Herbert Park () is the name of a road and a public park in

Ballsbridge Ballsbridge () (from historic Ball's Bridge) is an affluent neighbourhood of the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The area is largely north and west of a three-arch stone bridge across the River Dodder, on the south side of the city. Th ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

History

The land used for the park was given to the city by the 14th Earl of Pembroke whose family name was Herbert. In 1907, the World Fair known as the Irish International Exhibition was held in Ballsbridge. When the structures had been dismantled, the site was developed as the current public park, with the bandstand and pond being the only remaining structures from the time. It is now maintained by Dublin City Council. The former site of the Johnston, Mooney & O'Brien bakery bordered the park and when that site was redeveloped as the Herbert Park Hotel, a new entrance was opened at the easternmost end of the park. The park bandstand was featured in the video for

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish singer, bassist, and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and ba ...

's song

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

Amenities

The park is thirty-two acres in size and is in two halves, divided by a road, also called Herbert Park. A full circuit of the park's perimeter is almost exactly one mile (1.57 km), a fact used by runners and walkers to measure their progress. The larger half, on the south side of the road, is bounded by the River Dodder, houses, and includes a number of

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

pitches, formal gardens, and a large

duck pond A duck pond is a pond for ducks and other waterfowl. Duck ponds provide habitats for water fowl and other birds, who use the water to bathe in and drink. Typically, such ponds are round, oval or kidney-shaped. An example is the lily pond in th ...

and an older public children's

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...

. A gazebo is also present in the North-Eastern corner of the park at the entrance to the Herbert Park Hotel. The northern half is home to the newly refurbished public children's

, a number of

tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...

s, and the bowling green of Herbert Park Bowling Club. The park's pond has proven to be an excellent location for breeding

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

. In February 2006 the pond was nearly completely emptied in order for cleaning to take place. The carp were removed to alternative locations. These carp were up to in length. In spring 2009, the pond was re-stocked (see picture).

References

{{Streets in Dublin city, state=autocollapse Streets in Dublin (city) Ballsbridge Parks in Dublin (city) World's fair sites in Ireland

History

Amenities

See also

References