Peace Park, Dublin

Public park in Dublin, Ireland

Peace Park

Peace Park

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Peace Park

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Type| Municipal
Location| 13 Christchurch Place, Dublin, Ireland
Coordinates| 53°20′34″N 6°16′17″W﻿ / ﻿53.3428°N 6.2714°W﻿ / 53.3428; -6.2714
Area| 0.247 acres (0.10 ha)[1]
Created| 1988
Operated by| Dublin City Council
Open| all year
Website| www.dublincity.ie/residential/parks/dublin-city-parks/visit-park/peace-park

The Peace Park (Irish: Páirc na Síochána) is a small public park located across from Christchurch Cathedral on the corner of Nicholas Street and Christchurch Place in the Liberties area of Dublin city centre.

## History

[edit]

The park is situated on the site of Dublin's old Tholsel, an important building which combined the function of civic hall, guildhall, court and gaol from the time of the Norman invasion of Ireland until it was demolished around 1809.[2] Activities carried on at the Tholsel included that of a merchants' exchange, and sittings of the City Recorder's Court where punishments for crimes less serious than murder were meted out. These punishments included being whipped while being dragged behind a horse and cart from Skinner's Row (modern day Christchurch Place) to College Green some distance away. Alternatively, convicted people were flayed and/or pilloried at the front of the building. These punishments had ceased by the late 1700s.[3] Part of the remains of the church of St. Nicholas Within stand to the south-west of the park.

Designed in the late 1980s[4] as a sunken garden, with an aim towards reducing the traffic noise from the busy junction at which it exists, the park was dedicated to Ireland's desire for peace in 1988 during the Troubles.[5][6] The park is paved with a type of rock from County Clare named Liscannor Flagstone, "characterised by traces of unknown organisms".[7] In 2009/2010 it was decided to close the park indefinitely due to loitering and antisocial behaviour and for nearly 10 years afterwards it remained shut.[1]

Prior to redevelopment in 2019, the park's main features included a bronze 'Tree of Life' statue, a fountain, and quotes from Irish poets W. B. Yeats and Patrick Kavanagh engraved on surfaces. The 'Tree of Life' cast bronzes were originally placed in the garden for the Dublin Millennium celebrations which were celebrated in the city in 1988 (other commemorative ventures that year included the installation of the Molly Malone statue on Grafton Street).[8] In front of the park stands "Millennium Child", a sculpture of three bronze statues of children playing created by John Behan which was unveiled by President of Ireland Mary McAleese in November 2000 to celebrate "the Children of the New Millennium".[3]

## Refurbishment

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As part of Dublin City Council's 'Liberties Greening Strategy', the park was identified for refurbishment in the 2010s. In July 2018, Dermot Foley Landscape Architects were commissioned by Dublin City Council to revive the existing park and reinvent it as a memorial. The park had been closed for many years prior to the restoration and elements of a previous design were damaged. The Flanders Fields memorial was installed as well as herbaceous ground cover planting and a canopy layer of viburnum farreri and prunus × yedoensis.[9] After being closed to the public for nearly a decade,[1] due to anti-social behaviour such as public drinking and drug use, the Peace Park re-opened on 26 June 2019 after the refurbishment project and Flanders Fields memorial had been completed. The newly designed garden had also been raised with a ramped access so that it be fully accessible.[1] Dublin City Council said that the aim of the memorial was "to bring people together in reflection about war and peace, about sacrifice and suffering, about tolerance and hope, about forgiveness and reconciliation".[10]

## Flanders Fields memorial

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On 30 April 2019, a memorial to all those from the island of Ireland who died in Flanders Fields during World War I was unveiled in the park. A ceremony took place to mark the occasion which was jointly organised by Dublin City Council and the government of Flanders, Belgium. Soil from Flanders was integrated with Irish soil from all four provinces and placed within a circle of sandblasted Leinster granite reflecting the circular design in the roof of the Menin Gate war memorial in Ypres, Belgium. The memorial was covered with a grass sward and engraved with poetry from Irish war poet Francis Ledwidge. Around the memorial, benches of Belgian blue stone were engraved with the crests of Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht.[11]

## Controversies

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At the January 2018 meeting of Dublin City Council's commemorations subcommittee, where the members were briefed on the proposal to incorporate Irish soil into the Flanders Fields memorial at the Peace Park, four members of the committee opposed the Flanders Memorial. It had been argued previously by councillors, including the former Lord Mayor Mícheál Mac Donncha, and the then current Lord Mayor Nial Ring, that it would be inappropriate to have a war memorial in a 'peace' garden or park. In a February 2018 meeting, the alternative option of placing it instead in the War Memorial Gardens, Islandbridge was explored but ultimately rejected.[8]

