Peace Park, Dublin
Peace Park | |
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Type | Municipal |
Location | 13Christchurch Place, Dublin,Ireland |
Coordinates | 53°20′34″N6°16′17″W/ 53.3428°N 6.2714°W |
Area | 0.247 acres (0.10 ha)[1] |
Created | 1988 |
Operated by | Dublin City Council |
Open | all year |
Website | www |
ThePeace Park(Irish:Páirc na Síochána) is a smallpublic parklocated across fromChristchurch Cathedralon the corner of Nicholas Street andChristchurch Placeinthe Libertiesarea of Dublin city centre. Designed in the late 1980s[2]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 duringthe Troubles.[3][4]In 2009/2010 it was decided to close the park indefinitely due to loitering and antisocial behaviour and for nearly 10 years it remained shut.[1]
History
[edit]The park is situated on the site of Dublin's oldTholsel,an important building which combined the function of civic hall, guildhall, court and gaol from the time of theNorman invasion of Irelanduntil it was demolished around 1809.[5]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) toCollege Greensome distance away. Alternatively, convicted people were flayed and/or pilloried at the front of the building. These punishments had ceased by the late 1700s.[6]Part of the remains of the church ofSt. Nicholas Withinstand to the south-west of the park.
Prior to redevelopment in 2019, the park's main features included a bronze 'Tree of Life' statue, a fountain, and quotes from Irish poetsW. B. YeatsandPatrick Kavanaghengraved on surfaces. The'Tree of Life' cast bronzeswere originally placed in the garden for theDublin Millennium celebrationswhich were celebrated in the city in 1988 (other commemorative ventures that year included the installation of theMolly Malonestatue onGrafton Street).[7]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 IrelandMary McAleesein November 2000 to celebrate "the Children of the New Millennium".[6]
Refurbishment
[edit]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 ofviburnum farreriandprunus × yedoensis.[8]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 fullyaccessible.[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".[9]
Flanders Fields memorial
[edit]On 30 April 2019, a memorial to all those from the island of Ireland who died inFlanders FieldsduringWorld War Iwas unveiled in the park. A ceremony took place to mark the occasion which was jointly organised by Dublin City Council and the government ofFlanders,Belgium. Soil from Flanders was integrated with Irish soil from all four provinces and placed within a circle ofsandblastedLeinstergranitereflecting the circular design in the roof of theMenin Gatewar memorialinYpres,Belgium. The memorial was covered with a grass sward and engraved with poetry from Irishwar poetFrancis Ledwidge.Around the memorial, benches of Belgian blue stone were engraved with the crests of Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht.[10]
Controversies
[edit]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 MayorMícheál Mac Donncha,and the then current Lord MayorNial 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 theWar Memorial Gardens,Islandbridgewas explored but ultimately rejected.[7]
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.[6]
See also
[edit]- Island of Ireland Peace Park,Belgium
References
[edit]- ^abcdSurve, Aakanksha (25 June 2019)."Dublin's newly designed Peace Garden reopens after nearly a decade".dublinlive.ie.Retrieved12 August2022.
- ^"Peace Park re-opens in Dublin 8".FM104.25 June 2019.Retrieved13 August2022.
- ^"Parks and Amenities".libertiesdublin.ie.Retrieved13 August2022.
- ^"Peace Park".Dublin City Council.Retrieved12 August2022.
- ^"A reminder of Dublin's Tholsel building".Come Here To Me!.21 September 2013.Retrieved12 August2022.
- ^abc"Lost Dublin: The Tholsel".South Dublin LibrariesLocal Studies.Retrieved13 August2022.
- ^abNí Aodha, Gráinne (16 February 2019)."Work finally begins to refurbish The Liberties' Peace Park".TheJournal.ie.Retrieved12 August2022.
- ^"Peace Park".landezine-award / Landezine International Landscape Award.Retrieved12 August2022.
- ^Hennessy, Michelle (25 June 2019)."Council says warden will monitor anti-social behaviour as it reopens Dublin Peace Park".TheJournal.ie.Retrieved12 August2022.
- ^"Flanders Fields Memorial Dedicated in Dublin Peace Park".United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough.1 May 2019.Retrieved12 August2022.