

There’s quite an impressive Victorian sewage tunnell beneath Westmorland Street that’s walkable through, although not as impressive as Bazelgette’s in London, it’s big by Irish standards.

Oops, didn’t mean to post twice

No. Go and do some work

Seems as good a way as any to get yourself killed

Well I’ll presume that Fozzie meant legitimate access with the cooperation of irish rail. If this is not the case, then I believe rotten.com will show him what he’ll look like after Mr. Train smacks him around a bit…

About those underground toilets behind
O’ Connell Monument, is that what those weird black ventilation yokes are for, sticking up onto the central median? They look like two big black mushrooms, for want of a better example. How exactly were they accessed?

I presume they were for ventilation, preventing a build-up of gasses

the old toilets were a regular for a bomb hoax.
Remember being on O’connell street about 1985-6 when there was a controlled explosion in one of the Toilets.

…a controlled explosion in one of the Toilets.

Hmm.

Originally posted by fjp

Hmm.

involving the army bomb disposal unit :p

Originally posted by Fozzie
Does anybody know how to gain access to the Phoenix Park Tunnel and, if so, would anybody be interested in joining me on an adventure?

How irresponsible is this? This is a functioning railway tunnel. At the very least you could get hurt or killed, and endanger the lives of others whether they be CIE employees or your companions. Grow up.

ouch…

Originally posted by MG

How irresponsible is this? This is a functioning railway tunnel. At the very least you could get hurt or killed, and endanger the lives of others whether they be CIE employees or your companions. Grow up.

Ditto

In related news….

Underworld London (Documentary)
Starting: 09:30 on Saturday 14th December. Duration: 1 hour
Showing on RTE 1.

Documentary which explores the subterranean chambers and tunnels beneath London, including the Post Office railway, bomb shelters and medieval burial chambers.

There was an article in the Sunday Times recently about it. So many tunnels even the bankrobbers use them apparently. The main rivers, or streams are now culverted but there’s still walking space apparently. The ST bit was based on an Irish language programme on RTE.

Small mention in this:

Monto madam’s red light home to be €3m arts centre
http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=9&si=934412&issue_id=8884

“They were driven out of the Dublin 1 square mile and its network of underground tunnels in 1925 after a daring midnight raid by gardai spurred on by the Legion of Mary. Around 120 people were arrested.”

Originally posted by Fozzie
Does anybody know how to gain access to the Phoenix Park Tunnel and, if so, would anybody be interested in joining me on an adventure?

You can get access via the closed Cabra cement depot. Having said that, I wouldn’t recommend walking through it as it is used by trains (freight and rolling stock movements to/from Inchicore).

Even though I possess an IE high visibility vest, I have never done it and would think twice about doing so. There is, however, a shorter tunnel at Glasnevin underneath Des Kelly’s carpet store. As the line is currently closed for relaying, it would be safe to walk through, although still illegal to trespass.

A little bit outside Dublin, is the disused Bray Head No. 1 Tunnel (more correctly the Brabazon Tunnel), abandoned in 1876 after a derailment.

I think its a great shame the brothel building on Corporation St can’t be incorporated in some manner into the new Arts centre – there can’t be too many of these former brothel buildings left in the area which made it famous/notorious.

I think it would give the new Arts Centre a closer link with the history of the area which it means to serve. I guess its always cheaper to demolish and build anew rather than integrate history into new. A shame.

I read a short history of the area in the book called The Monto produced by the local history society – its on sale from the newspaper stands on the corner of O Connell St. and Abbey St. and is quite good. I bought mine though from Cleary’s pub on Amiens St. and perused it over a great pint (or two) there before quickly surveying whats left of the area.

Maybe I missed the point, but I don’t think “brothels” are in the same category as tunnels. One is underworld, the other is underneath! What the hell are you on about, Zap?????

J. Seerski, have a look up the list a bit. I’m replying to a post by Paul Clerkin in which he deals with the Monto and its tunnels – ask him. What’s wrong with digression?

Ok, Sorry!!!!!!!

I’ll digress a bit… this war talk is driving me insane – thank god for non-war sites like archeire!

There was a tunnel from O’Connell Street to an Air Raid bunker off Church Street. The bunker was only filled in a few years ago after fears of subsidance, but some of the tunnel may still exist.