The choosing of 1988 as the year in which to celebrate the millennium of the founding of Dublin city was also not without its own controversy.[3]

## See also

[edit]

* Island of Ireland Peace Park, Belgium
* List of public art in Dublin

## References

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1. ^ a b c d Surve, Aakanksha (25 June 2019). "Dublin's newly designed Peace Garden reopens after nearly a decade". dublinlive.ie. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
2. ^ "A reminder of Dublin's Tholsel building". Come Here To Me!. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
3. ^ a b c "Lost Dublin: The Tholsel". South Dublin Libraries Local Studies. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
4. ^ "Peace Park re-opens in Dublin 8". FM104. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
5. ^ "Parks and Amenities". libertiesdublin.ie. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
6. ^ "Peace Park". Dublin City Council. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
7. ^ Wyse Jackson 1993, p. 24.
8. ^ a b Ní Aodha, Gráinne (16 February 2019). "Work finally begins to refurbish The Liberties' Peace Park". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
9. ^ "Peace Park". landezine-award.com / Landezine International Landscape Award. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
10. ^ Hennessy, Michelle (25 June 2019). "Council says warden will monitor anti-social behaviour as it reopens Dublin Peace Park". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
11. ^ "Flanders Fields Memorial Dedicated in Dublin Peace Park". United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2022.

### Sources

[edit]

* Wyse Jackson, Patrick (1993). The Building Stones of Dublin: A Walking Guide. Donnybrook, Dublin: Town House and Country House. ISBN 0-946172-32-3.

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Parks in County Dublin

North of River Liffey
(Northside)|

* Albert College Park
* Ardgillan Castle and Demesne
* Ardmore Park
* Ashington Park
* Balgriffin Park
* Beaumont Woods
* Belcamp Park
* Beresford Park
* Blessington Street Basin
* Bram Stoker Park
* Bull Island
* Charlie Moore Memorial Park
* Chancery Park
* Clontarf Promenade
* Coolock Lane Park
* Corduff Park
* Crescent Park
* Croppies' Acre
* Darndale Park
* Donahies Field
* Edenmore Park
* Eileen McLoughlin Park
* Ellenfield Park
* Fairview Park
* Farmleigh Estate Gardens
* Father Collins Park
* Garden of Remembrance
* Griffith Park
* Hartstown Park
* Hazelbury Park
* Johnstown Park
* Kildonan Park
* King's Inns Park
* Lady's Well Park
* Lanesborough Park
* Littlepace Park
* Malahide Castle and Demesne
* Mayfield Park
* Mellowes Park
* Mount Bernard Park
* Mountjoy Square
* Botanic Gardens
* Newbridge Park
* Oscar Traynor Park
* Our Lady's Park
* Phoenix Park
* Pope John-Paul II Park
* Poppintree Park
* Portrane Park
* Rivervalley Park
* Rockfield Park
* Royal Canal Park
* Saint Anne's Park
* St. Anne's Road Pocket Park
* St. Catherine's Park
* St. Michan’s Park
* Santry Park
* Seabury Park
* Seagrange Park
* Spencer Dock Park
* Stardust Memorial Park
* Tolka Valley Park
* Tyrrelstown Park
* Waterville Park
* Wolfe Tone Square

South of River Liffey
(Southside)|

* Ballawley Park
* Bancroft Park
* Belgrave Square
* Blackrock Park
* Brickfield Park
* Bridgefoot Street Park
* Bushy Park
* Cabbage Garden
* Cabinteely Park
* Carysfort Park
* Corkagh Park
* Dartmouth Square
* Deerpark
* Dillon's Park
* Dodder Park
* Éamonn Ceannt Park
* Eaton Square Park
* Fernhill Park and Gardens
* Fitzsimon's Wood
* Fitzwilliam Square
* Grattan Crescent Park
* Griffeen Valley Park
* Herbert Park
* Hermitage Park
* Herzog Park
* Irish National War Memorial Gardens
* Irishtown Nature Park
* Iveagh Gardens
* Jim Mitchell Park
* Kenilworth Square
* Killbogget Park
* Killiney Hill Park
* Lansdowne Valley Park
* Loreto Park
* Markievicz Park
* Marlay Park
* Merrion Square
* Moran Park
* Mount Pleasant Square
* Oscar Square
* Palmerston Park
* Peace Park
* Pearse Park
* Pearse Square
* People's Park
* St. Audoen's Park
* Saint Enda's Park
* St Kevin's Park
* St Patrick’s Cathedral Park
* Saint Stephen's Green
* Sandymount Green (park)
* Shanganagh Park
* Sorrento Park
* Thomastown Park
* Tranquila Park
* Turvey Park
* Tymon Park
* Waterstown Park
* Weaver Park
* Willsbrook Park
* Wilton Park

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