DUBLIN. 



DUBLIN. 



811 



South of Ski-ma* the sandy shore girei place to a limestone cliff 

 ft far as th creek of Lough Shinny near the town of Rush. Off the 

 creek of Malahide U th rocky island of Lambay. The peninsula of 

 How th contain* about 1600 acre*, and, except toward* the low 

 Uthums which connect* it with th m.ji.U~i i tan<U in deep water. 

 The sound between Howth and Ireland'* Eye (a rooky pictureeque 

 ialand of thirty acre*, which lie* about three quarter* of a mile off the 

 northern aide of the promontory) being a sheltered actuation with 

 considerable depth of water, waa, till the erection of Kingstown 

 Harbour, the chief goremment pack** station. The harbonr oonaut* 

 of two pier* the eastern one 243 feet in length, and the we*tern 

 8020 feet. On the extremity of the eastern pier a lighthouse. The 

 whole work i* faced with cut granite, except the sloping gUci* under 

 water, which i* of red grit from Kuncorn in Cheshire. Thi* harbour, 

 ike formation of which coet nearly half a million (terling, ia now 

 almoet entirely neglected. From Howth round to the land* of the 

 North Bull the whole of the promontory is rocky and precipitous 

 toward* the tea. On a detached rock at the couth-eastern extremity, 

 called the Bailey, stands a lighthouse, which mark* the northern 

 entrance to the Bay of Dublin. From the Bailey of Howth to Dalkey 

 Ialand at the opposite extremity of the Bay of Dublin, is a distance of 

 1 Englixh mile*. Between these point* the bay recede* in a semi- 

 elliptical sweep to a depth of about six miles inland. The shore 

 surrounding the head of the bay, where the Liffey, Tolka, and Dodder 

 men empty themselves, i* low : it ri*e* however towards BUckrook 

 and Kingstown, and beyond Kingstown i* of a bold and pic- 

 turesque character. The river of Bray, which discharges itself 

 about half a mile north of the promontory of Brayhead, is the county 

 boundary. 



As a harbour, the Bay of Dublin i* materially encumbered by a 

 great tract of sand, which ia bisected by the Liffey in a direction from 

 west to east The portion on the north of the Liffey ia called the 

 North Bull, and that. on the south the South Bull. In order to 

 protect the navigation of the Liffey from the sands of the South Bull, 

 a pier consulting of a mound of gravel contained between double stone 

 wall* was undertaken by the Irish government in 1748. It run* from 

 the suburb of Ringsend along the northern margin of the South Bull, 

 to a distance of 7938 feet. In 1761 a lighthouse was commenced at 

 ike extremity of the Bull, and from it a wall was carried inwards 

 towards the Pigeon-boo**. This sea-wall, completed in 1796, is com- 

 puted of two parallel walls of hewn granite, laid without cement ; the 

 pace between U filled to a certain height with gravel and shingle ; 

 over this there U a course of stone-work imbedded in cement ; and the 

 whole i* finished on the top with a course of granite blocks laid in 

 trass. The wall U 32 feet broad at bottom, and 28 feet at top. The 

 Pigeon-house has keen converted into a depot for artillery and military 

 tore*. Another wall, called the North Wall, running nearly south- 

 east from the opposite shore of Clontarf, is intended in like manner to 

 confine the sand* of the North Bull. By mean* of these works the 

 navigation of the Lifley has been greatly improved, but the channel 

 require* constant dredging. The bar, on which there are eleven feet 

 of water at spring-ebb*, run* across the channel immediately outside 

 the lighthouse. An extensive basin in continuation of the North 

 Wall twain, and a graving dock 384 feet long by 80 feet wide, are now 

 in course of construction. 



The insecurity of the bay, joined to the failure of the works at 

 Howth, led to the formation of a harbour at Kingstown, on the site of 

 the old harbour of Dunlearr, on the south side of the bay, in 1817. 

