Ireland is a green land indeed, but Dublin, not so much. On the other hand, there are many small and large (very large) public parks and gardens even in the city centre. Here are our three favourite green spaces in Dublin, with a number of honourable mentions.
Phoenix Park
Located on the North Side of the Liffey, Phoenix Park is enormous. 709 hectares big, in fact, if that means anything to you. It’s one of the largest, or perhaps the largest, enclosed public parks in a capital city in Europe. Best of all, it’s open 24 hours a day. And it’s chock-full of goodies: hurling grounds, a tea shop, police headquarters, a zoo, the American ambassador’s residence, a Victorian garden, a fort, a burial chamber, and some wild deer. You can rent bikes, play in the playground, smell the flowers, watch people, or even go jogging. We tend to find ourselves here at some point during every sunny day, and many of the cloudy ones too. It’s big enough that you can find solitude even on a hot Sunday afternoon, when everyone else is outside lazing about too.
St. Stephen’s Green
St. Stephen’s Green is much more of an urban retreat, surrounded by beautiful Georgian buildings. It’s got much more history to it, from its early days as marshland, to the refusal of Dubliners to name it after the (just-deceased) Prince Albert, to its occupation during the Easter Rising of 1916. We love the various sculptures dotted throughout, which commemorate different events. And we really love the fountains and the sensory garden, labelled in Braille. Also, on a recent trip we encountered a bunch of swans swanning about!
Iveagh Gardens
The Iveagh Gardens used to be the private garden of the Earl of Clonmell. They were bought in the mid-19th century by the Guinness family and eventually made public. The rose garden (featuring heirloom blooms from the 19th century), yew maze, fountains, and a cascade are all original elements that remain today. And there are newer ones too: an American garden, an archery grounds, and a rockery. The only reason we don’t spend more time here, in fact, is because parts of it have been closed off for various events. Once the whole is opened up, we’ll be here all the time too!
Bonus Green Spaces
We mentioned that the Irish like their plants. Here’s proof: all sorts of churches and museums also have lovely gardens around them, some large (St Patrick’s and Christ Church gardens), some fairly small (Dublin Castle Gardens, Chester Beatty Library rooftop and MOLI gardens). They often have little tea shops associated with them, which – if we’re being honest – makes the whole thing even better. So even if you aren’t planning a trip to one of our three favourite green spaces in Dublin, you’re likely to encounter a pretty patch of greenery and flowers somewhere.
