Dubliners will have to wait until the floods subside to find out whether the city's newest and most mysterious work of art has survived the elements.
Several months ago, the bronze sculpture of a life-size Rhino appeared overnight in the River Dodder on the west side of the bridge at Milltown.
No one has claimed responsibility for the bronze beast, which has been standing in midstream, causing a considerable amount of comment from local residents and patrons of the nearby Dropping Well public house.
While the pub is denying any links with the Rhino, it is running a high-profile competition to find a name for the beast. The best name to have emerged to date is "Rhino O'Neal", in honour of the film actor.
Other names suggested include "The Plodder in the Dodder", "The Milltown Muddler" and "The Dodder Spike".
While the Rhino survived the floods earlier this month, it disappeared without trace beneath the floodwaters shortly before 10 o'clock yesterday morning.
"It is 10 years since the water levels have been so high on the Dodder and we have been too busy preparing ourselves to ensure that we can keep the place from being flooded," said the manager of the pub, Mr Peter Cassidy, yesterday evening.
"We are pretty sure he is down there somewhere under the surface, but we don't know for sure."
The Rhino, he said, had caused a considerable stir in the area when it appeared overnight, and the beast has since become a major source of conversation and speculation among patrons of the pub.
Mr Cassidy said that whoever had put the Rhino in the river had "filled him full of cement", so the expectation was that he could survive the full force of the Dodder.
"However, we are not forgetting that when serious flooding happens here, it can be devastating, and there was huge damage to this pub about 15 years ago from floods," he said.
"We will only know if your man has survived when the water drops, but as of now we are not sure."