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

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

History

The land used for the park was given to the city by the 14th Earl of Pembroke whose family name was

Herbert Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert ...

. In 1907, the

World Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

known as the

Irish International Exhibition The Irish International Exhibition (sometimes ''Dublin International'') was a world's fair held in Dublin in 1907, when all of Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom. Summary The decision to hold the exhibition was taken at the Irish Ind ...

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's song Old Town. Herbert Park, Ballsbridge

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 The River Dodder ( ga, An Dothra) is one of the three main rivers in Dublin, Ireland, the others being the Liffey, of which the Dodder is the largest tributary, and the Tolka. Course and system The Dodder rises on the northern slopes of Ki ...

, houses, and includes a number of soccer 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 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 playground, 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 Types of tennis match, doubles and singles matches. A variet ...

s, and the

bowling green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

of Herbert Park Bowling Club. The park's pond has proven to be an excellent location for breeding carp. 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