I was waiting for a bus a few weeks ago. Checked the bus timetable… and with an hour an a bit to spare [coffee flask in hand] I took a stroll up O’Connell Street towards Parnell Square and into The Garden of Remembrance.
My Auntie Bridie [God bless her 🙂 ] used to take me here when I was about 6 years old… back in the day when a trip into Dublin City was a treat filled day of ice-creams in the lashing rain, sitting in an old clear plastic raincoat of hers and maybe a trip to The Savoy Cinema [if I was ‘really good!]. In hindsight, I guess this was where she went to rest her legs when I had her worn out!
To the park… it is quite simplistic in its lay-out and overall design. But I love the little snug part where one can sit in quiet and ponder. It is also the heart of Dublin City and where a little tranquility is the order of the day…. this is a little gem.
Designed by Daithà Hanley to commemorate “all those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish Freedom”. It was opened in 1966. The main statue by OisÃn Kelly of The Children of Lir [love that story] is to symbolise birth and ressurection.
The Garden commemorates insurgents from various uprisings, including the 1798 rebellion, the 1803 rebellion of Robert Emmet, the 1848 rebellion of Young Ireland, the 1867 rising, the 1916 Easter Rising and the war of independence.
I could be critical of the plants… but I won’t. As a park it is genius. Well maintained overall, clean tidy and a little bit of new with the glass of the Parnell Square entrance. It is that one painting that you could stare at for hours…. and here there are so many of them to see.