James

Really lostcarpark? Where was the bunker?

Interesting article on underground Dublin
http://www.phat-traffic.com/underground.htm

Makes me want to start digging in my back garden, to see whats underneath. I would imagine that there are house in Stoneybatter which could potentially have access to the tunnels.

Further story on the Stoneybatter Strangler
http://taint.org/2002/08/23/120951a_mail.html

Paul Clerkin – Really lostcarpark? Where was the bunker?

I remember hearing that there was one down at Ormonde Square in the markets area that was filled in. There was also one at Mounjoy square I think.

In Tuesday’s Independent:

As you approach College Green from Pearse Street, just to the left of the original and only station on the Dublin Underground and one-time public jacks, that island that Joyce named the Meeting of the Waters in honour of the statue of Tom Moore

http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=45&si=942233&issue_id=8944

Now is there any truth in this? Or was it a Flann O’Brian gag about the underground station?

A gag I believe – the trick was to send tourists down there “don’t forget honey – we’re getting on in fir and going to O’Connell st” was the line alegedly heard from an american…

a neighbour of ours who was born and lived in stoneybatter prior to her marriage, told us about a series of cellers/tunnels underneath the garage that is being rebuilt on the North Circular near Hanlons Corner.

Apparently there are a whole series of underground yards on the site and they were used as lairages for cattle bought at the corporation markets across the way, before they were shipped out or brought off down the country.

The garage has used them to store cars in, so i imagine they have been in use up to recent times are must be of a reasonable size, but can you imagine what it would be like to descend into underground chambers and tunnels filled full of cattle?

taken from soc.culture.irish
Mysterious underground tunnels under Clontarf

Excavation work on the Dublin Port Tunnel has uncovered mysterious underground tunnels in the Clontarf area. Surveyors on the project have stated that the network of tunnels which stretch for several miles are too deep to have been an old sewerage system and are obviously man-made. The tunnels were uncovered late last week and are currently being mapped and investigated by archaeologists from Irish Antiquities Division of the National Museum of Ireland and surveyors from Duchas.

The construction company in charge of the project remains tightlipped but speculation is rife in the Irish historical community. According to Fergus McLinden, an archaeologist at Queen’s University Belfast “We’re guessing wildly here as we haven’t seen the shafts and tunnels yet but they may have been old mines of some sort. They’re quite deep underground and hewn out of solid rock”

“As to what else they could be, we have no idea. There were no major British military installations in the area so they’re unlikely to be escape routes. There is also some speculation that they may have been connected to the St Anne’s Park in Clontarf, but they seem too expansive for that.”

Local historian and politician Barry Ahern had an alternative theory to offer. “Clontarf Castle was originally an important Knights Templar preceptory, before they fell foul of the Inquisition. This was after they were famously rounded up on Friday the 13th, 1307, thus giving birth to the superstition concerning the date of Friday the 13th. What makes all of this particularly intersting is the local legends in Clontarf concerning hoards of buried treasure and valuables that the Templars may have secreted in the area at that time. No-one really has any idea what could have been buried by the Templars. Nearly everything has been suggested from hoards of coins to important documents and religious Templar artefacts. Some have even suggested that Clontarf could have been the last resting place of the Ark of the Covenant…”

Meanwhile further tunnelling is being carried out at a slower pace in case further tunnels are uncovered that may collapse or cause damage to the drilling equipment.

This is not the first hold-up on the Port Tunnel project. In recent weeks, contractors have had to investigate cracking in a house in Marino. CIE have also complained about the tunnel causing movement in the railway line on the main Dublin-Belfast line.

Wearing another hat, that of Treasurer of the Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland, I asked a fellow board member of the MHTI (who is an employee of the Geological Survey of Ireland)to check this out and his reponse was that it is a hoax per Dublin Port Tunnel management. He is also not aware of any historic mines in the Clontarf area.

This is the second time that I’ve checked out a posting from soc.culture.irish and found it to be untrue.

I remember hearing about historic lead mines in Clontarf – I cant be sure which book I read it in – could have been “Ingeneous Ireland” – I’ll check it when I get home!

i really think some underground flash mobbing would be fun.

