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.
TREE OF LIFE BY VINCENT BROWN AT BLANCHARDSTOWN CIVIC OFFICES
Vincent Browne was born in Dublin in 1947. He studied at the National College of Art and Design and at the Jan Van Eyck Academy in the Netherlands. In 1987, Browne represented Ireland in Budapest at the 7th International Small Sculpture Show. He created a well-loved Dublin landmark, Mr. Screen, the squat bronze usher who stands outside the Screen Cinema at the junction of Hawkins Street and Townsend Street in Dublin. Mr Screen was made from two immersion water heaters.
His public commissions also include Anti-War Memorial (Limerick, 1987) and the bronze Palm Tree seat in Temple Bar, Dublin.
In 2005, Browne was commissioned to create a sculpture for the exterior of the Blanchardstown Civic Offices called The Tree of Life.
The Tree of life is constructed in bronze with hand welded bronze leaves. The structure represents the double helix a symbol associated with the structure of DNA, the building block of human existence.The sculpture reflects in the water and against the glass quietly interrupting its environment. It is a symbol for a growing county and for a young, progressive council.
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