Water in this county comes in three shapes. In the north the tide is penned back behind railway embankments: Broadmeadow Estuary, between Swords and Malahide, became a sheltered lagoon after the 1840s viaduct pinched off the river mouth, and the estuary at Baldoyle fills each winter with light-bellied Brent geese. There are no hides or boardwalks at Baldoyle, so you watch from the coast road and the shore.
South and west of the city the rivers carry it. At Firhouse, 10km from the centre, the 13th-century Balrothery Weir marks where Dodder water was sent into the Poddle to supply medieval Dublin, and the greenway now runs from the weir under the M50. The Poddle spends almost all of its 11.6 km underground, surfacing at Tymon Park, Kimmage and Mount Jerome. The Camac, once culverted and polluted, is under a volunteer clean-up, though a 2026 crayfish plague outbreak means anyone entering it must Check, Clean and Dry.
Two entries sit out on the Grand Canal near the Kildare border, well outside the city: Gollierstown Bridge, an arch of about 1780 west of Lucan carrying only a gated farm track, with tow-rope grooves worn into its north pier, and Hazelhatch, where a 5km surfaced greenway from the 12th Lock opened in 2026. Grand Canal Dock and Malahide Marina are the easiest of the thirteen, both free to wander and a short walk from the DART.
A protected estuary in north-east Dublin that fills each winter with light-bellied Brent geese from Arctic Canada, watched from the coast road rather than a hide.
The 13th-century Balrothery Weir on the Dodder diverted water into the Poddle for medieval Dublin, and the greenway now runs from it under the M50.
Opened in 1796 as the world's largest enclosed harbour and rebuilt after 1998 as the tech quarter, with free open-air plazas and waterside restaurants.
Around 350 berths on the sheltered Broadmeadow Estuary, five minutes from the DART, and free to wander along the promenade into the village.
A 24 km working river from Mount Seskin to the Liffey at Heuston that powered the western mills and is now the focus of a volunteer clean-up.
13 of 13 shown — tap a pin for the place.
North-east Dublin, dublin
Baldoyle is a residential Dublin suburb wrapped around a protected estuary that matters most in winter, when thousands of light-bellied Brent geese arrive from Arctic Canada. The name comes from the dubh-ghaill, the 'dark foreigners', the Danish Vikings who beached their longboats here. There are no boardwalks or hides: you watch the birds from the coast road and the shore, then find a village pub.
South Dublin, dublin
Firhouse sits on the eastern bank of the River Dodder, about 10km south-west of Dublin city centre. Its 13th-century Balrothery Weir diverted Dodder water into the Poddle to supply medieval Dublin, and the greenway now runs from the weir under the M50 into the surrounding estates.
Dublin, dublin
Grand Canal Dock opened in 1796 as the largest enclosed harbour in the world, fell derelict, and came back after 1998 as the tech quarter people call the ‘Silicon Docks’. Today a red-glass plaza, glass office towers and a run of waterside restaurants sit where the coal piles and gasworks used to be. The open-air spaces are free and open around the clock.
Malahide, dublin
Malahide Marina has around 350 berths on the sheltered Broadmeadow Estuary, and the boatyard is staffed 24 hours. Ten minutes from Dublin Airport and a five-minute walk from the DART, it's free to wander even if you never set foot on a boat – the promenade runs straight into the village.
Dublin, dublin
The Camac runs 24 km from Mount Seskin to the Liffey at Heuston, a tributary that powered Dublin's western mills and fed the moat at Drimnagh Castle. Once culverted and polluted, it is now the focus of a volunteer clean-up and habitat restoration – though a 2026 crayfish plague outbreak means river users must Check, Clean and Dry.
Dublin, dublin
Dublin's largest Liffey tributary runs 26 km from the slopes of Kippure to the city centre, threading south-side suburbs and keeping a rare ribbon of semi-wild nature. Follow the Dodder for accessible riverside trails, otters and kingfishers in restored habitats, and trout and sea trout fishing in the lower stretches.
Dublin, dublin
The Liffey rises in Liffey Head Bog at around 450m in the Wicklow Mountains and runs roughly 125km through Wicklow, Kildare and Dublin to the sea. About 60% of its flow is taken off for drinking water; the tidal city stretch is crossed by the 1816 Ha'penny Bridge and Calatrava's 2009 Samuel Beckett Bridge.
Dublin, dublin
The River Poddle runs about 11.6 km, almost all of it underground, from Tallaght to the Liffey at Wellington Quay, where the tidal pool it once formed, the dubh linn, gave Dublin its name. It fed the city's first water supply, powered its mills and filled Dublin Castle's moat, and survives today in a few open stretches at Tymon Park, Kimmage and Mount Jerome.
Meath, meath
Swords, dublin
Gollierstown, dublin
Hazelhatch, dublin
Dublin, dublin
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