St. Anne’s Park is an estate of nearly 306 acres in the Clontarf/Raheny area, on the north side of Dublin. Brothers Arthur and Benjamin Lee Guinness (sons of Uncle Arthur, the man who gave us the black stuff!), built up and called the estate St. Anne’s after the Holy Well of the same name on the lands.

In 1932 the estate was sold to Dublin Corporation and still remains in their hands.

In December 1943, the main residence of St. Anne’s “The Mansion” was gutted by a fire and the ruins demolished in 1968. In the meantime, just over 200 acres of the estate were developed for public housing with the central most attractive portion comprising about 270 acres retained as parkland.

The park is intensively used by the public through its 35 playing pitches, 18 hard-surfaced tennis courts, 4 Boules courts and a par-3 golf course. The park also has a remote-controlled model car track, and a dedicated ‘Dog Park’ beside the track, where dogs may be let off lead at all other times.

Each year, an annual Rose Festival is held in the Park on the 3rd weekend of July.

In the Central Nurseries, located behind the Clocktower Gardens, over 600,000 seasonal bedding plants are produced annually for the city’s parks. The wooden planters to be seen on the Liffey Boardwalk and elsewhere throughout the city, along with the tiered floral planters, are also produced & maintained within the Nursery.

The Red Stables designed by George Coppinger Ashlin, have been refurbished and now provide an Arts Centre, Restaurant & a Saturday Farmers Market.

The avenue leading to the market.

Another view of the cut down tree stump, remember the roots are still in the ground.

…. and from the front:

Finally a well seasoned stump seat:

Click on any thumbnail in the gallery below for greater detail.