Head down the steps, or ramp, beside Clonsilla Train Station, to reach the Royal Canal. Stop to admire the Bronze Shoes, which signify that you have now joined the National Famine Way. Another day, you may turn right (West) and head out into the countryside, but today you’ll turn left (East) and walk toward Porterstown. As you pass the entrance to Weaver’s Wood, make sure to step off the towpath and view the 1916 commemorative manhole cover, between the 2 apartment blocks. Returning to the towpath, enjoy the wildlife and notice how the towpath starts to climb above the water level. You are now entering the “Deep Sinking”, a unique section of the canal, blasted through old quarries and reclaimed by nature. Pass the site of the Longford Boat tragedy, marked with a plaque situated at Kennan bridge. Before you leave the historic towpath at Porterstown, turn around, for a great view of the old Clonsilla Schoolhouse. After leaving the towpath, notice The Railway Cottage, before admiring Keane’s Cottage, with its beautiful yellow windows. Next, see the old Village Pump. Your heritage walk ends outside Porterstown Forge, the oldest smithy in the area.
Further details on each of these places of interest below!
The National Famine Way
The National Famine Way is a 165km national walking route, which passes Clonsilla. It links the National Famine Museum in Strokestown House, Co. Roscommon, with the Dublin Docklands and is symbolised by a bronze shoes sculpture. The Way is named after the forced march, in May 1847, of 1,490 tenants from Strokestown House. They were accompanied by a bailiff and marched to the boats in Dublin. Two-thirds of the tenants were children and up to half of the 1,490 tenants died on route to Canada. When word got back to Roscommon, the landlord (Major Mahon) was assassinated. For more information see nationalfamineway.ie.
Commemorating 1916
As part of Fingal Co. Council’s centenary celebration of 1916, specially commissioned manhole covers were installed, where existing covers were being replaced. They show Eamonn Bulfin hoisting the tricolour, over the GPO, in the 1916 Easter Rising. Bulfin was a patriot, born of Irish parents in Argentina. He attended Padraig Pearse’s school St Enda’s and played an active part in 1916, in the GPO and Moore Street battles. Spared a death sentence, due to his Argentinian citizenship, Bulfin was subsequently very active in Sinn Fein. After the War of Independence, Bulfin stepped away from politics. He joined the civil service, married and had 4 children, living out his days in Co Offaly.The Royal Canal
The Royal Canal is a national waterway, which links the River Liffey to the River Shannon. It was built as a rival to the Grand Canal, as a trading and passenger route. Originally it was intended to pass north of Clonsilla, directly to Kilcock, but the Duke of Leinster wanted the canal to pass Carton House and Maynooth. We are very lucky that this happened, as we now have this great amenity beside Clonsilla! The first boats stopped at Clonsilla in 1799 and continued until 1961. In the 1830s, 134,000 tonnes and 46,000 people used the Royal Canal for transport annually. The old Kellystown Saw Mills (now Cunningham’s Funeral Home) used the canal, to sell their coffins in other towns!
Originally there were 2 boats to Longford each day – a day boat and a night boat. As the roads improved, the canals had to improve as well. This led to the introduction of “fly-boats”. Instead of horses pulling boats, at a walking pace, they would gallop down the towpath. It was possible to get from Dublin to Mullingar in 7.5 hours!
In 1974, Ian Bath set up the Royal Canal Amenities Group (RCAG), with its first meeting in Coolmine. Over the next 30 years, the group worked to restore and reopen the Royal Canal. The canal in Clonsilla reopened in the 1990s and, since 2010, you can jump on a boat in Clonsilla and travel to both the River Liffey and the River Shannon.
One of Ireland’s largest inland waterways disasters happened on the Royal Canal, between Porterstown and Clonsilla. On the afternoon of 25th November 1845, the boat to Longford was 2 hours into its journey, when it hit the bank, just west of Kennan bridge, Porterstown. It rocked, then tipped the bow (front) out of the water and the stern (rear) into deeper water. Crowding on board, plus bars on the window, made escape very difficult, especially in the more crowded 2nd cabin, at the back of the boat. In total, 15 people drowned, including 2 children. All were in the rear cabin. The victims were placed on the bank, then moved via a lumber boat, to a cabin in Clonsilla. Those who were not claimed were buried in Clonsilla’s graveyard.
