Attraction
Book of Kells Experience at Trinity College
The ninth-century Book of Kells and the 65-metre Long Room of Trinity College's Old Library, with immersive digital galleries in a separate pavilion.
St Stephen’s Green
A 22-acre Victorian park at the top of Grafton Street, with a lake, bandstand, memorials and a garden for the blind, free to enter.
At a glance
- Type
- Victorian city park
- Area
- St Stephen's Green, Dublin, Ireland
- Official site
- ststephensgreenpark.ie
Good to know
- Free entry
- Playground
- Garden for the Blind
- Free audio guide
Why we recommend it
St Stephen's Green is the best-known park in central Dublin and the largest of the city's Georgian squares, covering about 22 acres at the top of Grafton Street. The land was a marshy common until 1663, when Dublin Corporation enclosed it and sold the surrounding plots for building. Lord Ardilaun of the Guinness family later sponsored the 1877 act that opened it to everyone, and it was officially reopened to the public on 27 July 1880. It is now run by the Office of Public Works.
The main entrance is the Fusiliers' Arch at the Grafton Street corner, which commemorates soldiers of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers who died in the Second Boer War. Inside, paths lead around a lake that is home to ducks and other waterbirds, with a bandstand on the southern side. Memorials are scattered throughout: a bronze of Wolfe Tone at the Merrion Row corner, a Famine memorial by Edward Delaney, and a W. B. Yeats memorial garden with a sculpture by Henry Moore. The Garden for the Blind has scented plants and Braille labels.
The park also played a part in the 1916 Rising, when a rebel garrison led by Michael Mallin and Constance Markievicz dug in on the Green before withdrawing to the Royal College of Surgeons on the west side. A well-known story says firing paused so that the park keeper could feed the ducks.
Entry is free. The park opens at 07:30 Monday to Saturday and 09:30 on Sundays and bank holidays, and closes at dusk, which the park puts at roughly 16:00 to 18:30 from October to December and around 21:00 from May to July. A free official audio guide can be downloaded to your phone, and there are separate playground areas for younger and older children. Specialist guided tours can be requested at least a month ahead for groups of up to 20, and the Little Museum of Dublin runs weekend morning walks called The Green Mile. Photography is welcome, though commercial and wedding shoots need permission.
The Luas Green Line terminates beside the park at St Stephen's Green stop, and many buses pass nearby. Grafton Street, the Little Museum of Dublin, the Shelbourne Hotel and the Iveagh Gardens are all within a few minutes, and the National Museum of Archaeology is just to the north on Kildare Street.
St Stephen’s Green FAQs
When is St Stephen's Green open?
Monday to Saturday from 07:30 to dusk, and Sundays and bank holidays from 09:30 to dusk. On Christmas Day it opens 09:30 to 12:30.
Is there an entry fee?
No, entry to the park is free.
How do I get there?
Take the Luas Green Line to the St Stephen's Green stop, or walk up Grafton Street to the Fusiliers' Arch entrance.
Is it good for children?
Yes, there is a playground with separate areas for smaller and older children, and ducks on the lake.
Is there an audio guide?
Yes, a free official audio guide can be downloaded to a phone or tablet.
What is the Garden for the Blind?
It is a garden of aromatic plants with Braille signs that visitors can touch and smell.
What happened there in 1916?
Rebels led by Michael Mallin and Constance Markievicz occupied the Green during the Easter Rising before withdrawing to the Royal College of Surgeons.
What is nearby?
Grafton Street, the Iveagh Gardens, the Little Museum of Dublin and the National Museum of Archaeology are close by.