IS A SMALL POCKET PARK ACROSS THE STREET FROM CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL
The Peace Park is a small public park located across from Christchurch Cathedral on the corner of Nicholas Street and Christchurch Place in the Liberties area of Dublin city centre. It was dedicated to Ireland’s desire for peace in 1988 during the Troubles.
The park was designed as a sunken garden, with an aim towards reducing the traffic noise from the busy junction at which it exists. The main features of the park include a bronze “Tree of Life” sculpture by artist Leo Higgins, a pool/fountain, and extracts from poems by W.B.Yeats and Patrick Kavanagh embedded in the stone walls and footpaths throughout the park.
The park was closed to the public in 2009/2010 due to loitering and antisocial behaviour, and remained shut for nearly 10 years. However, it was reopened in June 2019 after a refurbishment project and the addition of a Flanders Fields memorial. The newly designed garden is now fully accessible, and includes a ramped access.
The Peace Park is a beautiful and peaceful space in the heart of Dublin city centre. It is a great place to relax, reflect, or simply enjoy the outdoors.
Here are some additional facts about the Peace Park:
The park is 0.1 hectares in size. The Tree of Life sculpture is made of bronze and is 3.5 meters tall. The pool/fountain in the park is fed by rainwater. The extracts from poems in the park are by W.B.Yeats, Patrick Kavanagh, and Seamus Heaney. The Flanders Fields memorial incorporates soil from Flanders, Belgium, as a memorial to the Irishmen who died and were injured in the First World War. The Peace Park is open from 10:00am to 6:00pm daily.
FLAME OF HOPE BEHIND A DOOR AT LOWER BUCKINGHAM STREET IN DUBLIN
In 2000 when this was unveiled it was the world’s first memorial to victims of heroin addiction. The sculpture, entitled ‘Home’, was unveiled by President Mary McAleese.
The sculpture, which depicts a flame of hope behind a doorway, is at the junction of Buckingham Street and Sean McDermott Street near the Five Lamps, a site once notorious for open drug dealing. The memorial was designed in conjunction with relatives of those who have died from heroin.
Home (2000) is the work of Leo Higgins, chosen in competition with Brian Connolly, Annette Hennessy, Michael Quane, Jackie McKenna and Louise Walsh. Following a long period of collaboration with the community, the five artists exhibited maquettes in the Fire Station Artists’ Studios in July 1999. The winning piece, Home, was selected by the relatives and was erected at the junction of Lower Buckingham Street and Seán MacDermott Street.
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