Iveagh Gardens
Iveagh Gardens | |
---|---|
Type | Municipal |
Location | Dublin |
Coordinates | 53°20′10″N 6°15′43″W / 53.336°N 6.262°W |
Area | 8.5 acres (3.44 ha) |
Created | 1865 |
Operated by | Office of Public Works |
Open | all Year |
Website | iveaghgardens |
The Iveagh Gardens (
History
The site of the gardens was shown in 1756 as Leeson's Fields[2] after Joseph Leeson, 1st Earl of Milltown.
Clonmell Lawns
In the late 18th century
Coburg Gardens
When the 1st Earl died in 1798, his son the 2nd Earl (then aged 14 years old) inherited the estate including Clonmell Gardens. The estate was sold in 1810 and the gardens were opened for public use around 1817[5] and renamed "Coburg Gardens" after the royal family of Saxe-Coburg.[6] Entrance to the park was from the south side of St Stephen's Green, the "Royal Horse Bazaar".[3]
The Coburg Gardens provided the setting for a major riot in August 1835, during which several Orangemen were badly injured.[6][7] By 1860 the gardens had fallen into disrepair being used as a site for grazing sheep and dumping waste.[6]
Dublin Exhibition Palace and Winter Garden
Reversion to private ownership by the Guinness family
In 1870, Sir Benjamin Lee's sons,
Gift to the Irish nation
Éamon de Valera, who was then both Taoiseach and also chancellor of University College Dublin, initiated inquiries with The 2nd Earl of Iveagh as to whether he would sell Iveagh House and the gardens complex to the Irish state. On 8 June 1937, this request was declined. However, on 4 May 1939 Lord Iveagh wrote to Éamon de Valera offering the Iveagh complex by way of gift to the nation. Lord Iveagh had been concerned as to the future use of the site, and specified in his letter of offer to Éamon de Valera that the Iveagh Gardens remain "unbuilt on", as a "lung" for Dublin. On 17 May 1939 this gift was accepted by the Government and Éamon de Valera wrote to Rupert, Lord Iveagh.[10] In 1941, the Gardens were re-united with the college buildings of Earlsfort Terrace.[5] However, there is, as of 2020, no public access to the former college buildings which are now buildings of the National Concert Hall and the planned children's science museum, Experimentation Station.
With the growth of student numbers at the university buildings, consideration was given in 1961 to building on the Iveagh Gardens. However, this did not occur and the university moved instead to Belfield, thereby saving the gardens.[11]
Management by the Office of Public Works
In 1991 the gardens were placed under the management of The Office of Public Works.[12] The OPW brief was under six distinct headings:[12]
- to conserve and restore a unique city-centre park, which has remained largely unaltered since its layout by the landscape architect Ninian Niven;
- to improve public accessibility by constructing a new entrance from Hatch Street;
- to focus attention on one of Ireland's most influential landscape architects and horticulturists, Ninian Niven, by conserving one of his few surviving landscape creations;
- to conserve the internal and perimeter vegetation to screen out adjacent office blocks and buildings;
- to highlight the large range of landscape features for public enjoyment and landscape appreciation; and
- to restore these gardens creating a major tourist attraction offering a unique landscape not available in other city parks and gardens in Dublin.
A major restoration of the gardens to return them to their original state commenced in 1992 and they opened again to the public in 1992.[12] The waterfall or cascade was allocated IR£200,000 in 1996 for its restoration.[13]
In 2003, a new entrance was added to the Gardens from Upper Hatch Street.[14]
Design
The gardens in their present form were designed by Ninian Niven, in 1865, as an intermediate design between the 'French Formal' and the 'English Landscape' styles.[15]
Key features
- A large sunken lawn located near the Earlsfort Terrace entrance is one of only two purpose-built archery fields in Ireland. At its eastern end was a pond and boating tower. The tower now stands inside the boundary wall of Iveagh House.[2] Beneath this lawn lie the remains of an elephant from Dublin Zoo, which was buried there in 1922.
- The cascade, or waterfall, flows over an immense rockery, with rocks from each of Ireland's 32 counties. The cascade uses recycled water today but originally used water from the Grand Canal.[16]
- The maze, which is a miniature copy of London's Hampton Court Maze.[17]
References
- ^ "National Historic Properties" (PDF). Office of Public Works. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ^ ISBN 0-300-10923-7.
- ^ a b c d "Coburg Gardens now Iveagh Gardens". Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd. (28 April 2005). LUAS - Archaeological Monitoring - Final Report - Line B (PDF) (Report).
- ^ a b c "Archive Fact Sheet: St. Stephen's Green, Iveagh House, Iveagh Gardens" (PDF). Guinness Storehouse. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-86023-154-4.
- ^ HANSARDS PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES: VOL XXX. SEPTEMBER 1835. 1835. pp. 1–.
- ^ Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures (1865) (1865). Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures - Official Catalogue. J. Falconer. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "A move that completes a historic legacy" (PDF). Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ "The Court: The IRTA's Request For An Oral Hearing". Irish Real Tennis Association. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ "Seanad Éireann Debate Vol. 53 No. 10". Dáil Éireann. Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ a b c "Adjournment Debate - Sport and Recreational Development". Dáil Éireann. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ^ "Dáil Éireann Debate Vol. 463 No. 2". Dáil Éireann. Houses of the Oireachtas. 14 March 1996. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
- ^ Office of Public Works (June 2003). A bi-annual newsletter from the Office of Public Works (Issue 9 - June 2003) (Report). p. 27.
- ^ "The Iveagh Gardens". Heritage Ireland. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ^ "Gardening With Dermot O'Neill - Dublin's Iveagh Gardens". Retrieved 24 October 2014.
- ^ "The Iveagh Gardens". Choose Ireland. Retrieved 24 October 2014.