4.1.2 Flagship Parks

These parks are the top city parks and are defined as significant visitor/tourist attractions because of their historical context and location, their natural and built heritage or the high standard of design and horticultural presentation. They welcome thousands of visitors each year.

The key purposes and functions of Flagship Parks are:

to provide natural environment connections, specialised functions and features higher levels of activity for the entire city
to be managed to the highest standard
to act as a destination for tourists
to serve users from across the city and beyond in particular parks The main characteristics of Flagship parks are:
Large-sized park that can extend across large areas of the city, providing connections and accommodating significant trail systems
Can range in size and shape
Can contain natural heritage, built heritage or cultural features and visitor facilities
Typically have many entrances
Easily accessed by public transport
Adequate provision of parking

There are currently13 Flagship parks in Dublin City, which are indicated in the following table. These parks are managed by both the City Council and The Office of Public Works. In order to maintain and enhance their functions and characteristics, management plans shall guide their future as Flagship parks. Currently management plans have been prepared for the North Bull Island, St Anne’s Park, Merrion Square Park and Herbert Park and the OPW have prepared plans for The Phoenix Park and St Stephen’s Green and The Irish National War Memorial Gardens.

Action

To prepare management plans for all designated flagship parks under the management of the City Council.

Park Management Character	Management	Character
Father Collins Park	DCC	Contemporary park
North Bull Island	DCC	Biodiversity reserve
St. Anne’s Park	DCC	Historic park
Merrion Square Park	DCC	Historic park
St. Patrick’s Park	DCC	Historic park
Herbert Park	DCC	Historic park
Phoenix Park	OPW	Historic park
St. Stephen’s Green	OPW	Historic park
National Botanic Gardens	OPW	Historic and botanical park
Iveagh Gardens	OPW	Historic park
Garden of Remembrance	OPW	Contemporary park
The Irish National War Memorial Gardens	OPW	Historic park
Formal Garden, Royal Hospital, Kilmainham	OPW	Historic and botanical park

North Bull Island

North Bull Island is unique in Dublin as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, as well as being part of the Natura 2000 network, a National Nature Reserve and the first national bird sanctuary in Ireland.

The island, of some 300 ha. in size was formed after the city carried out works in the 1800s, including the building of the South and North Bull walls to deepen the sea channel in Dublin Port. This changed the natural tidal effects, causing silt to be deposited north of the Bull Wall resulting in a new island being formed.

The island is only 200 years old, and supports sand-dunes and a saltmarsh habitat, along with supporting species protected under the EU Habitats Directive. Bull Island is part of the Dublin Bay Biosphere, one of the most highly designated biodiversity areas in the country.

Its unique habitat is widely studied by students and academics.

Dollymount Strand, the 5km long beach on the island is a Blue Flag beach. Swimming, windsurfing and kite-surfing are all popular sports on the Strand and it’s also a popular walking area.

The focus of management of this natural area is:

conservation management of its flora & fauna.
development and improvement of visitor facilities including a new interpretation centre.
improving traffic management.

Actions

To implement planned traffic management solutions for access to the island.
To construct a new visitor centre subject to planning approval.

Father Collins Park

Ireland’s first sustainable park was completed in 2009. It is the result of the open space requirement of a sustainable Action Area Plan in 2000 on one of the City Council’s last remaining greenfield sites now called Clongriffin and Belmayne.

The park design, which called for environmental sustainability and linked green space, was a result of an international competition won by an Argentinian firm called Abelleyro and Romero Architects. It is a contemporary design focusing

on sustainability and deploys an array of wind turbines to demonstrate the use of renewable energy and to act as an iconic landmark to the area.

The park also promotes biodiversity through the inclusion of an extensive planting scheme and constructed wetland using native plants. The delivery of the park took place with the arrival of new residents and provided an immediate recreational resource for them.

The focus of management of this park is:

to maintain it to the original competition design as far as practicable.
to study the effectiveness of the wind turbines and promote sustainable design.

Actions

To prepare a park management plan to include adjoining recreational lands.

St Anne’s Park

This is the second largest public park in Dublin and is approximately 97 ha. in size. It is formed of the historic core of an original estate property of the Guinness family, which was purchased by Dublin Corporation in 1937 and used for housing and the creation of the current public park. The park is a designated Conservation Area under the current Development plan.

