Marlay Park

Marlay Park is one of Dublin’s biggest parks, and at 210 acres there is plenty to see and do. Set in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains, in Rathfarnham, you can enjoy many interesting walks through leafy woods or take in bubbling rivers that feed into ponds where swans float serenely past. If you are looking for a place to ‘get away from it all’ then you should spend some time in Marlay Park – it’s a must see.

If you go down to the woods today….

The property was originally bought by Thomas Taylor in the early 18^th century and the house he built on it was called ‘The Grange’. In 1764 David La Touche acquired the property and he set about developing the house and extending it. La Touche was the first governor of the new Bank of Ireland, and he named the place in honour of his wife Elizabeth Marlay. The house is a fine example of Georgian architecture and features a fabulous ballroom, an oval-shaped music room and wonderful plasterwork by the renowned Michael Stapleton.

The property was sold in 1925 to Robert Ketton Love for  £8,325, and his son, Philip, a racehorse breeder, won the 1962 Epson Derby with Larkspur.

With so much space available there are tennis courts, football pitches, a cricket pitch, par-three golf course, children’s playgrounds and miniature railway that is run by the Dublin Society of Model and Experimental Engineers. And the park  is also the official starting point of the Wicklow Way, a 132km trail that works its way southwards through the Wicklow Mountains before finishing at Clonegal in County Carlow.

The rather lovely ornamental garden, has much to see and enjoy, and the water features are a real treat.

By the pond…time for reflection

Beside the house is the Craft Courtyard where you can sit and  relax over a coffee after all your walking. There are a number of shops where you can find pottery, weavers, jewellery, embroidery and copper work. The famous Irish stained-glass artist Evie Hone had a studio here in the 1950s, and a Farmer’s Market is held here every Saturday and Sunday.

Irish Parliament House – First and Last

The Irish Parliament House on College Green was the first bicameral (two chambers) building in the world. The foundation stone was laid by Thomas Wyndham, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, on 3^rd February 1729 and construction took almost ten years. It was designed by renowned Irish architect Edward Lovett Pearce who sadly died in 1733, aged thirty-four, and never lived to see his most famous work completed.

Irish Parliament

It was built on the site of Chichester House (owned by Sir George Carew) and used as the Parliament House since 1673. The place was in bad condition and, moreover, lacking in space. Pearce’s building addressed these issues, and although its workings were often disliked the building itself was appreciated for the elegance of its fine Palladian lines.

From the 1780s after Henry Grattan had secured a number of concessions from London, allied to the dangerous influence of the French Revolution and the 1798 Rising, Westminster decided that Irish affairs should be in its control. A vote in late 1799 went against Westminster’s wishes, but a second one in February 1800 where there was widespread bribery and awards of peerages, won the day and the House of Commons voted for its own abolition. The last sitting of the House was took place in August 1800. The new law, the Act of Union, came into effect on 1^st Jan 1801 with all authority now resting with Westminster. This soon led to an exodus of peers and wealthy merchants that had a major negative impact on the Irish economy and a sharp decline in Dublin’s status.

As a final gesture of defiance against vote, John Foster (of Foster Place fame), the last Speaker of the House of Commons, retained possession of the Mace. It is believed that he hid it under his bed at home on Molesworth Street, and nothing more was heard of it until 1937 when it was put up for auction by Christies, London. It was bought by the Bank of Ireland and it is now in a glass case in the House of Lords. The Mace belonging to the House of Lords is now on show in the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History in Collins Barracks.

Mace – House of Commons

After its abolition the building was variously used as an art gallery and military depot. In 1803 it was purchased by the Bank of Ireland (who bought it for £40,000) as its new headquarters. When the building was sold it was stipulated that both chambers (Commons & Lords) be dismantled (so that it could never be used again as a parliament house), but the Lords is today almost unchanged. All the original fittings, including the beautifully engraved oak fireplace, are in use, and the bright red Woolsack which the Chancellor of Ireland sat on during debates, has now been restored. The magnificent 1,233 piece chandelier is original, and its counterpart from the Commons can be seen in the Examination Hall, across the road in Trinity College.

Oak Fireplace

Magnificent chandelier