12th Lock, Castleknock
The gate to the city flight: everything below this lock is by appointment, while above it lies the first stretch that volunteers reopened.
- By arrangement
- Not yet checked
- Not yet checked: berths, shore power, water, pump-out, fuel, price and maximum stay
Desk research, not yet checked on site · Position: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Report a change
Lock times
By arrangement Opened by arrangement
| Today – Fri, 6 Nov | See the notice |
|---|
Notice: Secured by Waterways Ireland: at least two days' notice to the Eastern Regional Office (+353 1 868 0148, dublincanals@waterwaysireland.org) for passage into or out of the city; two boats a day. Lifejackets must be worn in the lock.
Times are worked out on this device and change with the season: check the notice. Check the Waterways Ireland marine notices
Source of the times · Times checked 23 Oct 2026
Moor here
Castleknock Marina
Not yet checkedFloating jetty · visitor access not yet checked
Current availability unknown
Report space · Seven-day historyNot yet checked: operator, berths, boat length, shore power, water, pump-out, fuel, price and contact
Position: © OpenStreetMap contributors
About this mooring
A short run of gated pontoons beside the 12th lock, known as Castleknock Marina; who runs it and whether visiting boats may tie up is not known, so ask before mooring.
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Permit needed: up to 5 days at one public mooring
Every boat on the canals and the Barrow needs a Waterways Ireland permit on display. The yearly Combined Mooring and Passage permit allows up to 5 days at any one public mooring; visiting boats can get a free 31-day permit once a year. Permits from Waterways Ireland
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About 12th Lock, Castleknock
The 12th lock at Castleknock marks the end of free cruising from the west: Waterways Ireland keeps it secured, and boats go down into the city only by appointment, with at least two days' notice and no more than two boats a day. It is also where the canal's revival began. By 1990 volunteers of the Royal Canal Amenity Group had reopened 74 km of navigation from this lock to Mullingar, twenty years before the whole canal was finished. Beside the chamber stands The Twelfth Lock, a hotel and bar with a deck overlooking the lock; check that it is open before counting on a meal there. Royal Canal Boat Trips run skippered day charters from Castleknock, and Waterways Ireland lists a slipway at the M50 aqueduct, where the canal crosses the motorway.
Things to do
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Royal Canal Boat Trips
Skippered three-hour private charters on a barge from Castleknock, Leixlip, Maynooth or Kilcock, for two to twelve passengers, with refreshments.
Services
- Slipway · M50 Aqueduct
Not listed yet: eat & drink. Know one? Tell us
Neighbours by water
- 10th Lock, Ashtown By arrangement
- Clonsilla & the Deep Sinking
- 6th Lock & Cross Guns Bridge By arrangement
Show 3 more
- Newcomen Lift Bridge By arrangement
- Spencer Dock & Sea Lock By arrangement
- Leixlip (Louisa Bridge)
≈ distances are computed along the water, not along the marked channel. Times are our estimate: 5 km/h and 20 minutes a lock. Check the Waterways Ireland marine notices
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Also nearby, from OpenStreetMap (64)
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Food & drink (29)
Services (17)
Locks & bridges (18)
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