All we would need is several people to turn up in the city centre close to a tunnel site, with miners helmets and archiseek t-shirts, and then see hom many members of teh general public people we could tempt into a hole in the ground

But then again, it’s a ridiculous idea. What would be great however, if there was an organised Underneath Dublin tour.

Despite most of the interest cited on this thread there are very few underground ‘spaces’ in Dublin.

A couple of railway tunnels, several culverted rivers and the odd bomb shelter usually shallow and dating from the last war.

There might be undiscovered mediaeval mines outside of the city and possibly a souterraine within the walls – none have been discovered to the best of my knowledge – the society of antiquaries might have some info in this regard.

Lastly, if you must go ‘below ground’ do so through a potholing club. The railway tunnels are all ‘live’, the culverted rivers (such as the one beneath Smithfield) are all fast moving, confined within very small areas and are not navigable. Generally, below ground spaces, even shallow ones such as bomb shelters, are extemely dangerous. On no account try to enter into any of these spaces.

Get a life lads – theres a lot going on above ground and plenty else to risk your neck at without causing a rescue crisis!!!.

Originally posted by ewanduffy

Wearing another hat, that of Treasurer of the Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland, I asked a fellow board member of the MHTI (who is an employee of the Geological Survey of Ireland)to check this out and his reponse was that it is a hoax per Dublin Port Tunnel management. He is also not aware of any historic mines in the Clontarf area.

This is the second time that I’ve checked out a posting from soc.culture.irish and found it to be untrue.

Yep, a fake story 🙂
http://www.p45blogs.net/pquarantecinq/archives/000312.html

i know its not dublin, but there are some great sites out there about london underground and its ghost stations etc.

I do remember an incident when I was at St. Andrews College in Booterstown many years ago.

During a rugby game on one of the main pitches a young lad but his foot through the ground. A tunnel was found which had its roof supported by old wooden beams. It turned out to be a very old tunnel running from the coast at the DART station all the way up to the school. It was thought to be a smugglers tunnel for shifting illegally imported booze from the beach there. I can’t seem to find anymore info about it.

Also, isn’t there a tunnel running from Killiney beach to Dalkey Island or is this an old myth?

When we were kids we used to go into the Dalkey Island tunnel the entrance was mostly bricked up but had been broken down, unfortunatley the tunnel was collapsed after a few meters.

Bluefoam, where is that entrance?

Originally posted by phil
Bluefoam, where is that entrance?

You walk up beyond White Rock and it’s tucked away in the rocky area there. Quite obvious if you have a look.

@Morlan wrote:

You walk up beyond White Rock and it’s tucked away in the rocky area there. Quite obvious if you have a look.

White Rock Lead Mine. There were more mines just under Sorrento Terrace, so it is not improbable that the two groups of mines were connected.

Coincidental the way this thread has popped up again. This is a tender ad that went out today – wonder what it’s for:-
Title: Dublin Liffey Services Tunnel. Awarding Authority: Dublin City Council. Notice Type: Tenders
Abstract: This contract involves the construction of a 2.5 metre internal diameter tunnel under the Liffey Estuary adjacent to the Eastlink Bridge in Dublin City for a distance of approximately 240M. Construction of 20 metre deep approximately, 5.5 metre internal diameter shaft. Strengthening existing 20 metre deep approximately, 9 metre internal diameter shaft. Various ancillary works including small above ground structures and permanent reinstatement of all surfaces. Protection of existing services crossing site, including a high pressure gas main. Diversion of specific services where required. The contract also includes for the construction of two large concrete services ducts from the tunnel shafts to the adjacent public roadways.

You have just reminded me. My younger brother went to school in Ranelagh & mentioned a tunnel that went from the school to somewhere in the city centre.

Possibly a staff link between the school (which would have been a house in its day) and a city centre residence. I’d love to go through it.

@phil wrote:

Bluefoam, where is that entrance?

Sorry for the delay in my response…… 😀

The Dalkey tunnel entrance is (if my memory serves me right) at the waterfront, down the side of the school (Lorretto I think). I doubt there is much to see there anymore – it was collapsed quite near the entrance.