 The small pier and tide harbour at Dnnleary have been inclosed within 

 the new works, and are now crossed by the Dublin and Kingstown 

 railroad. The new harbour is formed by two piers inclosing an area 

 of 250 acres, with a depth of from 15 to 27 feet, and approaching each 

 other within a distance of 850 feet The eastern pier, on the extre- 

 mity of which there is a bright revolving light, is 8500 feet long ; the 

 western one has a length of 4900 feet ; and along both piers there are 

 quays, 40 feet wide, which are protected from the sea by parapet* 

 feat high. Along the braut of the harbour is a wharf 600 feet 



and Onmmtinicaliont. The Liffey has a course of 

 ittle more than eight miles from the point where it enters Dublin 



inty to the Bay of Dtiblln at Ringsend. It is navigable for sea- 

 JJ vessels to the custom-house, and for barge* and row-boats to 

 Cbapeliaod, about three miles further tip. The IXxlder, the course of 

 which lies almost wholly within this county, Ukes it* rise from nnme- 

 streams descending from Kippure Mountain, and forming 

 a rapid stream which descends in a course of about ten miles into the 

 Bay of Dublin at Kingsend. The Tolka is a small river rising near 

 Dunboyne in the county of Heath : it flows east by south through 

 Blanchardstown and Olaanevin to the north-western extremity of 

 Dublin Bay, which it enter* below Ballybough bridge. 



The county 1* traversed in a westward direction by the Royal Canal 

 and the Grand Canal, which nnite the Lifley with the Shannon. The 

 Royal Canal leave* the Ilroadstone terminus (which open* into the 

 Lifter a little east of Dublin custom-house) and pasaes through May- 

 nooth, Xullingar, Ballymahon, and Killaahee to Tarmonbarry on the 

 Upper Shannon, the whole length being 92 mile*. The width of the 

 canal throughout I* 42 feet at top and 24 feet at bottom ; the depth 

 of water i* sufficient to float barge* of 100 ton*. The summit-level is 



Mulliugar, 53 miles W. from Dublin, and at a height of 322 feet 

 above the sea ; here the canal ia fed by the water* of Lough Owel. 

 The article* borne on this canal into the interior are coal*, manure, 

 and merchandise of various kinds; those conveyed to the capital 

 comprise (ton*, sand, bricks, turf, corn, meal, potatoes, pig*, butter, 

 Ac. A branch canal connect* the town of Longford with the main 

 trunk at Killaahea. 



The Grand Canal, the most important line of internal navigation in 

 Ireland, runs west by south from James' -street Harbour, on the 

 out fa-went of the city of Dublin, aero** the counties of Dublin, Kil dare, 

 and King's County to the Shannon at Shannon Harbour, whence a 

 branch, 15 mile* in length, run* to Ballina*loe along the right bank 

 of the Suck, completing the navigation westward for a distance of 95 

 miles from the capital At its highest level, which i* 27V feet above 

 the sea, near RoberUtown in the county of Kildare, the canal is fed 

 by two tributaries of the Barrow; the slope between Dublin and 

 Robertotown is 26 miles iu length, and the accent U effected by mean* 

 of four double and fourteen single looks. The dimension* of the canal 

 throughout are 45 feet at the top and 25 feet at bottom ; the depth of 

 water i* six feet in the body of the canal and five feet on the sill* of 

 the lock-gates. From the main trunk at Hobertstown a very import- 

 ant branch run* south-west through Rathangan to Monasterevau, 

 whence along the right bank of the Barrow two cut* have been made, 

 one to Mountmellick and the other to Athy, below which the Barrow 

 ia navigable to it* mouth in Waterfowl Harbour. The Grand Canal 

 has an extensive range of docks, covering an area of 25 acres on the 

 right bank of the Lifley near Ringsend. The communication with the 

 river is by three sea-locks, and the basins within are capable of con- 

 taining 600 sail in 16 feet of water. Attached are three graving-docks 

 for vessel* of different dimensions, with several extensive stores ; the 

 whole being surrounded by spacious wharf*. The communication 

 between the Grand Canal docks and the line from James' s-*treet 

 Harbour i* by a branch canal of about three miles, running from the 

 docks round the south-east and south of the city. 



