St. James Basin
St. James basin lay between the current location of the Guinness Storehouse and Saint James Hospital.
Association with Poddle
Around 1670, the reservoir known as the city basin was established in order to serve the water needs of the growing population using water from the Poodle river. Between 1682 and 1721 the population of Dublin City almost doubled, from 60,000 to 120,000 people.
To meet the increasing water demands, in 1721, a new City Basin was built off James’s Street, capable of supplying 25 million gallons of water, a three month supply, and of supplying water to 90 streets. The basin was connected to the Grand Canal.
Account from a tourist named Richard Twiss, touring Ireland in 1775 of the Basin.
“The city basin is a reservoir, capable of holding water to supply the city for some weeks, when the springs from whence it is filled are dry; both the springs and the reservoir were dry whilst I was in Dublin. In 1765 a canal was begun to be cut from this place, and intended to be continued to Athlone, which is about 70 English miles off, in order to open a communication with the Shannon; at the rate work is at present carried on it bids fair for being completed in three or four centuries.”
[Source: A Snippet of Dublin History (Part 8) – Basin Street Harbour by Betty Brunkard (2014) – Fountain Resource Group (frg.ie)]
What the Newspapers Say
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A Snippet of Dublin History (Part 8)
[Source:Basin Street Harbour by Betty Brunkard (2014) – Fountain Resource Group (frg.ie)]
In the 18th century the Basin was a fashionable resort for the citizens, the rich and famous went to take the air there. The approach to the Basin was an ornamental arch at the end of Basin Lane. Coaches and sedans set down ladies and their escorts in the finery of the time. They passed under the arch and saw before them a long stretch of water, with pleasant walks and garden seats and music being played by a band. Concerts and fireworks displays were part of the scene.
Excerpt from article which appeared in The Journal online
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Workers unearth old Dublin city basin that was a social hotspot in the 1830s
[Source: The Journal 16/03/2023 – Eimer McAuley]
DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL workers have unearthed part of an old city basin that once supplied the south of the city with drinking water, and was considered the go-to place for outdoor socialising in the 1830s.
Long since filled in, the city basin, which was situated between what is now the St James’s Hospital campus and the Guinness Storehouse, was once part of the Grand Canal’s original mainline from Inchicore to Grand Canal Harbour.
Back in the day, the canal linked the harbour and the basin, and the walls of the semi-circular harbour are still visible beside the Guinness storehouse.
Once this part of the canal was closed in 1974, the harbour and the basin were filled in.
The part of the basin – originally a long, narrow structure – which has been rediscovered is just past the Fatima Luas stop in Dublin 8, where works are ongoing to regenerate the parkland at Rialto known locally as the Linear Park or the Dry Canal.
A street running perpendicular to the Luas line at that point is still called Basin View to this day, with the Basin Street Flats complex nearby.