Major changes in the park have included the loss of the estate’s mansion through fire in 1943, the formation of the Rose Garden in the 1970s and the introduction of sports facilities, an arts centre and an allotment garden. New features continue to be added including the Irish Suzhou Garden, which was gifted by the Peoples Republic of China to the City. The focus of management of this park is:

to study its historic landscape and conservation value with the objective of retaining the historic estate character.
to develop the current master landscape plan to guide future development and conservation, in particular its role with regards, to the Dublin Bay Biosphere.
to enhance visitor facilities, in particular in the area of the Red Stables.

Actions

To develop a destination playground.
To obtain ideas for the original area of the mansion.
To restore the range of follies which form part of the historic estate landscape.
To assess the potential of the park as a sculpture park.
To implement plans for the Red Stables to enhance it as a visitor centre.

Herbert Park

This park formed part of the Pembroke Estate and was gifted to the then Pembroke Council as lands for a public park, named after Lord Herbert.

The lands were first used as the grounds of the successful Irish International Exhibition of 1907. Following this a competition was held for a new design which was won by J Cheal and Sons.

The current park contains original historical features, such as the pergola and the lake that contained the Canadian Water Chute, a key attraction of the exhibition in 1907. The land on which the park stands was first opened to the public in 1911.

The park is approximately 11 ha. (27 acres) in size and has numerous amenities including three tennis courts, a croquet lawn, a bowling green as well as Gaelic and soccer pitches.

The key management objectives of this park are:

to study its historic landscape and conservation value with a view to appropriately balance historic conservation and contemporary recreational demand.
to enhance park visitor facilities.

St Patrick’s Park

St Patrick’s Cathedral, which dates from 1220, lies adjacent to this inner-city park. It is one of the top visitor attractions in Dublin and is the final resting place of such notable Dubliners as Jonathan Swift.

The park was developed by Lord Iveagh under a plan by Arthur Dudgeon in 1904 and involved demolition of existing slum buildings in that area. It provides a graceful setting for the cathedral and is largely used for passive recreation with a large central fountain and pond feature.

A ‘Literary Parade’ of sculpture plaques was installed in 1988 to honour some of Ireland’s greatest literary figures and the park also holds Vivienne Roche’s sculpture entitled Liberty Bell. The park also contains newly refurbished tea-rooms and a playground.

The key management objectives of this park are:

to maintain its historical design layout and its landscape as a setting for the adjacent Cathedral.
to enhance visitor facilities adjacent to the Cathedral, which is a key tourist attraction in Dublin.

Action

To implement actions arising from the conservation and management study of the park.

Merrion Square Park

This is one of the City’s popular historic parks which was developed in the Georgian-era by the Pembroke Estate. It is one of five Georgian parks in the city. In typical Georgian fashion, the park is central to surrounding terrace dwellings whose occupants would originally have had exclusive access to the park. The park was purchased from the Estate in 1930 by the Catholic Church and was intended as a site for a cathedral that did not proceed. Dublin Corporation leased it from the church in 1974 to manage it as a public park.

The railed park includes extensive lawns that provide event space, a flower garden, a miniature arboretum, heather garden and tree arched pathways.

It covers over 12 acres and offers a retreat from the outside world through its wide thick border of shrubs within enclosed railings. The square contains a number of sculptural artworks and a newly refurbished playground themed on the Oscar Wilde children’s story called ‘The Selfish Giant’.

The focus of management of this park is:

to study and appropriately enhance this historic landscape in accordance with its conservation plan.
to enhance visitor facilities.

Actions

To implement the park’s conservation plan, including upgrading perimeter paths and seating in sympathy with the original Georgian-era park character.
To construct a park tea room in sympathy with the historic landscape character
To interpret the historic park and artwork within, in particular to exploit the use of digital media for interpretation .

OPW Flagship Parks

These parks and gardens are under the management of the Office of Public Works (OPW) and serve as flagship parks for the purposes of this strategy. Their management policy is determined by the OPW.

Phoenix Park

The Phoenix Park is the largest enclosed city park in Europe with an area of 707 ha. It is also one of Dublin’s oldest parks. The park was created in 1662 when James Butler, Duke of Ormonde enclosed the lands and stocked it with fallow deer from England. The park is home to a number of institutional uses such as Áras an Uachtaráin, the United States Ambassador’s residence, the Garda and Army headquarters and the Zoological Gardens.

