Herbert Park

Herbert Park is in Ballsbridge, south Dublin. The park has has football pitches, tennis, boules and croquet courts, a duck pond and a playground. The park is also home to 'The Hive' where you can rent space for meetings, yoga, pilates, dance, drama and other activities.

Herbert Park History

The marshy patch of ground that Herbert Park currently stands on was previously known as the Forty Acres. The area has a long history, dating back to the early thirteenth century when it was owned by the Priory of All Hallows, an Augustinian foundation.

For centuries the park was part of the vast Fitzwilliam Estate until it was inherited by the 11th Earl of Pembroke in 1816. In 1903, the earl gave the site to Pembroke Urban District Council for development as a public park. The park is named after his father, Sidney Herbert (1810-1861).

The famous Dublin International Trades' Exhibition was held on the site in 1907, housing exhibits from across the British Empire (including a complete Somalian village). The existing duck pond was constructed for the exhibition to house the 'Canadian Waterchute', but little else remains of the original buildings. The park was taken over by Dublin Corporation in 1932.