@Dubpete wrote:

Hello all,

I did some work in a cyber cafe on O’Connell Street (under the amusements). Underneath it is an old ice cream factory that stretches way back down towards The Abbey. At the “front” of the factory, there is an entrance (almost totally blocked up) to a tunnel that runs right accross O’Connell Street to apparently underneath what is now “Supermacs” on the other side of the street. Its apparently one of several that crisss-cross the street. Couldnt persuade the guy to let me have a look though. Will try to find out some more detail.

Regards,

Simon

I know the building your talking about & funny you should say coz the owners own another building on Burgh Quay where there is a tunnel which runs under the Liffey and (possibly) all the way up to the ice-cream factory (now the cyber – cafe).

@bluefoam wrote:

Sorry for the delay in my response…… 😀

The Dalkey tunnel entrance is (if my memory serves me right) at the waterfront, down the side of the school (Lorretto I think). I doubt there is much to see there anymore – it was collapsed quite near the entrance.

No problem Bluefoam. I must check it out.

Thanks

Phil

I read that O’Cll St post recently – wonder if it was dug up during the works, or would they have gone that deep?
Wonder what it was used for – though slightly more pressingly, why the heck was there an ice-cream factory underground on O’Connell St ?!! 🙂

The Casino in Marino has underground tunnels too.

These links give some background, and one describes a ½ mile tunnel. The tunnel was useful for cold storage, according to one piece.

http://www.iol.ie/~stdavids/Other_Interesting_Features.html#other

http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/HistoricSites/DublinArea/CasinoMarinoDublin/

I grew up in the area, and there was an urban legend describing a complicated network of several miles of tunnels. One was supposed to extend as far as St David’s in Artane, about a mile away. As I say, probably an urban legend…

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/property/2005/0428/3555835682RPQUIRKY.html

If the link is blocked, due to no Ireland.com subscription, try nicemove.ie. There is a link on the lefthand side of the page.

I used to work in Centra on westmoreland st on the corner of the building known as Ballast House. From the basement of the shop we had access to one tunnel which went first of all towards the river for about 5m and then turned right at a 90degree angle towards Westmoreland st where it was sealed by a heavy metal door but the tunnel appeared to continue under the street possibly to link with the drains which have bee mentioned previously on this thread. the passage is about a metre wide and lined with fresh looking cast concrete At least about 10 years old judging from its relative cleanliness) which i thought was strange because the building is at least 100 years old judging from the plaque beside the dan oconnel pub.

That is interesting about the tunnel. The building is a pastiche of the Ballast Office which it replaced so is alot less than 100 years. This could explain the newness of the concrete that you are referring to, although it is more than ten years since it was built:

http://www.irish-architecture.com/news/1999/000004.html

The revival of this thread reminds me- I read recently that the underground jacks in College Green is due to be re-opened on a trial basis. Looks like our museum proposal will have to be shelved.:(

When were these toilets built does anyone know – they seem to have 80s tiling but surely they’re earlier than that? Were College Street and Upper and Lower O’Connell Street the only underground ones to be built?
Strange this is brought up as only today I was observing the Lower mushrooms still in place behind O’Connell Monument – it would appear the toilets are still down there…

How would reopening College Street this time round avoid the eh, ‘issues’ of the past?
The little weather station on the site is fun 🙂

Afaik there was also an underground toilet at O’Connell Bridge and Burgh Quay which were removed because they were attracting a certain “element”…

Ah yes – here they are in the late 1930s.
I remember reading somewhere that the Ladies were located underground for whatever reason (to the extreme left), with the Mens safely in view above ground in that 30s-looking building (indeed looking at the pic you can just make out the Ladies sign on the railing there).

Why not build both above ground – very strange that they were separated to that degree :confused:
The design of the Ladies is also weird – surrounded by intimidating rusticated granite blocks by the looks of it, topped with railings and globed lamp standards presumably to heighten security. All overly complicated, they make for fascinating pieces of urban history 🙂

Whats the structure on the other bank?

What is it with stuck-on advertising hoardings and that building on the right? 😉

@Paul Clerkin wrote:

Whats the structure on the other bank?

Well spotted. Bike Shed? Bus Shelter?

The Smaller one might have been for the Gardai?

