A lighting installation will be erected along the walls of the Kilmainham park to make it stand out in the night skyline, as part of the project by Dublin city council and the Office of Public Works (OPW).
Jim Barrett, Dublin’s city architect, said: “The gardens are a wonderful architectural gem and a huge feature in Dublin. The objective of this scheme is to make the public and visitors to Dublin aware of their existence. We will be giving the gardens a presence they don’t have at the moment.”
Built in the 1930s, the gardens, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the British architect, commemorate the 50,000 Irish soldiers who died in the first world war. They were originally designed as tranquil grounds on the banks of the Liffey, which would be linked to the Phoenix Park by a bridge.
The bridge was never built and access to the park was further hindered by the development of the N4 dual carriageway, which cut off the park’s main entrance on Con Colbert Road. The only way in now is through a side entrance at the end of a laneway off South Circular Road. Few people, except local dog walkers and joggers, know of the park’s existence.
The design, by Mitchell and Associates, includes erecting a 30ft stainless steel wall around the park with small white flashing lights. The entrance to the park will be covered with plants and lights. New stairs and ramps will be fitted at its entrance to allow easier access.
Advertisement
“The deficiency in the park wasn’t in the gardens themselves but in their entrance gateways, which didn’t effectively exist because nobody knew they were there,” said Barrett.
“There is no doubt that when the scheme is finished, people travelling on that dual carriageway will ask what the hell it is because it will be so striking in its height and colour.”
Sheila Foley, an architect with Mitchell and Associates, which also worked on the regeneration of O’Connell Street, said: “This was a difficult problem to solve because the idea was about making people aware of the park again. The steel structures and street lighting make the design stand out.”
The gardens still contain their original architectural features, including a great war stone surrounded by fountains and book rooms, small limestone pavilions which contain all the names of the war dead. The Ginchy cross — a Celtic wooden cross named after the village in France which the Irish Division took back from the Germans in September 1916 — is kept in the same pavilion.
Local heritage groups and politicians, who have long campaigned for the council to highlight the park’s historical ties, said that the project, was long overdue. The gardens were neglected before restoration by the OPW in the 1980s. Michael Conaghan, Dublin’s lord mayor, said it was shameful that the park was left unfinished for more than 70 years.
Advertisement
“There are two elements to the park which have remained unfinished, the bridge and the entrance,” he said.
“The area itself is rich in heritage features but the authorities have done very little work on it. There is a huge need to enhance the park and bring it back to people’s attention.”
Lutyens was considered one of the most influential English architects of the early 20th century. His most important work was in India where he was responsible for the layout and planning of New Delhi.
He designed many war memorials, including the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, and the Monument to the Missing of the Somme at Thiepval in France.