The main roads, subject to turnpikes, which issue from Dublin, are 

 those to Howth, Malahide, Drogheda by Swords and the Naul, 

 Drogheda by Ashbourn, Ratoath, Navan, and Uullingar, Carlow by 

 Rathcoole and Tallaght. The chief lines free from toll are the mili- 

 tary road and the roads to Enniskerry, Bray, and Kingstown. The 

 railroads that radiate from the capital and traverse the county of 

 Dublin are the Dublin and Drogheda line, which runs northward 

 along the coast through Malahide and Balbriggan, and sends off a 

 branch to Howth ; the Great Southern and Woatern, which connect* 

 Dublin with Limerick and Cork, passing through Clondalkin and 

 Lncan in this county ; the Midland Great Western, connecting Dublin 

 with Qalway ; and the Dublin and Kingstown line, which is continued 

 from Kingstown to Dalkey on the atmospheric principle. 



Otology and Mintrulogy. The greater part of the county of Dublin 

 is occupied by a tract of mountain limestone, extending northward 

 into Heath, and bounded in this county on the south by primitive 

 rocks. Along the northern coast also there are patches of primitive 

 rock, as the greenstone and argillaceous schists, which form the Mau- 

 of-War Hill* and the ialand of Lam bay, and the stratified quartz and 

 schist of Howth. The primitive formation on the south of the lime- 

 stone plain consists of a ridge of granite supporting flanks of micaceous 

 and argillaceous schists. At Dalkey, and generally along the eastern 

 and north-eastern limit* of the granite district, the stone quarried is 

 of the closest grain, and excellently adapted for building purpose*. 

 Between Blaokrock and Dundrum the edge* of the limestone field are 

 in several place* within a few yards of the granite, the intervening 

 rocks of the aerie* not being observable. The limestone is extremely 

 compact along the margin of the field towards the primitive series, 

 and form* a good building material Magnesian limestone occur* at 

 Sutton-on-Howth, and on the Dodder, near Mill town. It dresses with 

 peculiar sharpness under the hammer or chisel. 



The only mine* worked are the lead and copper mines at Bally- 

 oorus, within half a mil* of the Scalp. Galena, potters' -clay, and 

 manganese have been found on Howth, and fuller' a-earth of a 

 middling quality at Castleknock, on the left bank of the Liffey. 



Cltmatt, SoH, Agrifulttirr, <tc. The climate of Dublin is temperate ; 

 frosts rarely continue more than a few day*, and snow seldom lies. 

 The prevailing wind* are from the west ; easterly and north -easterly 

 winds prevail in the spring. The quantity of rain that fall* at Dublin 

 i* less than fall* at Cork or Belfast : the average annual depth of rain 

 is only about 23 inches 7 line*. 



The soil of Dublin abounds in mineral springs : of thorn within the 

 city ten are saline purgative spring*. There i* at Lucan, on the right 

 bank of the Liffey, a spa strongly impregnated with sulphuretted 

 hyrdrogen gas. These waters have been found very efficacious in 

 cutaneoo* <Usea.es, There are tepid Brings of 75" Fahrenheit near 

 Fingla* and Leixlip. The water, which rise* from the Calp district 

 around Dublin, is to impregnated with sulphate or nitrate of lime 

 a* to render it unfit for most domestic purposes. 



The vegetable soil of the county of Dublin is generally shallow. On 

 the granite bottom it is a light gravel, which require* strong manuring. 

 The subsoil of the Calp district is a tenacious clay, which retains the 

 water and renders the loamy coil wet and cold ; but drainage and an 

 unlimited supply of scavengers' manure from the city have brought 