It is also interesting to note the awnings on the shops. I find it interesting that with the smoking ban, and the growth in outdoor seating outside coffee shops they have made big comeback in recent years in Dublin.

smaller structure looks a bit like
http://spain.archiseek.com/balearics/mallorca/palma/almudainapalaceguardpost_lge.html

Larger Structure looks like a typical Corpo type structure – waterworks, substation etc.
will try to remember where I’ve seen similar before in dublin.

Wasn’t there something similar at the top of Smithfield before its facelift? I thought it was a weighbridge / weigh-house sort of thing.
And I think there’s still one in Newmarket, though smaller.

The smaller building looks a bit like those pissoirs you get on the continent- Amsterdam, Berlin etc. But that would be unlikely so close to the purpose-built jacks on the south bank.
An early public phone? There have been public phones on that site as long as I can remember, and still there today, I think.

On the Casino, Marino issue, the small complex of cold storage rooms are indeed there (a short tunnel ending in a well room, another longer one ending in three rooms), but are all within the boundary of the current Casino property (you can see the vents in the grass down near the O’Brien Institute). They’re not open to the public, though, and are being partly used as overflow storage for the groundmens gear.

The one that ran from what is now the men’s toilet was the tunnel connecting the Casino with the main Marino House (now demolished). By the time of the restoration works at the Casino, though, the O’Brien Institute had been built right splat across its line, so the end were bricked up and the Institute foundations sunk into the middle. I always wondered what happened to the other end though – Marino House was at the corner of Brian Road and Brian Avenue, so I’d say there would be some interesting things under some Marino gardens!

There are a million urban legends about the Casino tunnels, though – the best one I’ve ever heard being a story of tunnels running to the Dublin mountains, which would be some feat! I believe that there are some mentions in Lord Charlemont’s letters of a tunnel running down to the sea, as sea-bathing helped his joint problems, but they’re believed to be from Marino House, rather than the Casino. And Michael Collins was reputedly hiding down there as well (busy man, wasn’t he?). The St. David’s one is new to me, although it’s pretty unlikely, as St. David’s is a 19th century building, isn’t it?

ctesiphon there was a pissoir on the northern quays somewhere as I remember reading about somebody buying the scrap when it was been removed…. just came back to me

There is a brick ESB substation at the bottom of Smithfield by Coke lane

Another brick ESB substation just off North Wall Quay on Castleforbes Road.

@Paul Clerkin wrote:

ctesiphon there was a pissoir on the northern quays somewhere as I remember reading about somebody buying the scrap when it was been removed…. just came back to me

It was on upr Ormond Quay. There is a moody Samuel Beckett photo where it features s in the background, covered in various fliers/posters but I haven’t seen the photo in years

How interesting. Anyone know of any modern examples – older forms can be rather basic, such as these:

http://www.plumsite.com/fredgurner/pissoir.jpg

http://mirror-uk-th2.gallery.hd.org/_exhibits/toilets/_more2002/_more12/Netherlands-Amsterdam-pissoir-street-urinal-2-DHD.jpg

There was yet another little brick building further up on Eden Quay outside Liberty Hall. Perhaps an early public convenience:

And here is the shelter-style building in colour, clearly red brick with a pitched roof and what look like urns on the corners, and a slightly sharper view of the neighbouring little kiosk thingy and bank of telf

There’s another queer little building on Newmarket – coulda been a weighouse.

Last week, Rob Vance wandered along the long-undergrounded River Poddle on his programme Urban Tales, the famous river that filled the black pool to the back of Dublin Castle, as well as supplied the Norman moat of the fortification. You can see his fascinating journey here :):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5ygnHSLKLY

Unfortunately no mention is made of how old the impressively well-built brick tunnels are that carry it – presumably early 18th century? Interestingly it branches off into two sections at the Castle’s Palace Street gate, presumably because the old moat diverted it a little further westwards around the Castle. In any event, they both merge round about Essex Street, before entering the river to the east of the Clarence Hotel.

Also another wander about in the below video with Yvonne Wheelan along O’Connell Street and the wider city centre, discussing symbolism and identity, and the Abercrombie Plan and the Greater Dublin Reconstruction Movement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNThzuhg8LM

Programme homepage.

http://www.rte.ie/tv/urbantales/

Wow! Pretty hairy stuff there down in the Poddle. Vance annoyed me in his last series about historic Ireland driving around in an SUV and making sure it crept into every second frame, but fair play to him for going down there in the tunnels with that guy.

