Bushy Park () is a large, , suburban

public park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens (United Kingdom, UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and oth ...

Terenure Terenure (), originally called ''Roundtown'', is a middle class suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It is located in the city's D6 and D6W postal districts. The population of all electoral divisions labelled as Terenure was 17,972 as of the 2022 ce ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland.

Location

Although situated mainly in Terenure, and listed by the city council with that address, it stretches to the borders of

Rathfarnham Rathfarnham () is a Southside (Dublin), southside suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in County Dublin. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and Dublin 16, 16. It is between the Lo ...

and

Templeogue Templeogue is a southwestern suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It lies between the River Poddle and River Dodder, and is about halfway from Dublin's centre to the mountains to the south. Geography Location Templeogue is from Dublin city centre t ...

. It is across the road from

Terenure College Terenure College is a Carmelite-run secondary school located in the suburb of Terenure, Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1860 and had an associated primary school until 2017. It is one of the "big six" Leinster Schools Rugby-playing ...

boys' school and has several entrances. The

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

passes alongside it, within the Dodder Valley Linear Park, and the high wall of Bushy Park has several access points to the riverside.

Attractions and activities

There is a children's playground, an extensive wooded area, with walks to the banks of the Dodder (with access over a footbridge to the Rathfarnham area), a woodland pond, a

duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family (biology), family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and goose, geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfam ...

pond, and a recently reopened kiosk. In front of the duck pond is a high hill, and east of the pond is a starting point for the woodland walk, beside a small cascade. The park is a good place for

birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device such as binoculars or a telescop ...

- among the species which may be seen are

sparrowhawk Sparrowhawk (sometimes sparrow hawk) may refer to several species of small hawk in the subfamily Accipitrinae The Accipitrinae are the Family (biology), subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks. The subfamily contains 73 s ...

treecreeper The treecreepers are a family, Certhiidae, of small passerine birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The family contains nine species in one genus, '' Certhia''. Their plumage is dull-coloured. As their name implies, they ...

and

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

. The park has football fields, a

skateboarding Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport that involves riding and Skateboarding trick, performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a method of tr ...

area and 11

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. Many sporting clubs and schools in the area use the park for recreational activities such as the

Football Association of Ireland The Football Association of Ireland (FAI; ) is the governing body for association football in the Republic of Ireland. Organisation The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the president, who receive expenses, as well as a p ...

Terenure Football Club
(with schoolgirls, schoolboys, adult male and female teams), and

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

club Templeogue Synge Street. Sportsworld running club are also based in the park, with their clubhouse located at the

road entrance to the park. The Terenure Village Market operates in Bushy Park each Saturday afternoon. The market consists of a variety of stalls selling artisan foods, confectionery and more, along with occasional music performances.

History

Bushy Park House was originally owned by Arthur Bushe of Dangan,

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

. He was a secretary to the

Revenue Commissioners The Revenue Commissioners (), commonly called Revenue, is the Irish Government agency responsible for customs, excise, taxation and related matters. Though Revenue can trace itself back to predecessors (with the Act of Union 1800 amalgamating ...

who built the house. The house was originally known as "Bushe's House" in 1700, and was situated on a site of four hectares. His daughter, Letitia Bushe also resided at the house. John Hobson became the owner in 1772 and changed the name of the house to Bushy Park, possibly after

Bushy Park Bushy Park in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is the second largest of London's Royal Parks, at in area, after Richmond Park. The park, most of which is open to the public, is immediately north of Hampton Court Palace and Hampton ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The third owner was Abraham Wilkinson who in 1791 added almost 40 extra hectares to this estate when his only daughter Maria married the Robert, 2nd baronet son of Sir Robert Shaw, 1st Baronet, Member of Parliament and

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

of Dublin. In 1796 he gave the house and 100 acre estate as a dowry to the couple. Bushy Park House became the seat of Sir Robert Shaw when he sold nearby Terenure House and 35 acre estate to Frederick Bourne in 1806. Today Terenure House forms the main building of

. The Shaw family was connected with Bushy Park until they sold the house and grounds to

Dublin Corporation Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660–1661, even more si ...

in 1953. The house and eight hectares of the grounds were then sold in 1955 by Dublin City Council to the Religious of Christian Education (an order of teaching

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares parents or a parent with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

founded in Normandy in 1817), where they established ''Our Lady's School'' for girls. Dublin City Council re-acquired of woodland in 1992. As of early 2008, there are plans to refurbish Bushy Park House.

References

External links

Dublin City Council - Bushy Park

Three minute video about Bushy Park House by Dublin City Public Libraries
{{Authority control Parks in Dublin (city)