Mount Argus

Mount Argus

The original Mount Argus was a tall, red-brick building on a few acres of land through which the River Poddle lazed, owned by a Mrs. Elizabeth Byrne, a widow, and a cousin of Cardinal Cullen. Through the suggestion of Father Matthew Collier, then a curate in Rathmines with the consent of Cardinal Cullen and the co-operation of Very Rev. Father Meagher, Parish Priest of Rathmines, the Passionists established their new retreat there in 1856. The original house and temporary church stood on what is now the Cemetery for Religious at Mount Argus.

The first Mass was celebrated there on August 1856 by Father Paul Mary Pakenham, born in Dublin in 1821, son of the second Earl of Longford, who had been a Captain in the British Army up to the time of his conversion.

Source: Irish Independent 16 Oct 1956

Association with Poddle

The original course of the Poddle after it had given up one third of its water at the Tongue continued its course to Dublin City, flowing through the grounds of the present Mount Argus Church and the former Loaders Park Mills there, then along the present Lower Kimmage Road (flowing under the front gardens of some houses there) and Harold’s Cross Road where it flowed under the Grand Canal and along Clanbrassil Street, Blackpitts, New Row and Patrick Street…

Source: Finola Watchorn – “Crumlin and the Way it Was”

What the Newspapers Say

  • Irish Independent 21 Feb 1910: Some remarkable scenes were witnessed in the Harold’s Cross district of suburban Dublin on Saturday owing to the little River Poddle overflowing its banks on high grounds near Mount Argus. The water rushed in a torrent down the upper and lower Kimmage roads, the water in some places being three or four feet deep. Residents in Mount Argus had to travel round by Terenure from the Rathmines district, but fortunately none of the houses were inundated. During the afternoon a “float,” provided by the Rathmines Township’ authorities, arrived on the scene, and was kept busily engaged all through the evening in ferrying passengers from “shore to shore” along the Kimmage roads.
  • Irish Press 13 Mar 1937: Dublin Fire Brigade was called out yesterday to pump water from houses in low-lying parts where flooding had occurred, in Rutland Avenue, Larklield Road, Kimmage, Harold’s Cross Green, Mount Argus, and Ashtown. Water entered cottages in Rutland Avenue to a depth of three feet, when the small River Poddle, where it passes underground at Dolphin’s Barn, became choked up about midnight on Thursday. Residents remained up all night endeavouring to make passages for the water to escape. A workman had to climb through a window to get to his work yesterday morning.
Related newspaper articles
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REMARKABLE CITY SCENES
21 Feb 1910

There was a recurrence of the gale, accompanied by a torrential downpour oi rain, in the early hours of Saturday morning, and generally disagreeable tempestuous weather prevailed for the greater…

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Telephone Service Dislocated
13 Mar 1937

The whole force of the Post Office engineering staff was called out for the task of repairing damage to telephone poles and ‘wires in Dublin and all over the county…

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Mount Argus
16 Oct 1956

THE original Mount Argus was a tall, red-brick building on a few acres of land through which the River Poddle lazed, owned by a Mrs. Elizabeth Byrne, a widow, and a cousin…

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Stage which Poddle flows
1 Jun 1961

Standing on.a stage under which the Poddle River flows, a cast of 53 past and present members of St. Gabriel’s Boys’ Club, Kimmage, will sing for their holidays for the…

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Night of Terror For 4 Families
20 Jan 1965

was wet in town I another night •nnri banks at road The A.A. reported flooding in four separate areas—Merrion Gates, the Naas Road at the Volkswagen factory, Santry Road between Santry Road and Collinstown Cross, at Blanchardstown village and 220…

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The Poddle at Mount Argus
8 Apr 1967

The Poddles principal claim to fame is that its waters once formed the moat at Dublin Castle, and provided some part of the water supply for the ancient city. Today…

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Mount Argus Harold’s Cross
22 Apr 1967

The twin towers of the Passionist Fathers great church have been a feature of the landscape along the course of the Poddle River since 1878. Now quite surrounded by vast…

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Beside the Poddle
31 Dec 1970

Liams drawing shows a quiet little oasis within a stones throw of the historic Poddle, the group of old houses in Loader (or Loder) Park, adjoining former mills on the…

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River Burst
16 Jul 1973

RIVER BURST At Mount Argus, the Poddle burst its banks, flooding two houses in Loder Park. Mr. William Walton, who lives there with his wife and four children claimed that the…

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Big Mop-Up After Floods
16 Jul 1973

BIG MOP-UP AFTER FLOODS HIT CITY AREAS ST. SWITHLN’S DAY brought the floods yesterday and left many families suffering the after effects of torrential rain. Mopping-up operations still continued this…

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Parishes Face Problems
17 Aug 1974

Parishes Face Problems By PATRICK MURRAY THE-months ahead are full of problems for the parish priests of Dublin’s two newest parishes. Although the new parishes of Priorswood and Mount Argus appear…

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Follow me says Sister Ann
7 Mar 1976

AT THREE O’CLOCK this afternoon, Sister Ann Dominica, a black-and-white garbed Dominican nun, will lead a tour along Dublin’s secret river, the Poddle. This years Dublin Arts Festival has Medieval…

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Mount Argus Gets Go-Ahead
7 Feb 1986

SERVICE charges criticised as “penal” have been substantially reduced in a new grant outline permission for residential buildings on land owned by the Passionist Congregation at Mount Argus in Dublin.…

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Mount Argus
16 Jul 1986

I first discovered Mount Argus way back in another lifetime when we used to climb the Dublin Mountains on St. Patrick’s Day. I think we took the wrong turn coming home and…

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Mount Argus . . . £20 m. scheme launched today
18 May 1990

Mount Argus . . . £20 m. scheme launched today By Cliodhna O’Donohue The land surrounding Mount Argus, the headquarters for Fr. Brian D’Arcy’s mammoth fund raising activities, in Harold’s…

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New Homes Choice
25 May 1990

MOUNT ARGUS is perhaps one of the finest landscaped developments to come on the market in the area for a long time.The River Poddle has been brought through the parkland…

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Discovering The Poddle
13 Jul 1990

Discovering the Poddle I SAW the River Poddle — for the first time this week . about it for years, but never quite unexpectedly. r I have Joe Tiernan of Tiernan Homesteads to thank…

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