Phoenix Park Conservation Management Plan

Introduction
• The Phoenix Column has been relocated to its 1840s focal point position on Chesterfield Avenue and
encircled with a floodlit cobbled roundabout.
• Considerable lengths of Victorian handrail have been dismantled and re-erected in their original location
along Chesterfield Avenue.
• An architectural survey of all gate and internal Park lodges has been undertaken, in order to establish
necessary restoration and conservation works on these protected structures and to prepare a works
programme for the coming years. Many of the Park lodges have already been substantially improved and
a number of adjoining gardens reduced to their original size. The lodges restored include:
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Bessboro Lodge West, Ashtown Gate;
Buggy’s Gate Lodge at back avenue entrance to Áras an Uachtaráin;
Concrete Lodge, North Road;
Nunciature Gate Lodge at entrance to Phoenix Park Visitor Centre;
Islandbridge Gate Lodge;
Laundry Lodge at back entrance to Áras an Uachtaráin.
• Considerable repairs and improvements have been undertaken in the area of drainage, especially in
relation to the restoration of sunken fences around the various demesnes and enclosures. The water
supply network has been upgraded and repaired, with the installation of water meters to assist with water
conservation.
• An important precedent was set when Dublin Corporation ceded circa 50 square metres to the Park as
a result of a road-widening project on Blackhorse Avenue. As part of this project the opportunity was
taken to remove long lengths of iron railing which replaced the boundary wall as part of an earlier roads
scheme in the 1940s and to rebuild the wall with small additions of Burton-designed railings on either
side of the original turnstile.
• A survey of the boundary wall was undertaken to identify areas requiring repair and report on its overall
stability. A programme of repairs is ongoing.
• Improvement works to Áras an Uachtaráin and other historic complexes were subsequently carried out.
Landscape Improvements and Natural Heritage
• An estimated 10,000 broadleaf deciduous trees have been planted and considerable tree surgery has been
undertaken to prolong existing mature trees and to promote safety. Woodland restoration has been an
integral part of the work programme.
• Considerable landscape works have been undertaken in the People’s Gardens including the provision of
a new playground in 1990, which was renewed in 2004. The lakes have been dredged and their original
boundaries defined. New flowerbeds and plantings have also been formed. Considerable research work
has been undertaken on the history of the gardens but much remains to be accomplished.
• Significant upgrading and improved maintenance of playing fields has taken place. In addition a
considerable amount of unsightly boundary fencing has been removed.
THE PHOENIX PARK CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN