7 of Dublin’s best parks
Royal Hospital Kilmainham
RHK pictured during the Forbidden Fruit Festival
Royal Hospital Kilmainham is located just a stone’s throw from Hueston Station and the Phoenix Park. The Parisian inspired building was once a retirement home for old soldiers but now holds some of the best Irish modern art as in 1991, The Irish Museum of Modern Art made it’s home in the building. The grounds include a beautiful French style garden and a large parkland which is host to Forbidden Fruit Festival annually, as well as Love Sensation and WellFest.
Phoenix Park
The Phoenix park pictured here stretching past RHK
As the largest enclosed park in any capital city in Europe at 1,752 acres, the Phoenix Park is one of Dublin’s best known landmarks. Founded in 1662, today it is home to the President of Ireland in Áras an Uachtaráin, An Garda Síochána HQ and 400 animals living in Dublin Zoo. The park is also home to 600 fallow deer which were first introduced over 350 years ago by the Duke of Ormond. Other attractions on the grounds include Farmleigh House, The Wellington Monument, Ashtown Castle and the People’s Garden.
Iveagh Gardens
Dublin’s ‘Secret Garden’
Designed in 1865 by Ninian Niven and having a history of over 300 years, The Iveagh Gardens is one of Dublin’s hidden gems. Located in the busy city centre, and just a 2 minute walk from St. Stephens Green, it is a perfect spot to have lunch on a sunny day or get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Many of the original landscape features are still in place or have been restored including the yew maze, the rosarium and the fountains around the park. The Iveagh Gardens is often known as Dublin’s ‘Secret Garden’.
St. Stephens Green
St. Stephens Green captured from Grafton Street
What started off as a marshy common on the edge of the city used for grazing sheep and cattle, public executions and the occasional witch burning, has now turned into one of the most iconic spaces in Ireland. St Stephen’s Green has it’s humble beginnings in 1663 where in order to increase revenue for the city, the marshland was enclosed and the perimeter plots sold off for building the now well-known Georgian houses. The Green wasn’t opened to the public until over 200 years after it was founded, since then there has been many changes to what was once grazing land. Now the 22 acre site is often a get-away for workers, students and shoppers who are seeking a break from the city.
Blessington Street Basin
Blessington Street Basin from above
Hidden on the city’s northside a short walk from O’Connell Street is of Dublin’s most well kept secrets. At 0.75 hectares and 80% water, the Blessington Street Basin is one of the most unique parks in the capital. Guarded by iron gates and the Basin Keeper’s cottage built in 1811, is a former reservoir which supplied homes in the area and even the Powers & Jameson distilleries until the 1970s. In the centre of the reservoir there is a small island created as a refuge for the ducks and swans who call the basin their home. Refurbished in 1994, the high stone walls lined with different plants and benches give the park a relaxed feel and can almost make you forget you’re in the city centre.
Marlay Park
A Panoramic view of Marlay Park during Longitude Festival 2019
Located at the foothills of the Dublin mountains lies Marlay Park. Opened to the public in 1975, the land was previously owned by St. Mary’s Abbey but was confiscated but Henry VIII in the period of which monasteries and convents were being suppressed. The original Marlay House or ‘The Grange’ was built in the 1700s and still stands today. The park now includes numerous sporting pitches, holds small craft workshops in the 18thcentury stable yard and is the starting point of the 132km long Wicklow Way. Marlay Park is also host to numerous music festivals and concerts including the annual Longitude Festival since 2013. It has also hosted acts like the Foo Fighters, Green Day, Oasis, Coldplay, Kanye West, The Coronas and many more.
