Just ahead of you, rising from the manicured lawns, is a towering stone pillar resting on a wide square base and crowned with a solitary statue. This is People's Park, but when development began in eighteen thirty-five, the people were entirely left out. The original plan envisioned an exclusive, keyholders-only garden surrounded by grand Georgian townhouses, an architectural style famous for its strict symmetry and elegance, popular during the reigns of the British King Georges. However, when the Great Irish Famine struck, funds dried up, and only one terrace of houses was ever built.
The park finally opened to everyone in eighteen seventy-seven. The Earl of Limerick granted the city a five-hundred-year lease, though it came with a few strict rules. He declared there were to be no political meetings, no religious gatherings, and absolutely no bands playing on a Sunday.
That giant stone pillar you see is the Thomas Spring Rice memorial. Take a glance at your screen to see a close-up of this monument, dedicated to the man who served as the city's Member of Parliament from eighteen twenty to eighteen thirty-two. If you check out the before and after image on your app, you will see how this ornate memorial has stood as a steadfast centerpiece while the park's greenery matured over the last century.
Today, the park is home to a nineteenth-century bandstand and an ornate drinking fountain that happens to be one of only two of its kind on the entire island of Ireland. The gates are open daily from eight A-M to nine P-M, offering plenty of time to explore. Take a moment to wander the paths. When you are ready, we can head over to our next stop.
