Peter Donegan Garden Design & Landscaping
When discussing child proteges the first name that often comes to mind is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The 18th century Salzburg superstar was a talented pianist, violinist and composer by the age of five. Dublin-based Landscape Architect Peter Donegan certainly wouldn’t compare himself to Wolfgang, but he does share some similarities. He too, was an early starter, but he happily describes his young self as “nerdy and geeky”, rather than anything as pompous as a “protégé”.
In celebration of the 30th anniversary of The Historial de la Grande Guerre, Europes largest war museum embedded within the 13th Century Chateau de Peronne – Landscape Architect Peter Donegan has been commissioned to design a new garden for the French castle in the Somme region of Northern France.
Donegan‘s second time to design at the historic location, on this occasion the new landscape will be realised within the medieval buildings internal courtyard and officially inaugurated 25th June 2022.
Sunday 8th September 2019 the permanent Irish WW1 Centenary Peace Garden realised in the dried up moat of the 13th century Chateau de Péronne, known better as the Historial de la Grande Guerre and located in the Somme region of Northern France, was officially inaugurated.
In 2018, Peter Donegan was selected by a French Jury to represent Ireland to design and realise a garden in the moat of the 13th century Chateau de Peronne, known as The Historial de la Grande Guerre, in the Somme region of Northern France.
A series of Peace Gardens (Jardin de la Paix) in very historic locations there were to be created to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War 1. The gardens were to be designed and realised by 14 internationally selected garden designers.
The Irish WW1 Peace Garden of the Historial Péronne visited by President Emmanuel Macron Friday 9th November 2018 is now complete. An official Irish inauguration of the garden is set to follow in 2019.
The following post is the story behind and about the garden. Before the build of the Irish garden began is better told in this article by Anthea McTiernan of The Irish Times.
BBC Radio Ulster, Gardeners Corner.
Saturday 10 November, 9am
listen here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00012ff
David Maxwell presents a special edition of Gardeners’ Corner from the Somme where 15 Gardens of Peace (Jardin de la Paix) are being constructed near sites of the Great War.