What We Do

We successfully campaigned for deposits on bottles and cans - Learn More Here 

Our Mission

Dodder Action is an umbrella group of volunteers who want to maximise the potential of the River Dodder as an amenity for the people of Dublin.

Click Here for News, upcoming events and activities

Who We Are

We organise working groups to go out and clean the river banks with equipment from Dublin City Council, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and Dublin South County Council. We partner with UCD's Citizen Science projects.

We have built a vigilant community along the river to safe-guard this wonderful resource for the enjoyment of the hundreds of walkers, anglers, dog-lovers, naturalists and cyclists who use it every day.

Find out how to volunteer with Dodder Action 

About the Dodder River

The river runs some 24 km from its source at Kippure in the Wicklow mountains to the sea at Grand Canal Dock. It flows through communities from Tallaght to Firhouse, Templeogue, Rathfarnham, Dartry, Milltown, Donnybrook, Ballsbridge, Ringsend and Grand Canal Dock.

Its name comes from the Irish word "Dothra" which means turbulent, and that's what the river becomes every time there's very heavy rain.  Its powerful torrents once provided energy for industrial mills all along its course.  Now, unfortunately, they sweep junk and plastic into the banks and into the trees and vegetation.

What We've Achieved

• Dodder Action was the winner of the South Dublin County Council Community Sustainability Initiative 2024;our beloved late volunteer Richard Good won a Sean Moore Award from DCC for his work on the river in 2019;KBC Bright Ideas Green Ideas Winner 2017;Tidy Towns Waters and Communities Regional Award 2017;SDCC Community Sustainability Initiative Winner 2017.
• We published Christopher Moriarty's Down the Dodder in eBook format. This is the most comprehensive guide to the Dodder River, from mountains to sea. Free to Dodder Action members. 
• Monthly volunteer clean ups along the River Dodder
• Dodder Monsters Competition
• Community of more than 1,400 river custodians, volunteers and followers
• Submission on the Dodder Greenway Plan to Dublin City Council, South Dublin County Council and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council
• Talks on the ecology and conservation of the Dodder River to primary school children
• Partnership with UCD Citizen Scientist initiatives

Whether you've two minutes to spare or two days, we would love you to join in protecting the River Dodder. 

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” — Robert Swan