Phoenix Park

The Phoenix Park ( Irish : Páirc an Fhionnuisce ) is a large park 3 km northwest of the city center of Dublin ( Ireland ) and the green lung of the city. With an area of 707 ha (7.07 km² ) and an enclosing wall 11 km in length, the park is one of the largest inner-city parks in the world. It is often referred to as the largest inner-city park in Europe, although Sutton Park near Birmingham ( England ) and Richmond Park in London (England) are larger.

Wellington Monument

The name Phoenix Park does not go back to the legendary figure phoenix , but is a falsification of the Irish word fionn uisce , which means "clear water".

Attractions

Magazine fort

The residences of both the Irish President ( Áras an Uachtaráin ) and the US Ambassador to Ireland ( Deerfield Residence ) are located within Phoenix Park . The headquarters of the Irish Police, An Garda Síochána , and the guest house for state guests ( Farmleigh ) are also located within the park. In the south-eastern part of the park is the Magazine Fort , which has played a role in the history of Ireland and was seen by many Irish as a symbol of the British occupation.

In addition to various sports grounds, such as B. for cricket and polo , you can visit the Dublin Zoo , the Wellington Monument, a 62 m high obelisk from 1817 (for Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington ), Ashtown Castle , and the Pope's Cross in Phoenix Park , under whom Pope John Paul II read mass in front of 1.2 million people in 1979.

Fallow deer on the Pope's cross

A free-roaming herd of fallow deer lives in the park area .

Culture

The park occasionally hosts open-air concerts and the annual Phoenix Park Motor Race . The park plays an important role in the novel Finnegans Wake by James Joyce .

Traffic aspects

Platform 11 , a group of train lobbyists, is calling for the existing passenger rail tunnel below the park to be reactivated to connect Heuston Station and Connolly Station.

Since May 2008 there has been a shuttle bus service for visitors and employees on the site, through which all the main facilities and sights of the park are served daily in a half-hourly cycle.