APEX OF THE TRIANGLE BOUNDED BY CAPEL STREET – RYDERS ROW – PARNELL STREET
New landscaping and tree planting at the north end of Capel Street/Ryder’s Row by @DCCParksBiodiv, bounded by new Leinster granite kerbs. It marks the beginning of the Capel Street interim public realm enhancement, to be delivered along the entire street by the start of summer.
In 2022 the City Council had announced that they are going ahead with their plan to pedestrianise Capel Street promising many changes but at the time I could not determine their plan for Ryders Row however I suspected that the sudden demolition of sections of the Bike Yard might be of some importance to the future of the area. At the time it was stressed that the pedestrian and cycle-only zone will stretch for most of the length of the street from Parnell Street and Ryder’s Row at its northern end, to Strand Street in the south.
My interest in Ryders Row [actually the triangle consisting of Ryders Row, a section of Capel Street and a section of Parnell Street] began with the following story 26 May 2004, mainly as I live a short distance from what I have always considered to be a eyesore:
A city centre Dublin street has been closed to allow for the emergency demolition of three unsafe buildings. Dublin City Coucil said Parnell Street is closed from the junction of Ryders Row to the junction of Capel Street “as a matter of public safety”. Numbers 218, 219 and 220 on the street are being torn down after a fire last week left them in “eminent danger of collapse”. “The buildings concerned are a national monument and considerable care has to be exercised in undertaking any demolition with full regard for sound conservation principles,” the council said in a statement.
In 2019 Dublin City Council issues a Compulsory Purchase (Residential/Commercial Development), Order for the following :
Public footpath & roadway (part of), Ryder’s Row from its junction with Parnell Street in a North Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 70 metres to its junction with Capel Street, Dublin 1.
Public footpath & roadway (part of), Parnell Street from its junction with Ryder’s row in a South Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 38 metres to the western boundary of No. 222 Parnell Street, Dublin 1.
Public footpath & roadway (part of), Ryder’s Row from the northern boundary of No. 66 Capel Street in a North Westerly direction for a distance of approximately 14 metres towards the junction with Ryder’s Row, Dublin 1
In 2021 I publish the following comments along with a selection of photographs:
A street named Ryder’s Row is without doubt an appropriate address for a Bike Yard business.
The area is question is a triangle of properties formed by Ryder’s Row, one end of Capel Street and one short section of Capel Street.
There was a derelict site to the right of the bicycle yard which was converted into a mini public-park which immediately became a magnet for rough sleepers at night and students during the day. Daytime users were not a problem but from about 7pm it became a place to be avoided.
Sadly a person believed to be sleeping rough was found dead in the park. This was the second homeless person to die in the immediate area in recent times. One, who died, was a well known local character who wandered the city together with his little dog in a shopping trolley.
The mini-park is currently fenced off and unavailable as a public space.
This semi-derelict complex is behind a house of note on Capel Street. Described as a Dutch Billy it is one of a small number of extant examples of Dublin’s rich pre-Georgian architectural heritage, many of which have now been demolished or unrecognisably altered. In fact, it is one of only a few surviving intact on Capel Street, a thoroughfare once dominated by these structures.
Wolfe Tone Park, also known as Wolfe Tone Square, is a public space in Dublin. It is bounded by Mary Street to the north, Jervis Street to the east, and Wolfe Tone Street to the west.
The park is the site of a graveyard that was attached to St. Mary’s Church, and is named for Theobald Wolfe Tone (1763–1798), who was baptised in the church. The graveyard was deconsecrated in 1966 and laid out as a green park. From 1998 to 2001, Dublin City Council redeveloped the park as an “urban plaza”. The park was closed for further regeneration works in late 2020, and reopened in mid-2022.
The site, formerly the graveyard of St Mary’s Church, was the burial place of the United Irishman Archibald Hamilton Rowan (1751–1834), Mary Mercer, founder of Mercer’s Hospital (died 1734), the philosopher Francis Hutcheson (1694–1746), Sir Boyle Roche, 1st Baronet (1736–1807), an Irish politician and member of the Irish House of Commons, and Lord Norbury (1745–1831; known colloquially as the hanging judge).
From the 1960s to the 1990s, the site operated as a green space, maintained by Dublin City Council. In 1998, the council held a competition to redesign the park, which was won by Peter Cody of Boyd Cody Architects. The updated layout, in the form of an “urban plaza”, was completed in 2001. After the square’s layout was changed, it was made available by Dublin City Council for events, including the Dublin Fringe Festival.
Following a campaign from local residents to restore Wolfe Tone Park as a non-commercial green space, there was debate in the council as to the future use of the park as of 2015. Ultimately the park was closed between 2020 and 2022, and Dublin City Council redeveloped and restored it to a green space.
I am not sure if I would consider it to be a green space but it is much better than it was and to date anti-social activity has reduced.
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