Grand Canal

Canal lock on circular line of Grand Canal, built c. 1795. Comprising two pairs of mitre gates with timber foot-boards and balance beams, set within cut limestone lock chamber, having limestone copings and splayed end to west. Timber mooring posts to north and south tow-paths. Located to east of Leeson Street and east of Eustace Bridge.

One of a series of locks to raise and lower boats between different sections of the Grand Canal, the degree of engineering and ingenuity displayed in the design lend considerable technical interest to the site. The canal originally terminated at the City Basin off James's Street, and the Circular Line, connecting the system with the Grand Canal Docks at Ringsend, was only completed in the 1790s. The canal network developed in the late eighteenth century and encouraged the commercialization and industrialization of the country. It is an important reminder of Ireland's civil engineering heritage.