Visit the beautiful gardens of Dublin’s most popular park to relax amongst statues of the city’s most famous residents.
Covering nine hectares, St Stephen’s Green, or Faiche Stiabhna in Irish, is the largest of the city’s open spaces, and offers a beautiful and relaxing haven away from the busy streets. Stretch your legs, feed the ducks or sit down for a picnic amongst the Victorian-era gardens, or admire the many statues and monuments commemorating key figures in Dublin’s history.
The site of St Stephen’s Green was originally marshy grazing land open to all, but in 1664 the central section was fenced off, and surrounding plots of land were sold off to the wealthy for house building. It took 200 years for this land to be returned to the general public, when an Act of Parliament was passed to reopen St Stephen’s Green. This is thanks in a large part to the efforts of the brewing magnate Sir Arthur Guinness, who also subsequently funded the landscaping and planting of the park’s gardens. Look out for his statue, entitled Baron Ardilaun, which now stands in the grounds.
Walk into the park under the grand Fusiliers’ Arch, commemorating the Royal Dublin Fusiliers that fell in the Second Boer War. Although this monument resembles an ancient Roman structure, it was actually built in 1907. Explore the fountains and gardens, including an unusual garden designed for the blind, full of fragrant plants identified by Braille labels. For families with younger children, there is a playground in the east section of the park.
Among the monuments dotted around the park, look out for the sombre Great Famine memorial, a reminder of the years of dreadful starvation that devastated Ireland between 1845 and 1850. You’ll also come across a bust of Dublin’s famous author, James Joyce. In 1904, Joyce was involved in a fight in the park, and the man who assisted him with his injuries inspired one of the characters in the novel Ulysses.
St Stephen’s Green is located at the top of Grafton Street, one of Dublin’s main shopping streets. Most of the city’s bus routes stop near the park, as does the hop-on, hop-off bus tour. The gardens close at nightfall, and alcohol is prohibited at all times.
