Follow me says Sister Ann

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 Dublin as a theme, so the Dominican’s walk along the course of the city’s 13th century river is topical.

She’ll start the tour at Mount Argus where the little river tongues, as they say and she’ll finish at Warrenmount on the fringe of the Liberties. The Poddie flows into the Liffey below Parliament Street —and was carried across the Liffey as a conduit to the north side of the city in the Middle Ages.

It was at Warrenmount just three years ago that an old Dubliner a descendant of Huguenot weavers, showed me the hidden spot where the river could be seen above ground — a rare sight in the modern city. Unfortunately, the mill pond at the site has been cemented over. “That’s already history,” says Sister Ann. A local firm spent a year draining the pond before filling it in. “One could get angry about this,” she says. “But I don’t blame the firm. I blame the planners who won’t leave breathing space in our city.”

Sister Ann first became fascinated by the Poddle when preparing a textbook for schools on the Liffey some years ago. “I couldn’t have taken on a more difficult subject. There were absolutely no books or material available. She has timed today’s walk (which will provide another tantalising glimpse of the Poddle at Harold’s Cross and a preview of the underground Poddle Shaft which is soon to divert the Poddle into the Canal’. “I’ve done it in an hour. But we’ll start sharp at three and latecomers may get left behind.” If you don’t feel energetic enough today she’ll repeat the tour next Sunday.

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