Дублиннің Лиффи өзені

River in Dublin in Ireland

The River Liffey (Irish: An Life, historically An Ruirthe(a)ch) is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water and supports a range of recreational activities.

Ptolemy's Geography (2nd century AD) described a river, perhaps the Liffey, which he labelled Οβοκα (Oboka). Ultimately this led to the name of the River Avoca in County Wicklow. The Liffey was previously named An Ruirthech, meaning "fast (or strong) runner". The word Liphe (or Life) referred originally to the name of the plain through which the river ran, but eventually came to refer to the river itself. The word may derive from the same root as Welsh llif (flow, stream), namely Proto Indo European lē̆i 4, but Gearóid Mac Eoin has more recently proposed that it may derive from a non Indo European word borrowed from the original language spoken in Ireland before the arrival of the Celts. It was also known as the Anna Liffey, possibly from an anglicisation of Abhainn na Life, the Irish phrase that translates into English as "River Liffey". James Joyce embodies the river in Finnegans Wake as "Anna Livia Plurabelle".

The Liffey rises in the Liffey Head Bog between the mountains of Kippure and Tonduff in the northern section of the Wicklow Mountains, forming from many streamlets near the Sally Gap. It flows for through counties Wicklow, Kildare and Dublin before entering the Irish Sea at its mouth at the midpoint of Dublin Bay, on a line extending from the Baily lighthouse to the Muglin Rocks. It crosses from County Wicklow into County Kildare at Poulaphouca and from County Kildare into County Dublin at Leixlip, with the greatest part of its length being in Kildare. The catchment area of the Liffey is The long term average flow rate of the river is
Downstream of Poulaphouca are the Lemonstown Stream, Kilcullen Stream and Pinkeen Stream, followed by the Painestown River (with tributaries including the Morell River), the Rye Water (with tributaries including the Lyreen) at Leixlip, and the Griffeen River and Silleachain Stream in Lucan. Within Dublin are the various Phoenix Park streams on the left bank, interspersed with right bank tributaries such as the Glenaulin Stream and Creosote Stream. Within the quays area tributaries include the River Camac, possibly Colman's Brook, the Bradogue River, River Poddle, Stein River and the River Dodder, some of which have numerous tributaries of their own. In earlier times, the River Tolka was also arguably a tributary of the Liffey or at least shared its mouth, but it now enters Dublin Bay distinctly, some distance to the north.

There are dams for three ESB hydroelectric power stations along the river, at Poulaphouca, Golden Falls and Leixlip. Major reservoir facilities also exist at Poulaphouca. The Liffey does not feature natural lakes and has few islands. Significant falls at Poulaphouca and at Golden Falls were flooded by reservoir construction. There remain areas of rapids, including as the river approaches Dublin city.

Towns along the river include Blessington, Ballymore Eustace, Kilcullen, Athgarvan, Newbridge, Caragh, Clane, Celbridge, Leixlip and Lucan before the river passes the suburb of Chapelizod and then runs through the city of Dublin all the way to its mouth.

The River Liffey in Dublin city has been used for many centuries for trade, from the Viking beginnings of the city up to recent times. It is connected to the River Shannon via the Grand Canal and the Royal Canal. There is no major navigation on the river itself above the East Link bridge in modern times, but shipping used to enter Dublin city centre, with major docking points up to the St James' Gate area. Since its construction in 1978, the Talbot Memorial Bridge marks the furthest point up to the Liffey to which tall ships may travel, as all bridges downriver of it are either swingbridges or bascule.

Around 60% of the Liffey's flow is abstracted for drinking water and to supply industry. Much of this makes its way back into the river after purification in wastewater treatment plants. Despite a misconception that the Guinness brewery is one such commercial user, the facility uses water piped from the Wicklow Mountains.

ESB hydroelectric power stations exist along the river, at Poulaphouca, Golden Falls and Leixlip, in addition to a number of minor private installations.

Upstream from the city, at Chapelizod, the river is used by private, university and Garda rowing clubs. The Liffey Descent canoeing event, held each year since 1960, covers a course from Straffan to Islandbridge. The Normal Tidal Limit (NTL) of the river is Islandbridge (weir). The Liffey Swim takes place every year in late August or early September between Watling Bridge and The Custom House. The Islandbridge stretch of river accommodates a number of rowing clubs including Trinity College, UCD, Commercial, Neptune, and the Garda rowing club. The Liffey is widely used for recreational activities – such as canoeing, rafting, fishing, swimming, significant facilities are at Poulaphouca, Kilcullen, Newbridge, where a seven acre Liffey Linear Park has been developed, and other facilities are located further downriver at Leixlip and other towns.

The earliest stone bridge over the Liffey in Dublin of which there is solid evidence was the Bridge of Dublin, which replaced a wooden bridge, Dubhghall's Bridge, dating to the 11th century, and was in turn replaced – the site is now occupied by Fr. Mathew Bridge). The Bridge of Dublin was built by the Dominicans in 1428, and survived well into the 18th century. This four arch bridge included various buildings such as a chapel, bakehouse and possibly an inn. Island Bridge (a predecessor of the current bridge) was added in 1577 at the upper tidal extremities of the river between Islandbridge and western Chapelizod. With the development of commercial Dublin in the 17th century, four new bridges were added in Dublin between 1670 and 1684: Barrack, or Bloody Bridge, (the forerunner of the current Rory O'More Bridge), Essex Bridge (Grattan Bridge), Ormond Bridge (O'Donovan Rossa Bridge) and Arran Bridge. Flooding in December 1801 following 36 hours of rain destroyed the oldest bridge which connected Church Street and Bridge Street. It was replaced with Whitworth Bridge in 1816. The oldest bridge still standing is Mellows Bridge, (originally Queens Bridge) constructed in 1764 on the site of Arran Bridge, which was destroyed by floods in 1763. The first iron bridge was the Ha'penny Bridge built in 1816. Farmleigh Bridge, also iron, was built around 1872 at the end of a tunnel and connected Farmleigh estate to Palmerstown. The Millennium Bridge was opened in December 1999, and 21st century additions include Seán O'Casey Bridge (2005), Samuel Beckett Bridge (2009), and Rosie Hackett Bridge (2014). There are records regarding several bridges in County Kildare. A bridge was built in Kilcullen in 1319. There are also a number of historic private and disused bridges over the Liffey. One such stone bridge, at Harristown Estate in County Kildare, was built for John LaTouche in 1788. This remains in private use and is near the disused Harristown viaduct (over the Liffey) which was on the Sallins Tullow rail line and was last used in 1959.

Dividing the Northside of Dublin from the Southside, the Liffey is today spanned by numerous bridges, mostly open to vehicular traffic. These include the West Link Bridge on the M50 motorway, Seán Heuston Bridge and O'Connell Bridge. There are 3 pedestrian bridges in the city: the Millennium Bridge, Seán O'Casey Bridge and the Ha'penny Bridge. 21st century additions include the Samuel Beckett Bridge (2009) and James Joyce Bridge (2003), both designed by Santiago Calatrava. Crossings further upriver include the Liffey Bridge at Celbridge, "The Bridge at 16" (a 19th century pedestrian suspension bridge at what is now the K Club), and the Leinster Aqueduct – which carries the Grand Canal over the Liffey at Caragh.