The inquest found that the steerer had asked a labourer, who worked on the boats, to steer while he had his dinner. The labourer had taken over, then stepped away momentarily – enough that the boat hit the bank. Ultimately, the labourer was sent to trial, but found “not guilty”, as steering wasn’t his official job. The steerer and the captain were both dismissed and the Royal Canal Company was fined £100 and charged with introducing safety measures. A plaque to the victims was unveiled by the RCAG, at Kennan bridge.
Deep Sinking
Between Clonsilla and Castleknock is a very special section of canal. Called the Deep Sinking – or the Lime Cut – the canal was blasted through the old Carpenterstown Quarries. The 3 km stretch cost the equivalent of €7.5 million in the 1790s and almost bankrupted the Royal Canal Company. The consultant engineer, John Brownrigg, described the creation of the Deep Sinking as “One of the most arduous undertakings ever attempted in the kingdom and perhaps is exceeded by few in Europe.’
Today, the Deep Sinking is unique along the Royal Canal. It is narrower than the rest of the canal, the towpath is up to 30 foot above the water and a tree canopy meets overhead. It has its own humid ecosystem, with mosses and bryophytes growing over the calcareous limestone and is a haven for wildlife.
The canal is a great amenity, but also an area rich with biodiversity. Perch and roach attract the heron, kingfisher and cormorant. Songbirds nest in the trees, while bumblebees make their homes in the banks. The abundance of wildflowers bring butterflies and dragonflies in summer. Foxes, badgers and otters track their way along the bank and in the water, making journeys at night, as bats fly by, feeding over the channel.
Railway Worker’s Cottage
As you exit the towpath at Porterstown, note the Railway Cottage, just south of the level crossing. It was one of 18 built by MGWR, in the 1850s. It was the role of the gatekeeper to open and shut the level crossing and inspect the line. The cottage consisted of a living room and 2 bedrooms. The 1901 & 1911 Census show Nathanial and Bridget Bently living there, with their adult son. Both men worked for the railways. The last gate keeper to live at the cottage was Jack Finlay, in the 1990s.
Old Schoolhouse
The Clonsilla National School served the Catholic children of Clonsilla for 109 years. Opened in 1854, it was built by local people, in only 6 months. The distinctive Victorian gothic schoolhouse is 3 storeys high: the top floor, with a high vaulted ceiling, was for girls; the ground floor was for boys; and the basement comprised 2 self-contained apartments for the master and his family and the mistress and her family.
Prior to the school opening, the Catholic children had been in a mixed faith school – the Porterstown School – under Protestant management. Tensions grew and the priest at the time, Fr Dungan, removed the children from the Porterstown School. For the next 12 months, they were instructed in the chapel next door (now site of Porterstown Scouts Den), until the Clonsilla schoolhouse was ready. Many local people still have memories of attending the Old Schoolhouse, which closed in 1963. This iconic building is distinctive in appearance and is a Protected Structure of Regional Importance.
Keane’s Cottage
Opposite the Clonsilla schoolhouse, also beside the Royal Canal, is an old cottage with distinctive yellow windows. Dating to the 1790s, it predates every other building in Porterstown. A lime kiln, shown behind the cottage, on old OSI maps, would indicate a connection to the construction and/or trade of the canal. Owned by the Leonard and Keane families, the cottage was in continuous use until 2016. Its location, adjacent to the proposed Royal Canal Greenway, makes it an attractive feature.
Village Pump
There has been a village pump in Porterstown since the 1800s. The original village pump was a wooden pump, outside Keane’s Cottage. This provided water to the people living in Porterstown, before they had running water at home. The wooden pump was replaced by a metal pump, which has since been restored, by The Village Residents Association, together with Fingal County Council. It used to have a plaque saying “Finn’s Pump”, after the Finn house, across from the pump. The spring which fed the pump is still in the field behind the pump, however, the pump itself is purely ornamental and no longer in use. It is a nice window into Porterstown’s rural past.
Porterstown Forge
The Forge is the oldest in the area and dates back to the 1840s. Possibly linked to the coming of the railways, the forge was established by Thomas Murphy, a blacksmith from Kildare. He moved to Porterstown, married local woman Margaret Balfe and they had 4 children. Their daughter Elizabeth married a man called Hughes and the forge has been in the Hughes family ever since. Originally 2 small cottages, with a 2 storey galvanised chimney, there was a huge bellows, which the family donated to the National Museum of Ireland. To the right of the forge is a paddock and this is where the horses waited to be shod.
So ends our heritage walk of Royal Canal & Porterstown. History hidden in plain sight, with lots of natural and built heritage to enjoy! Clonsilla & Porterstown Heritage Society (CPHS), 2025