Peace Garden, Christchurch Place

Located in Dublin’s medieval quarter, this 0.1 hectare garden is adjacent to the ruins of the Church of St. Nicholas within and opposite Christ Church Cathedral. This newly designed garden will provide a beautiful public space for quiet contemplation in the bustling historic centre of the city.

The Peace Garden was originally developed as part of the Dublin Millennium celebrations in 1988. In the original design the garden was ‘sunken’, which was a popular theme at the time, however the space became problematic because the steps and low wall did not comply with up-dated standards for universal access and safety. Ultimately the garden was closed to the public for almost 10 years, due to loitering and anti-social behaviour.

The newly designed garden has been raised with a ramped access to be fully accessible to all. The materials used in the pavement, steps and seating (Carlow limestone setts and Wicklow granite) reflect the quality of the original garden and the materials used by Dublin City Council in other recent public realm improvements at St. Audoen’s Park and Christchurch Cathedral.

The Tree of Life a bronze sculpture by artist Leo Higgins, which was in the original garden, has been restored and returned to the park and extracts from poems by W.B.Yeats and Patrick Kavanagh are embedded in the stone walls and footpaths throughout the park. The garden now also has a Flanders Field’s memorial which incorporates soil from Flanders as a memorial to the Irishmen who died and were injured in the First World War. John Behan’s sculpture Millennium Child stands at the entrance to the park.