The river was called "An Ruirthech", meaning "fast (or strong) runner" before it was called Liffey. The word "Liphe" (or "Life") was the name of the plain ("flat area of land") through which the river flowed but was later used to name the river itself. It was also known as the Anna Liffey, possibly because of the Irish for "River Liffey" - "Abhainn na Life" which sounds like "Anna Liffey" in English.
The Liffey starts with a lot of small streams in the Liffey Head Bog between Kippure and Tonduff in the Wicklow mountains. It flows for around through counties Wicklow, Kildare and Dublin. It flows into the Irish Sea at the mid-point of Dublin Bay. Most of its length is in Kildare.
The Liffey has a lot of tributaries ("rivers that flow into it"). Its major tributaries include the King's River, River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.
The Liffey does not have any natural lakes, and has only a few islands. There are a few areas with rapids, mostly as the river comes close to Dublin city.
There are dams built for three hydroelectric power stations along the river, at Poulaphouca, Golden Falls and Leixlip. A large reservoir is built at Poulaphouca.
Towns along the river include Ballymore Eustace, Athgarvan, Kilcullen, Newbridge, Caragh, Clane, Celbridge, Leixlip and Lucan before the river reaches the city of Dublin as it approaches its mouth.
The River Liffey in Dublin city was used for many centuries for trade. The Vikings already used the river, and it was used until recent times. It is connected to the River Shannon via the Grand Canal and the Royal Canal. This connects Dublin to the west of Ireland by water.
Around 60% of the Liffey's flow is used for drinking water, and to supply industry. Much of this makes its way back into the river after it is cleaned in wastewater treatment plants. A popular myth is that Liffey water is used to make Guinness beer, but this is not true. Guinness uses water piped from the Wicklow mountains.
The "Lady Patricia" and "Miranda Guinness" were cargo ships that were used to export Guinness from the St. James's Gate Brewery. They were well-known sight on the Liffey up to the 1990s.
In recent years, the only regular traffic on the river within the city is a boat which runs guided tours along the River Liffey through Dublin City centre. Downstream of the East-Link bridge, the river is still mainly used for commercial and ferry traffic.
The river is used by private, university and Garda rowing clubs in Chapelizod. The Liffey Descent canoeing event covers a course from Straffan to Islandbridge. That race has been held every year since 1960. The Liffey Swim takes place every year in late August or early September between Watling Bridge and The Custom House.
The earliest stone bridge over the Liffey was the Bridge of Dublin. It was built by the Dominicans in 1428. It survived well into the 18th century. It replaced an earlier wooden bridge (Dubhghalls Bridge) on the same site. Island Bridge was added in 1577.
When Dublin became important for business in the 17th century, 4 new bridges were added between 1670 and 1684. They were Barrack, or Bloody Bridge, (what is now Rory O'More Bridge), Essex Bridge (Grattan Bridge), Ormond Bridge (O'Donovan Rossa Bridge) and Arran Bridge.
The oldest bridge still standing is the Mellows Bridge. It was built in 1764 after the Arran Bridge (which was there before) was destroyed by floods in 1763.
The first iron bridge was the elegant Ha'penny Bridge built in 1816. The newest bridge is the Samuel Beckett Bridge opened in December 2009. It is a suspension bridge, it can move to allow river traffic to pass.
The river divides the Northside from the Southside of Dublin. It has a lot of bridges, mostly open for vehicular traffic ("cars, trucks, buses etc."). Large bridges are the West-Link Bridge on the M50 motorway, the Seán Heuston Bridge and O'Connell Bridge.
There are 3 foot bridges in the city: the Millennium Bridge, the Seán O'Casey Bridge and the Ha'penny Bridge.
Bridges outside of Dublin include the Liffey Bridge at Celbridge, "The Bridge at 16" (a 19th century pedestrian suspension bridge), and the Leinster Aqueduct - which takes the Grand Canal over the Liffey at Caragh.
From Joyce to Radiohead, the Liffey is often mentioned in literature and song:
The Sin of Madelon Claudet
The Sin of Madelon Claudet is a 1931 American drama movie. The screenplay was adapted from the play "The Lullaby" by Edward Knoblock. It tells the story of a woman who was put in jail for the crime she did not commit and later had to turn to theft and prostitution to support her son.
In 1932 Helen Hayes won an Academy Award for her leading role in it and was named a Favorite Actress at the first Venice Film Festival.
Fallow deer
The fallow deer ("Dama dama") is a type of deer from the family Cervidae. The animal originally lived in Eurasia, though it has been brought it to other parts of the world, such as Australia.
The male is called a buck, the female is a doe, and the young a fawn. They live for about 12–16 years. All of the fallow deer have white spots on their backs, and black tips at the ends of their tails. Only bucks have antlers, which are wide and shaped like a shovel.
They are grazing animals. They like to live in an area that is mixed woodland and open grassland. They try to stay together in groups of up to 150.
They have a lot of different coloured coats (hair). There are four main colours: "common", "menil", "melanistic" and "white".
The common coat is a brown coat with white spots that are best seen in the summer. In the winter the coat is much darker. The white coat is lightest colored, almost white. The common and menil coat are darker. The melanistic coat is very dark, sometimes even black.
One noted historical herd of fallow deer is kept in the Ottenby Preserve in Öland, Sweden. Karl X Gustav built a drystone wall of four kilometres long around a royal fallow deer herd in the mid 17th century. The herd still exists as of 2006.
Another herd lives in Phoenix Park in Ireland. 400-450 fallow deer descend from the original herd introduced in the 1660s.
MacDonnell Ranges
The MacDonnell Ranges are a long narrow range of mountains in the Northern Territory of Australia. They run in an almost straight line from east to west for hundreds of kilometres, on either side of Alice Springs. The Western MacDonnell Ranges have some spectacular gaps right through the range. Some of these such as Simpsons Gap, and Standley Chasm are major tourist attractions. The Heavitree Gap allows road and rail access to Alice Springs right through the mountains. They were named by the explorer John McDouall Stuart after Sir Richard MacDonnell, the Governor of South Australia.
The ranges are protected by the West MacDonnell National Park There is a long walking trail along the ranges called the Larapinta Trail.
The Arrente people, the indigenous Australian people who live in the area, believe the mountains were once giant caterpillars, called "Yerrenye".
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde PC (19 October 1610 – 21 July 1688) was an Anglo-Irish ("from English and Irish family") politician and soldier. From 1641 to 1647, he was the leader in the fight against the Irish Catholic Confederation. From 1649 to 1650 he was top commander of the Royalist forces fighting against Oliver Cromwell who wanted to invade Ireland. In the 1650s he lived in exile in Europe with Charles II of England. When Charles II was put back on the British throne during the restoration in 1660, Ormonde became very important in English and Irish politics.
The Butlers of Ormonde were an Old English dynasty. They had been very important people the southeast of Ireland since the Middle Ages. His father was Thomas Butler, Viscount Thurles. Thurles is a place in County Tipperary. James was the oldest son.