User:Tradmusicman/Muckross Stream

Muckross Stream is a tributry off the River Dodder in Dublin, Ireland that stretches from suburb of 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.

Bibliography

Seán Brennan, Donnybrook, Dublin. Nov 2011 Source "The Rivers of Dublin" by Clair L Sweeney published by Dublin Corporation 1991