Ringsend is a southside inner suburb of Dublin. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the southern terminus of the East Link Toll Bridge. Areas included in Ringsend are the south side of the Dublin Docklands, and at the west end is the area of South Lotts and part of the Grand Canal Dock area. Neighbouring areas include Irishtown, Sandymount and the Beggars Bush part of Ballsbridge to the south, and the city centre to the west.
At 207.8 metres and 207.48 metres, the Poolbeg Generating Station chimneys in Ringsend are the tallest structures in Dublin. The Poolbeg chimneys have been defunct since 2010 and were due to be dismantled, however by popular local demand the ESB have decided to keep them standing.
Formerly the point where ships arriving across the Irish Sea would dock, Ringsend went into decline in the 19th and 20th centuries, when the shipping moved to other locations, although there is still some container shipping.
Recent years have seen significant growth in the area, particularly with the Grand Canal Dock Project. A number of high-tech multinationals including Google established major offices in the area adding to the rejuvenation.
In the late 1980s the Windmill Lane Studios moved to Ringsend and became Ringsend Road Studios, where many prominent musicians, among them U2 and The Chieftains, have recorded. U2 also rehearses and records at The Factory, nearby in Barrow Street.
Thorncastle Street and adjacent Bridge Street were used in the 1999 film Agnes Browne as the location for the market stall and church scenes beside the flat blocks. Ringsend has also been a location for a number of other notable films including In The Name Of The Father, Educating Rita (Rita's home was in Ringsend) and The General.
Ringsend and the southern part of Dublin Port are also home to the Great South Wall, connecting the Poolbeg Lighthouse to the mainland. The lighthouse lies at the extreme east end of the wall and was constructed in 1767. The stone wall that now stands was constructed over a period of many years and was completed in 1795. The wall and lighthouse are a popular walk destination. The area around Poolbeg also contains Dublin's main power station, with its two huge chimneys for steam - Dublin's tallest structures, the former Pigeon House Fort and a range of industrial buildings.
South of the Poolbeg peninsula and the Great South Wall lies the sandy area known as the South Bull.
