ST PATRICK’S CATHEDRAL AND THE ADJACENT PUBLIC PARK
Some good news: St Patrick’s Day, a bank holiday here in Ireland, is on a Thursday this year but the Government has announced that the Friday will also be a bank holiday and that starting in February 2023 the first Monday of the month will be a bank holiday in honour of all who died during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
I visit this park on a regular basis and I really like but at times it can be a bit crowded.
Saint Patrick’s Park, located to the north of St.Patrick’s cathedral, was opened by King Edward VII in July 1902. It is bounded by Patrick Street to the west, Bull Alley to the north and Bride Street to the east. It was laid out as part of the redevelopment of the area by the Guinness family in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and provides an attractive setting for both Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and the Iveagh Play Centre. The landscaping was the work of Mr. Crasp of Chester and the construction work was undertaken by engineer Mr. Arthur Dudgeon. The geometric landscaping is enhanced by the two stone fountains on the park’s principal axis and a modern sculpture of a steel bell by Vivienne Roche. A brick terrace was constructed to cope with the fall in ground level between Bride Street Patrick Street, the upper level of which was used as a bandstand while the lower level provided a sheltered seating area.
In 2015 a new Tearoom and Public Toilets were inserted into existing storage spaces behind the historic arches. All new interventions into the historic fabric are carried out in bespoke steelwork elements. A new terrace outside features a 5m long communal table set underneath a magnolia tree.
OLD GRAVEYARD AT SAINT JOHNS ANGLICAN CHURCH – SAINT JOHNS SQUARE
St John’s Church of Ireland church stands on the site of an earlier church, which dated from the 1200s. The walls around the graveyard were built in 1693 and the present church was built between 1843 and 1852. The church fell into disuse in the early 1970s and was handed over to the Limerick Corporation in 1975. The church was designed by Irish architect Joseph Welland(6 May 1798 – 6 March 1860)
I first visited this Church and Graveyard in June 2015 and visited every year since then up until 2019 but many times I could not gain access as the gates were locked. For obvious reasons I could not travel to Limerick during 2020.
I managed to visit the city during the first week of September 2021 but unfortunately the gates to St. John’s were locked. However I had a number of images from my 2019 visit that I did not process because of a lack of time but I am now in a position to publish them.
Not to be confused with St. John’s Cathedral which is nearby.
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