The Parks and Gardens of Dublin

Ireland’s maritime climate along with its history of demesnes has led to an abundance of important gardens which are rich in artistic heritage as well as plant collections from around the world. In The Parks and Gardens of Dublin (Eastwood), Christy Boylan, who holds a wealth of experience in landscape architecture and urban parks, charts the history and development of over 120 parks and gardens in Dublin, each of which has an interesting story. Dublin has a proud history in the development of public parks. With managers who are in tune with global trends and who actively participate in the World Urban Parks organisation, Dublin’s parks are modern in style while retaining their heritage characteristics. Join Christy in conversation about his illuminating forthcoming book.

In partnership with the OPW.

This is a free event. Alternatively, by choosing a donation ticket to any amount, you would be making a welcome contribution to future DBF events!

This is an indoor event.

P lease note we will be capturing candid imagery at this event for use on our social media.

Please visit the Farmleigh website to help plan your visit. https://www.farmleigh.ie/how-to-find-us/

A native of Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan, Christy Boylan studied Horticulture at the National Botanic Gardens, and University College Dublin. Further studies included Landscape Architecture at Michigan State University, USA., and he obtained an MBA from Dublin City University in 2003. He was a Landscape Architect with Dublin Corporation Parks Department until 1993 and head of the Parks and Landscape Services Department in South Dublin County Council until 2007. He is a lecturer at Technological University Dublin, an adjudicator for the National Tidy Towns Competition and chair of the International jury for Entente Florale Europe. He has written numerous publications and presented papers at national and international conferences. A founding member and first President of the Tree Council of Ireland, and a Fellow and former President of the Irish Landscape Institute. He was a board member of World Urban Parks until 2018. In May 2015, Christy was the inaugural winner of the World Urban Parks Distinguished Individual Award.

Catherine Cleary is an award-winning journalist, author and nature activist. In 2020 with co-founder Ashe Conrad-Jones they set up Pocket Forests, a Dublin-based social enterprise helping communities create space for nature in urban areas. She is the author and co-author of four books, made the RTE radio series History on a Plate with historian and novelist Juliana Adelman; and has hosted several podcasts. Last year she planted more than 6,000 trees to establish a native woodlands and wilding project of over 24,000 native trees in Co Roscommon.

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