This piece of wasteland shows what is now known as the Italian Quarter. When the site was being readied, I noticed the remains of a brick-arch tunnel running along at the base of the rear site boundary wall between Nos. 23 & 24 Lwr. Ormond Quay. This is roughly opposite the mouth of the Poddle, so maybe once was another underground river …

@GrahamH wrote:

Also another wander about in the below video with Yvonne Wheelan along O’Connell Street and the wider city centre, discussing symbolism and identity, and the Abercrombie Plan and the Greater Dublin Reconstruction Movement.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNThzuhg8LM

I am lucky enough to have a publisher’s file copy of that – fascinating reading.

Apparently a tunnel runs from the Granby sausage factory, (to the rear of Lower Dominick St) Yet to find out where this leads to…

!

Hugh Lane Gallery on Parnell Sq, formerly Lord Charlemonts’s house has a tunnel running from it to the old Monto area to facilitate british aristocrat mates of Charlemonts getting down to see the ladies without getting caught out above ground…..Reputedly only high and wide enough to take one man on horseback….

Here are some pics of the railway tunnel under the Phoenix park. There is even a platform there visible at the Heuston end of the pic, Iarnrod Eireann should reopen that line and make good use of a piece of infrastructure thats already in place.Sorry if u can barely see the tunnel entrance, my camera is crap.On the 2nd pic just follow the railwayn line around and you’ll see the entrance between the apartment buildings.

@bluefoam wrote:

You have just reminded me. My younger brother went to school in Ranelagh & mentioned a tunnel that went from the school to somewhere in the city centre.

Possibly a staff link between the school (which would have been a house in its day) and a city centre residence. I’d love to go through it.

Hi Bluefoam,
I am researching for a TV documentary and read your post with interest. I also went to school in Ranelagh at one point. Perhaps you would let me know what school your brother attended so I can look into the tunnel story in more detail?
Thanks & Regards,
ShadowNinja

It is Sandford College.

Keep us posted on the site if you find out anything interesting.

It is Sandford College.

Keep us posted on the site if you find out anything interesting.

I would confidently predict that you will find no such tunnel. Tunnel myths are very common. I remember four distinct but widely believed such myths when I was young. While the sample size is small, two of them were associated with school buildings (not in Ranelagh) which would suggest that many schools have such stories. I guess that there’s a fundamental appeal in the idea of “secret” passages and tunnels. Myself and a group of school mates made a serious attempt to explore our “school tunnel”. Despite risking serious punishment by skipping a class and effectively breaking in to part of the school that was locked and out of bounds, the only thing we uncovered in the area the tunnel was reputed to start was a slightly inaccessible air vent which when entered from a precarious stack of old desks and chairs turned out to be less than 5 feet deep – considerably less than the two miles we were expecting.

You need to ask yourself not only whether there was a credible use for the tunnel (the earlier example of getting to Monto discretely seems initially plausible) but more importantly whether the effort of building the thing would have been justified (not a chance). Even with the latest technology, building 100m of tunnel would be a big undertaking involving serious engineering. A two mile tunnel into town from Ranelagh?? Come on! 🙂

Yeah, thats true. My mother told a story of the time when she boarded in a college in Youghal. There was an old blocked up door in a basement, and behind that there was reputed to be a tunnel going down into the ground, and then across the Blackwater estuary. It was reputed to have been used in the penal times to sneak a priest into Youghal. Doubtful stuff.

I also stayed in St. Kierans college in Kilkenny few years back for irish college. There was a Kilkenny person in the course (not a student of the school) who insisted that there was a tunnel there. We looked for it one day in vain in a bunker beneath the school. No tunnel, but we found a box full of recordings of the school choir from the 30s, a ride-on lawnmower and a postcard confirming Fr. Savage’s membership to the Irish watercolour painter’s scociety for 1876.

^^^
When someone from Middle Earth speaks on the topic of underground tunnels, you can be sure it’s the truth! 😉

@PTB wrote:

we found a box full of recordings of the school choir from the 30s

Far more interesting than any stubby tunnel, I’d wager.

