Dublin City Council Herbert Park Bandstand and Peace of Mind Garden Officially Unveiled

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Ray McAdam, visited Herbert Park today to view the newly completed Peace of Mind Garden and to acknowledge the creativity and hard work of Donnybrook Tidy Towns and Dublin City Council’s Parks staff. The initiative has transformed an underused corner of the park into a serene and contemplative space, a place where visitors can pause, sit, and allow their minds to become still. Thoughtfully designed steps, seating, planting and landscaping now create a warm, reflective environment for all park users.

During his visit, the Lord Mayor also celebrated a major milestone in the park’s heritage, the restoration of the much‑loved Herbert Park bandstand.

Although one of Herbert Park’s most familiar landmarks, the bandstand’s history is often misunderstood. A large bandstand did indeed stand on the site during the Irish International Exhibition of 1907; however, that original structure was sold at auction in 1908 and relocated to the seafront in Bray, where it still stands today. The bandstand now found in Herbert Park is a later and more modest structure, built around 1911 as part of Ernest Cheal’s elegant Edwardian landscape design for the park.

With its Arts and Crafts styling, octagonal form, timber columns and terracotta-tiled roof, the bandstand has long been a cherished feature of Dublin’s public realm. It has even secured a place in popular culture, Phil Lynott stood on this very structure in the 1982 music video for “Old Town,” helping cement its place in the city’s cultural memory.

By 2024, however, time had taken its toll. The structure was experiencing severe deterioration, including slipped roof tiles, water ingress, rotting timbers, failing soffits, blocked gutters and structural concerns. Dublin City Council commissioned 7L Architects to prepare a Conservation Method Statement, following the principle of undertaking as little as possible, but as much as necessary. Their recommendations informed a careful and sensitive restoration programme.

The completed works include the replacement of missing clay tiles; repair of the roof structure and timber soffits; reinstatement of hardwood railings based on patterns seen in early photographs; restoration of the decorative finial; repointing of the granite base in lime mortar; and installation of a discreet French drain to prevent future water damage. The long‑lost original gate has also been faithfully recreated from historic images. All works were carried out to a high standard by Barbary Roofing & Conservation Ltd.

Speaking at the event, the Lord Mayor Councillor Ray McAdam said, “Today, the Peace of Mind Garden and this beautifully restored bandstand stand as lasting expressions of why investment in our parks matters so profoundly. This is about more than bricks, stone, timber or design. It is about recognising the cultural life of our public spaces, their social importance, and the history and memory they hold for generations of Dubliners. One offers a place of quiet reflection, calm and renewal. The other offers a place of gathering, performance and celebration. It gives me great pleasure now to officially open the restored Herbert Park Bandstand, a place shaped by our past, valued in our present, and ready to serve and inspire generations yet to come.”

***Photos from today’s event will be syndicated by Fennell Photography***

ENDS