Peace Park

Name: Peace Park
Address: Christchurch Place, Dublin 8, Christchurch, Dublin, IE
Telephone: 01 222 5278

Overview

The Peace Park, also called the Peace Garden, is a small garden on Christchurch Place, across the road from Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin's old city. It was created for the Dublin Millennium in 1988 and dedicated to Ireland's desire for peace.

It is a quiet place to stop between the cathedral, Dublinia and Dublin Castle, with a fountain, sculpture and lines of Irish poetry set into the stone.

What to see

At the centre is Leo Higgins' bronze Tree of Life fountain. At the entrance stands John Behan's Millennium Child, a bronze of children playing, commissioned by Barnardos and unveiled by President Mary McAleese in 2000. The garden also has inscriptions from W.B. Yeats and Patrick Kavanagh, and a Flanders Fields memorial.

History

The garden was first built as a sunken garden, set below street level to shut out the traffic at this busy junction. The steps and low walls did not meet modern access standards and the garden was closed for a number of years. Dublin City Council rebuilt it at a higher level, with ramped access, Carlow limestone and Wicklow granite, and reopened it in 2019.

Getting there

The Peace Park is at the top of Christchurch Place, where it meets Nicholas Street and Werburgh Street, about ten minutes' walk from Temple Bar. Christ Church Cathedral and Dublinia are across the road, Dublin Castle is a few minutes away, and St Patrick's Cathedral and St Patrick's Park are a short walk south.