The River Dodder rises on Kippure, the highest hill in Co. Dublin, and runs 26km to meet the Liffey at Ringsend. The stretch worth a day out is the 6km linear park between Old Bawn Bridge in Tallaght and Rathfarnham – 100 hectares of riverbank, wet woodland and meadow following the western side of the M50. It’s free and open year-round.
Be honest about the setting: this isn’t wilderness. The motorway runs close for much of the way and you’re rarely out of earshot of traffic. What it is, is a genuinely green walking and cycling corridor you can reach on a bus or the Luas from the city centre.
The greenway
The Dodder Greenway is a 17km off-road route linking the Bohernabreena reservoirs to Sir John Rogerson’s Quay in the docklands. Building started in 2019; the last on-road section between Kiltipper and Old Bawn was due for completion in late 2025. Through the park itself the path is flat and well surfaced – good for an easy walk, an evening jog or a gentle cycle. If you’ve only an hour, walk downstream from Old Bawn and keep an eye on the water for kingfishers.
History
The Dodder has been put to work for a long time. In 1242 the monks of St Thomas’s Abbey built the City Weir near Firhouse to divert water into a channel that fed the River Poddle and topped up medieval Dublin’s drinking supply. That channel – the City Watercourse, a canal about two miles long – kept supplying the city until 1775. Other old features line the valley too: the Old Bawn weir, a 19th-century stone cross at Cherryfield, and Lord Ely’s Gate at the Rathfarnham end, though the stories attached to them are local tradition rather than documented fact.
Fishing
The Dodder holds wild brown trout and sea trout. The season runs from 17 March to 30 September, and you need permission from the Dodder Anglers Club before you fish – club members tend to know which stretches near the weirs are worth your time.
Wildlife
Part of the park is a designated Natural Heritage Area. Along the water you’ll regularly see kingfishers, grey herons, sparrowhawks and dippers, and foxes work the scrub and woodland. The dippers are the ones to watch for: they only settle on clean, well-oxygenated rivers, so a bird bobbing on a midstream rock is a good sign for the Dodder’s water quality.
Getting there and around
Dublin Bus serves Tallaght, Firhouse and Rathfarnham along the valley, and the Luas Red Line terminus at Tallaght is a short walk from the northern entrance near Old Bawn Bridge. There are small car parks at a few of the entrances; they close before the park’s posted closing time, so check the sign at the gate. The main riverside paths and greenway are level and suit buggies and most wheelchairs. Dogs are welcome on a lead.
Bring
- Waterproof footwear – the valley floor stays damp, especially after rain.
- Binoculars if you’re there for the birds, particularly near the weirs.
- A fishing permit arranged in advance with the Dodder Anglers Club, if you’re casting.
Local historian Tomás Maher runs guided walks of the valley – worth catching if your visit lines up with one, for the history you’d otherwise walk straight past.