Far more interesting than any stubby tunnel, I’d wager.

Bizarrely that was the case. What I mentioned was a small fraction of what we rooted up – there was school records going back to the 1900s, loads of old classics books, an ancient, broken typewriter, a funny hat, pigeon shit, the philosopher’s stone, CIA records proving that the CIA killed J.F.Kennedy, Queen Victoria’s head in a jar, a partially buried chest brimming with jewels and gold, guarded by a cobweb-matted pirate skeleton.

That school had a fascinating history.:)

In the mid 1970s a friend and I started a yarn about a tunnel that went from the cellar of Jack O’Rourke’s pub in Blackrock to the old Garda station. It became quite a joke at that time, and when a barman lifted the trapdoor to the cellar we commented “the lads most be looking for more drink.” A couple of years ago a young Trinity student was quoting its existence to me, believing it 100%!
Another fabled one is the tunnel from Loreto Dalkey to the Island (actually the start of an old copper mine); another, true, AFAIK, is the one from old Frascati House to Blackrock Park.
KB2

@PTB wrote:

there was school records going back to the 1900s, loads of old classics books, an ancient, broken typewriter, a funny hat, pigeon shit, the philosopher’s stone, CIA records proving that the CIA killed J.F.Kennedy, Queen Victoria’s head in a jar, a partially buried chest brimming with jewels and gold, guarded by a cobweb-matted pirate skeleton.

But no Holy Grail? The hunt goes on…

As a new person here I just want to point out a few details and references relating to several topics herein:

Clontarf lead mines – contrary to an earlier post citing me, there was a lead and silver mine at Clontarf – although the Dublin Port Tunnel story was a hoax, there was a mine on the shore in the 1756-1770 period. It was situated approximately at the bottom of Castle Avenue I think, right on the edge of the sea. See Cowman, Des 2001. The metal mines of Dublin City and County, c. 1740-1825. Journal of the Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland, 1, 61-66. This also cover mines at Loughshinny, Killiney, Dalkey, Dolphins Barn and many other minor sites. The Killiney mine is surveyed and discussed in Barnett, John 2006. Quarries, Mines and Railways of Dalkey. Journal of the Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland, 6, 17-21. There’s also an article on the superb Ballycorus tunnel in that issue.

For details of any mine site in the country the best starting place is Cole’s 1922 Memoir, reprinted by the Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland in 1998. See http://www.mhti.com for details of all mining heritage journals and publications. They are all available from me via the website and if you mention this forum I shall give a decent discount. Better still I invite you all to join the MHTI and indulge your underground interests a little more!

Collins Barracks area
There is a bar whose name I do not remember to the left of the Aishling hotel near Heuston Station which yielded a natural cave of quite unusual nature when the site was redeveloped. See Meehan, R. and Parkes, M. 1997. A small cave within Quaternary deposits at Parkgate Street, Dublin 8. Irish Speleology 16, 9-10.

Around the same time we examined another hole found in the same general area but on the city side of Collins Barracks, again in a redevelopment site. I think it is now apartments or offices and probably a car park where the hole was. It was alsocontained in sand and till of Ice Age origin, but had been dug out by hand (pick marks on the walls and so on) with several levels and alcoves. It yielded some horse remains of late medieval age or such as far as I recall, and was thought to have been excavated as a stable. I have pictures somewhere and probably a copy of the report we provided to the archaeologists at the time, if anyone is really desperate to see them.

As I also look after the Speleogical Union of Ireland (SUI) Library and journal sales you can contact me through http://www.cavingireland.org for further information etc on cave stuff.

Lastly, if anyone wants to write up any interesting underground sites, both journals and newsletters of MHTI and SUI are always interested in relevant material – don’t be afraid to offer something, however big or small.
Matthew Parkes

I think the bar’s name was Saddlers. Currently being redeveloped into offices for a financial institution.

You are right I think on the name – Sadlers or Saddlers. I forgot to mention that despite our best efforts to get to talk to someone behind the project we didn’t and suggestions for what to do with it got distorted into a rather crap feature – it was spraycreted and left as a tunnel you could go into from the bar but with no sense to any of it. I suggested that if they could keep it at all it could be gated so you could see into it from the beer garden at the back of the bar, and an explanatory panel or sign to make sense of it.