The management objectives of the park are set out in the Phoenix Park Conservation Management Plan under the overall vision of:

“To protect and conserve the historic landscape character of the Phoenix Park and it’s archaeological, architectural and natural heritage whilst facilitating visitor access, education and interpretation, facilitating the sustainable use of the Park’s resources for recreation and other appropriate activities, encouraging research and maintaining its sense of peace and tranquillity.”

St Stephen’s Green

St Stephen’s Green lies in the heart of Dublin and evolved from a peripheral marshy common of the 1600s to a very popular Victorian-era public park today. Its current 9ha. layout was designed by William Sheppard, funded by Sir A.E Guinness and opened in 1880.The park contains a collection of notable sculptures, including a Henry Moore work dedicated to W.B.Yeats. The park won the Academy of Urbanism Award for Ireland in 2006.

The park’s Conservation Management Plan vision statement is:

“The long-term vision for St. Stephen’s Green combines its protection, conservation and, where appropriate, restoration as an important and unique historic landscape with the facilitation of appropriate access and use.”

The National Botanic Gardens

The National Botanic Gardens serves a dual role in providing functions associated with botanic gardens worldwide, such as research, education and conservation, but in addition it also provides passive recreation normally associated with a public park.

It is a major tourist attraction for Dublin and achieves visitor numbers in excess of 500,000 per year. This significance undoubtedly has been aided by the investment in the award winning restoration of historic glasshouses and expansion of quality visitor facilities in recent years combined with their tradition of excellence in horticulture and maintenance.

Iveagh Gardens

This park has a secluded character although it is located in central Dublin. Its design by Ninian Niven dates from the Victorian-era and has influences of the French and English styles. It was originally a private pleasure garden, and was then developed as the site of the Dublin Exhibition Palace and Winter Garden in 1865.

The park came into state ownership in 1991, and a program of restoration followed, which has allowed conservation of the original features. The park also functions as an event space and hosts the successful annual Taste of Dublin festival, which attracts some 30,000 visitors.

The Garden of Remembrance

This contemporary 1960’s memorial space lies on what was originally the northern area of Georgian-era Rutland Square, called the Vauxhall Gardens, which were attached to the Rotunda Hospital.

The garden was opened on Easter Monday 1966 to commemorate the Golden Anniversary of the Easter Rising.

The garden was designed by Dáithí P. Hanly, former City Architect of Dublin City Council. The design features a cruciform pool with a mosaic surface depicting broken spears, a reference to the Celtic custom of throwing weapons into lakes and rivers after battle.

Sculptor Oisín Kelly was commissioned to design the garden’s main sculptural piece, the Children of Lir, which depicts the transformation of King Lir’s children into swans as a symbol of the birth of the Irish State.

The Irish National War Memorial Gardens

Designed by the celebrated architect Edward Luytens, this garden is a memorial to Irish service men killed in both World Wars.

The gardens were built by Irish and British war veterans, mainly using manual labour, and was completed in 1937.

The design centres on an altar War Stone with adjacent fountains containing obelisks, representing candles. Four granite Bookrooms, representing each province, are at the edge of the central space. The Bookrooms contain the Books of Remembrance with the names of those who died in the wars. Two sunken rose gardens lie east and west of the central altar.

A planned bridge linking across the River Liffey to the Phoenix park north of the garden was never realised.

The Formal Garden, Royal Hospital, Kilmainham

The gardens lie within the grounds of the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham, formerly the Royal Hospital, which was established in the 1680’s.

The Hospital was given to the Irish Free State in 1922 after the last occupants were transferred to the Royal Hospital in Chelsea. Substantial restoration was carried out in the 1980s, which included the creation of the gardens.

They were built interpreting a French formal style that was in vogue during the time the hospital was built

Adjacent Councils

The adjacent councils of Fingal, South Dublin and Dun Laoghaire manage the following parks, which are considered of Flagship status and are accessible to all of Dublin.

Ardgillan Demesne
Malahide Demesne
Newbridge House and Farm
Santry Demesne
St. Catherine’s, Lucan
Marlay Park

4.1.2 Flagship Parks