The street in front of Benjamin Lee’s statue at St. Patrick’s Cathedral was for a period called Guinness St, before reverting back to St Patrick’s Close. At the entrance to the Close, from St. Patrick’s Street, are two large pillars and for many months the top section of the pillar nearest the Cathedral was missing because of an accident. Not long after restoration work was completed it has been, once again, damaged.
One of the largest conservation restoration projects to be undertaken in state history began in July 2019 with a planned completion date of August 2021 and a cost of €9 million. As the Cathedral is an operational place of worship with over 500,000 tourists and 65,000 religious visitors attending the cathedral each year, Clancy Construction had to progress the project without interruption to the daily operations of the Cathedral.
YOU CAN ACCESS THE CABBAGE GARDEN VIA LONG LANE CLOSE OFF LONG LANE
The Cabbage Garden is a former burial ground off Upper Kevin St. in Dublin’s south inner city.
The ground was consecrated by James Margetson, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh in 1668. It consisted of a plot of land which was set apart by the Dean and Chapter of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1666 for the purposes of a cemetery for the inhabitants of St. Patrick’s Close and of the parish of St. Nicholas Without, as their cemetery had become overcrowded. Later part of this plot was reserved for the burial of Huguenots, who worshipped in the Lady Chapel in the Cathedral.
The name of the plot can be traced back to the arrival of Oliver Cromwell in Dublin 1649, who planted cabbages on this spot to feed his soldiers.
The burial ground was closed in 1878 to all but 14 families. The last interment took place in 1896 and the cemetery closed early in the 20th century. Towards the end of the century part of the ground was converted into a public park while the rest was covered by public housing constructed by Dublin Corporation at the junction of Cathedral Lane and Upper Kevin St., which opened in 1982. The park can be reached by way of Cathedral Lane (until 1792 called Cabbage Garden Lane).
You must be logged in to post a comment.