Tis hard to explain/convince people sometimes….
Matthew

There’s another queer little building on Newmarket – coulda been a weighouse.

That little building still stands. It’s marked on the ordnance survey map as a fire station, but was originally built by St Luke’s, the nearby church. It served as a mini police station, run by the church before the establishment of civil police. Apparently the fairs in Newmarket were bawdy events.

More details in this report http://www.dublincity.ie/Images/St.%20Luke’s%20Conservation%20Plan%20(2MB)_tcm35-52824.pdf

Regarding the tunnel from Sandford Park School in Ranelagh – The building was completed in 1897, so is relatively modern. Having schooled there for nine years, I also heard the rumour, but didn’t believe it for a moment. Neither did any of the staff or students. Despite fairly extensive building work in the grounds, no evidence was ever found, nor was any reason for such a tunnel ever suggested.

I started a rumor in Bolton Street recently that there is a tunnel going from Bolton street under the road to the Linenhall buildings. My friends didn’t belive me at the start but I when I fabricated a story about it being regularly used until 1994, when it collapsed due to a minor earthquake, and was surveyed shortly after by my fictional engineer uncle, who swore to it’s existance, they belived me and went off into the basement to look for a possible entrance to the tunnel.

Long live the legend

@PTB wrote:

I started a rumor in Bolton Street recently that there is a tunnel going from Bolton street under the road to the Linenhall buildings. My friends didn’t belive me at the start but I when I fabricated a story about it being regularly used until 1994, when it collapsed due to a minor earthquake, and was surveyed shortly after by my fictional engineer uncle, who swore to it’s existance, they belived me and went off into the basement to look for a possible entrance to the tunnel.

Ye mean feckin bollox! 😀

Last Monday at a workshop regarding future development of DIT at the Grangegorman site, I discovered that a tunnel underneath Rathdown Road linking Grangegorman with the Broadstone side exists although it’s no longer in use.
Also, while we’re at it, has anybody ever heard of an extension that branches off from the tunnel that runs beneath the Phoenix Park and terminates at Áras an Uachtaráin? A small emergency platform. I don’t believe it and can’t remember where I heard it. It’s a groovy rumour though.

Can anyone please enlighten me as to the origins of a cellar which apparently runs under a building
between Bachelors Walk and the Lotts and may go up as far as Capel Street with a possible exit from Ormond
Quay? Would be fascinated to find out more about its age etc.

Could you tell me where you read this? So that I can start to investigate its validity ….am doing research on this abbey.

Couldn’t be bothered looking through all the page but I was told the Rotunda’s archives are below O’Connel Street.

Not fantastic but pretty cool!

I remember being in tunnels years ago that ran below Parnell Street to the other side of the road but they were blocked off after 10 feet or so. Apparently there are several of these tunnels linking buildings on both sides of the street.

I can also remember seeing road works near the custom house / bus-aras area about 20 years ago that clearly exposed a tunnel system underneath the road.

Reviving a fascinating old thread that was started in 2001 – 2010 in hopes someone can help me.

I am not an archaeologist at all and live in Canada. My 2x great grandfather Thomas Gregory lived in Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland and was killed in a mine collapse in that area sometime between 1874-1880. I recently learned that his body was not discovered for approx. 100 years until sometime in the late 1970’s-1980’s when excavation work was being done and an old mine had been uncovered. There were 6 bodies found and one was confirmed as Thomas Gregory’s.

I’m told there was a newspaper article written about this discovery but I am unable to get my hands on it. I am unable to find his death record. I’m guessing the coroner, city council archaeologists, media would have been involved in this discovery but I don’t know who to contact to try to track down this information.

I am desperate to solve this family mystery and am hoping this forum might be able to help me.

Look forward to hearing back. Thank you.

try this bunch – they’re very helpful

DUBLIN CITY LIBRARY & ARCHIVE
138-144 Pearse Street
Dublin 2
Telephone: 01-674 4996
Fax: 01-674 4879
E-mail: cityarchives@dublincity.ie

or

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mining-Heritage-Trust-of-Ireland/165987500136619

or

http://www.gsi.ie/

Thank you! I will try those. :thumbup: