St. Stephen's Green
Encyclopedia
St Stephen's Green is a city centre public park in Dublin, Ireland
. The park is adjacent to one of Dublin's main shopping streets, Grafton Street
, and to a shopping centre
named for it, while on its surrounding streets are the offices of a number of public bodies and the city terminus of one of Dublin's Luas
tram lines. It is often informally called Stephen's Green. At 22 acres (89,030.9 m²), it is the largest of the parks in Dublin's main Georgian squares. Others include nearby Merrion Square
and Fitzwilliam Square. Phoenix Park
is the largest park in Dublin city, but is not in a Georgian square.
The park is rectangular, surrounded by streets that once formed major traffic arteries through Dublin city centre, although traffic management changes implemented in 2004 during the course of the Luas works have greatly reduced the volume of traffic. These four bordering streets are called, respectively, St Stephen's Green North, St Stephen's Green South, St Stephen's Green East and St Stephen's Green West.
Until 1663 St Stephen’s Green was a marshy common on the edge of Dublin, used for grazing. In that year Dublin Corporation
, seeing an opportunity to raise much needed revenue, decided to enclose the centre of the common and to sell land around the perimeter for building. The park was enclosed with a wall in 1664. The houses built around the Green were rapidly replaced by new buildings in the Georgian style and by the end of the eighteenth century the Green was a place of resort for the better-off of the city. Much of the present-day landscape of the square comprises modern buildings, some in a replica Georgian style, and relatively little survives from the 18th and 19th centuries.
In 1814 control of St Stephen’s Green park passed to Commissioners for the local householders, who redesigned its layout and replaced the walls with railings.
After the death of Prince Albert
, Queen Victoria suggested that St Stephen's Green be renamed Albert Green and have a statue of Albert at its center - a suggestion rejected with indignation by the Dublin Corporation and the people of the city, to the Queen's chagrin.
Access to the Green was restricted to local residents, until 1877, when Parliament passed an Act to reopen St Stephen’s Green to the public, at the initiative of Sir A.E. Guinness
, a member of the Guinness brewing family
who lived at St. Anne's Park, Raheny
and at Ashford Castle
. He later paid for the laying out of the Green in approximately its current form, which took place in 1880, and gave it to the Corporation
, as representatives of the people. By way of thanks the city commissioned a statue of him, which faces the College of Surgeons
. His brother Edward
lived at Iveagh House
, which his descendants gave in 1939 to the Department of External Affairs (now the Department of Foreign Affairs).
During the Easter Rising
of 1916, a group of insurgents made up mainly of members of the Irish Citizen Army
, under the command of Commandant Michael Mallin
and his second-in-command Constance Markievicz, established a position in St Stephen's Green. They numbered between 200-250 They confiscated motor vehicles to establish road blocks on the streets that surround the park, and dug defensive positions in the park itself. This approach differed from that of taking up positions in buildings, adopted elsewhere in the city. It proved to have been unwise when elements of the British Army
took up positions in the Shelbourne Hotel
, at the northeastern corner of St Stephen's Green, overlooking the park, from which they could shoot down into the entrenchments. Finding themselves in a weak position, the Volunteers withdrew to the Royal College of Surgeons
on the west side of the Green. During the Rising, fire was temporarily halted to allow the park's groundsman to feed the local ducks.
The park is now operated by the Office of Public Works
on behalf of the Irish state.
While the central park of St Stephen's Green is one of three ancient commons in the city, its current layout owes much to the restorations of the 1800s (see History above).
The grounds are roughly rectangular, measuring (approximately) 550 by 450 metres, and are centred on a formal garden.
One of the more unusual aspects of the park lies on the north west corner of this central area - a garden for the blind with scented plants, which can withstand handling, and are labelled in Braille
.
Further north again (and spanning much of the length of the park) is a large lake. Home to ducks and other water fowl, the lake is fed by an artificial water fall, spanned by O'Connell bridge, and fronted by an ornamental gazebo
. The lakes in the park are fed from the Grand Canal
at Portobello
.
To the south side of the main garden circle is more open heath
surrounding a bandstand
, and often frequented by lunching students, workers and shoppers on Dublin's sunnier days.
Other notable features include:
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Iveagh House
on the South side was created from the joining of two earlier houses (numbers 80 and 81) by Benjamin Guinness
in the 1860s. It was donated to the Irish State by the Guinness family in 1939, and now houses the main offices of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.
Also on the South side of St Stephen's Green are Newman House (numbers 85 and 86, after John Henry Newman) and University Church. These are home to the Catholic University of Ireland, which was founded in the 19th Century. It is linked with University College Dublin
, but is no longer active educationally in its own right.
The Unitarian
Church, Dublin, built in the Gothic revival style, is located on the West side of St Stephen's Green.
Also on the West side is the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
(number 123), home to the oldest of the Republic of Ireland's six medical schools.
On the West side, at the top of Grafton Street, is the Stephen's Green Shopping Centre
, built in October 1988. It was, at the time, Ireland's largest shopping centre. Its style was intended to represent a conservatory on the side facing the Green and to mirror the brickwork design of the opposing Gaiety Theatre on South King Street.
Opposite the shopping centre, forming an entrance to the park, is the Fusilier
's Arch, erected in 1907. This commemorates members of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers
killed in the Second Boer War
.
On the North side of St Stephen's Green, there were four but are now two clubs (originally gentlemen's club
s): the Hibernian United Services Club (number 8, closed in 2002), the Stephen's Green Hibernian Club (number 9, originally the Stephen's Green Club, prior to its merger with the Hibernian United Services Club), the "Friendly Brothers of St Patrick" (number 22, now closed) and the Kildare Street and University Club (number 17). This side of the Green also has the historic Shelbourne Hotel.
Loreto College, St Stephen's Green, one of Ireland's best-known fee-paying schools for girls, is located at number 53, on the East side of the Green.
St Vincent's Hospital, now located in a suburb on the south side of Dublin, was formerly located in buildings on the East side of St Stephen's Green and on Leeson Street.
tram
system terminates on the western side of the park.
Plans for the proposed DART Underground projected a station below St Stephen's Green. Similarly, the proposed Dublin Metro
assumed a terminus at the Green. These plans (revealed in 2008) assume long term works in the northern corner of the park and temporarily moving the Fusiliers' Arch for a number of years, as well as temporary disturbance to the Grand Canal flow to the lakes. No schedule for these works however has been confirmed.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The park is adjacent to one of Dublin's main shopping streets, Grafton Street
Grafton Street, Dublin
Grafton Street is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre, the other being Henry Street. It runs from St. Stephen's Green in the south to College Green in the north...
, and to a shopping centre
Stephen's Green Shopping Centre
Stephen's Green Shopping Centre is a large indoor shopping centre located at the top of Grafton Street in the Southside of Dublin City. It is named after St...
named for it, while on its surrounding streets are the offices of a number of public bodies and the city terminus of one of Dublin's Luas
Luas
Luas , also promoted in the development stage as the Dublin Light Rail System, is a tram or light rail system serving Dublin, the first such system in the decades since the closure of the last of the Dublin tramways. In 2007, the system carried 28.4 million passengers, a growth of 10% since...
tram lines. It is often informally called Stephen's Green. At 22 acres (89,030.9 m²), it is the largest of the parks in Dublin's main Georgian squares. Others include nearby Merrion Square
Merrion Square
Merrion Square is a Georgian square on the southside of Dublin city centre. It was laid out after 1762 and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century. It is considered one of the city's finest surviving squares...
and Fitzwilliam Square. Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park
Phoenix Park is an urban park in Dublin, Ireland, lying 2–4 km west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey. Its 16 km perimeter wall encloses , one of the largest walled city parks in Europe. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the seventeenth...
is the largest park in Dublin city, but is not in a Georgian square.
The park is rectangular, surrounded by streets that once formed major traffic arteries through Dublin city centre, although traffic management changes implemented in 2004 during the course of the Luas works have greatly reduced the volume of traffic. These four bordering streets are called, respectively, St Stephen's Green North, St Stephen's Green South, St Stephen's Green East and St Stephen's Green West.
History
Dublin Corporation
Dublin Corporation , known by generations of Dubliners simply as The Corpo, is the former name given to the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin between 1661 and 1 January 2002...
, seeing an opportunity to raise much needed revenue, decided to enclose the centre of the common and to sell land around the perimeter for building. The park was enclosed with a wall in 1664. The houses built around the Green were rapidly replaced by new buildings in the Georgian style and by the end of the eighteenth century the Green was a place of resort for the better-off of the city. Much of the present-day landscape of the square comprises modern buildings, some in a replica Georgian style, and relatively little survives from the 18th and 19th centuries.
In 1814 control of St Stephen’s Green park passed to Commissioners for the local householders, who redesigned its layout and replaced the walls with railings.
After the death of Prince Albert
Prince Albert
Prince Albert was the husband and consort of Queen Victoria.Prince Albert may also refer to:-Royalty:*Prince Albert Edward or Edward VII of the United Kingdom , son of Albert and Victoria...
, Queen Victoria suggested that St Stephen's Green be renamed Albert Green and have a statue of Albert at its center - a suggestion rejected with indignation by the Dublin Corporation and the people of the city, to the Queen's chagrin.
Access to the Green was restricted to local residents, until 1877, when Parliament passed an Act to reopen St Stephen’s Green to the public, at the initiative of Sir A.E. Guinness
Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun
Arthur Edward Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, 2nd Baronet , known as Sir Arthur Guinness, Bt, between 1868 and 1880, was an Irish businessman, politician, and philanthropist, best known for giving St Stephen's Green to the people of Dublin.-Background and education:Guinness was born at St Anne's,...
, a member of the Guinness brewing family
Guinness family
The Guinness family is an extensive aristocratic Irish Protestant family noted for their accomplishments in brewing, banking, politics and religious ministry...
who lived at St. Anne's Park, Raheny
Raheny
Raheny is a northern suburb of Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. It is an old area, centred around an old village, and is referenced back to 570 AD but after years of light settlement, with a main village and a coastal hamlet, grew rapidly in the 20th century, and is now a mid-density...
and at Ashford Castle
Ashford Castle
Ashford Castle is a medieval castle turned five star luxury hotel near Cong on the Mayo/Galway Border in Ireland, on the shore of Lough Corrib. Ashford Castle is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World organization.-History:...
. He later paid for the laying out of the Green in approximately its current form, which took place in 1880, and gave it to the Corporation
Dublin Corporation
Dublin Corporation , known by generations of Dubliners simply as The Corpo, is the former name given to the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin between 1661 and 1 January 2002...
, as representatives of the people. By way of thanks the city commissioned a statue of him, which faces the College of Surgeons
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland , is a Dublin-based medical institution, situated on St. Stephen's Green. The college is one of the five Recognised Colleges of the National University of Ireland...
. His brother Edward
Edward Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh
Edward Cecil Guinness, 1st Earl of Iveagh, KP, GCVO, FRS was an Irish philanthropist and businessman.-Public life:...
lived at Iveagh House
Iveagh House
Iveagh House is the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin. It is also sometimes used colloquially as a metonym referring to the department itself....
, which his descendants gave in 1939 to the Department of External Affairs (now the Department of Foreign Affairs).
During the Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
of 1916, a group of insurgents made up mainly of members of the Irish Citizen Army
Irish Citizen Army
The Irish Citizen Army , or ICA, was a small group of trained trade union volunteers established in Dublin for the defence of worker’s demonstrations from the police. It was formed by James Larkin and Jack White. Other prominent members included James Connolly, Seán O'Casey, Constance Markievicz,...
, under the command of Commandant Michael Mallin
Michael Mallin
Michael Mallin was an Irish rebel and socialist who took an active role in the 1916 Easter Rising....
and his second-in-command Constance Markievicz, established a position in St Stephen's Green. They numbered between 200-250 They confiscated motor vehicles to establish road blocks on the streets that surround the park, and dug defensive positions in the park itself. This approach differed from that of taking up positions in buildings, adopted elsewhere in the city. It proved to have been unwise when elements of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
took up positions in the Shelbourne Hotel
Shelbourne Hotel
The Shelbourne Hotel is a famous hotel situated in a landmark building on the north side of St Stephen's Green, in Dublin, Ireland. Currently operated by Marriott International, the hotel has 265 rooms in total and reopened in March 2006 after undergoing an eighteen-month refurbishment.John...
, at the northeastern corner of St Stephen's Green, overlooking the park, from which they could shoot down into the entrenchments. Finding themselves in a weak position, the Volunteers withdrew to the Royal College of Surgeons
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland , is a Dublin-based medical institution, situated on St. Stephen's Green. The college is one of the five Recognised Colleges of the National University of Ireland...
on the west side of the Green. During the Rising, fire was temporarily halted to allow the park's groundsman to feed the local ducks.
The park is now operated by the Office of Public Works
Office of Public Works
The Office of Public Works is a State Agency of the Department of Finance in the Republic of Ireland...
on behalf of the Irish state.
Park layout
The grounds are roughly rectangular, measuring (approximately) 550 by 450 metres, and are centred on a formal garden.
One of the more unusual aspects of the park lies on the north west corner of this central area - a garden for the blind with scented plants, which can withstand handling, and are labelled in Braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
.
Further north again (and spanning much of the length of the park) is a large lake. Home to ducks and other water fowl, the lake is fed by an artificial water fall, spanned by O'Connell bridge, and fronted by an ornamental gazebo
Gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...
. The lakes in the park are fed from the Grand Canal
Grand Canal of Ireland
The Grand Canal is the southernmost of a pair of canals that connect Dublin, in the east of Ireland, with the River Shannon in the west,via Tullamore and a number of other villages and towns, the two canals nearly encircling Dublin's inner city. Its sister canal on the Northside of Dublin is the...
at Portobello
Portobello, Dublin
In Dublin, Portobello is an area stretching westwards from South Richmond Street as far as Upper Clanbrassil Street bordered on the north by the South Circular Road and on the south by the Grand Canal....
.
To the south side of the main garden circle is more open heath
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
surrounding a bandstand
Bandstand
A bandstand is a circular or semicircular structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts...
, and often frequented by lunching students, workers and shoppers on Dublin's sunnier days.
Other notable features include:
- the FusilierFusilierFusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.-History:...
's Arch (first termed "Traitors Gate" by RedmonditesJohn RedmondJohn Edward Redmond was an Irish nationalist politician, barrister, MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918...
) at the Grafton Street corner which commemorates the Royal Dublin FusiliersThe Royal Dublin FusiliersThe Royal Dublin Fusiliers was an Irish infantry Regiment of the British Army created in 1881, one of eight Irish regiments raised and garrisoned in Ireland, with its home depot in Naas...
who died in the Second Boer WarSecond Boer WarThe Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
. - a group representing the Three FatesNornsThe Norns in Norse mythology are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men, a kind of dísir comparable to the Fates in classical mythology....
inside the Leeson StreetLeeson StreetLeeson Street is a thoroughfare near central Dublin, Ireland.Originally known as Suesey Street, it was renamed in 1728 after the Leesons, a family of local brewers, who branched into property development and subsequently became Earls of Milltown....
gate (a gift from the GermanGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
people in thanks for Irish help to refugees after World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
) - a seated statue of Lord Ardilaun on the western side, the man who gave the Green to the city, facing the Royal College of Surgeons which he also sponsored (again, see History above)
- the YeatsWilliam Butler YeatsWilliam Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
memorial garden with a sculpture by Henry MooreHenry MooreHenry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art.... - a bust of James JoyceJames JoyceJames Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
facing his former university at Newman House - a memorial to the FenianFenianThe Fenians , both the Fenian Brotherhood and Irish Republican Brotherhood , were fraternal organisations dedicated to the establishment of an independent Irish Republic in the 19th and early 20th century. The name "Fenians" was first applied by John O'Mahony to the members of the Irish republican...
leader Jeremiah O'Donovan RossaJeremiah O'Donovan RossaJeremiah O'Donovan Rossa , was an Irish Fenian leader and prominent member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood. His life as an Irish Fenian is well documented but he is perhaps known best in death for the graveside oration given at his funeral by Pádraig Pearse.-Life in Ireland:He was born at...
near the Grafton Street entrance - a bronze statue at the Merrion Row corner of Theobald Wolfe ToneTheobald Wolfe ToneTheobald Wolfe Tone or Wolfe Tone , was a leading Irish revolutionary figure and one of the founding members of the United Irishmen and is regarded as the father of Irish Republicanism. He was captured by British forces at Lough Swilly in Donegal and taken prisoner...
, the leader of the 1798 rebellion. Flanked by monoliths, it was immediately nicknamed 'Tonehenge'. - a memorial to the Great Famine of 1845-1850 by Edward DelaneyEdward DelaneyEdward Delaney was an Irish sculptor born in Claremorris in County Mayo in 1930. His best known works include the 1967 statue of Wolfe Tone and famine memorial at the northeastern corner of St Stephen's Green in Dublin and the statue of Thomas Davis in College Green, opposite Trinity College Dublin...
- a bust of Constance Markievicz on the south of the central garden (see History above)
- a statue of Robert EmmetRobert EmmetRobert Emmet was an Irish nationalist and Republican, orator and rebel leader born in Dublin, Ireland...
standing opposite his birthplace (now demolished) at No 124. - a memorial bust of Thomas KettleThomas KettleThomas Michael "Tom" Kettle was an Irish journalist, barrister, writer, poet, soldier, economist and Home Rule politician. As a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, he was Member of Parliament for East Tyrone from 1906 to 1910 at Westminster...
, fatality of the Great War. The attempt to erect a commemorative portrait bust of Kettle was beset by controversy until it was finally placed – without official unveiling, in the centre section.
Notable addresses
Iveagh House
Iveagh House is the headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Dublin. It is also sometimes used colloquially as a metonym referring to the department itself....
on the South side was created from the joining of two earlier houses (numbers 80 and 81) by Benjamin Guinness
Benjamin Guinness
Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, 1st Baronet was an Irish brewer and philanthropist.-Brewer:Born in Dublin, he was the third son of the second Arthur Guinness , and his wife Anne Lee, and a grandson of the latter's namesake who founded the Guinness brewery in 1759...
in the 1860s. It was donated to the Irish State by the Guinness family in 1939, and now houses the main offices of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs.
Also on the South side of St Stephen's Green are Newman House (numbers 85 and 86, after John Henry Newman) and University Church. These are home to the Catholic University of Ireland, which was founded in the 19th Century. It is linked with University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
, but is no longer active educationally in its own right.
The Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
Church, Dublin, built in the Gothic revival style, is located on the West side of St Stephen's Green.
Also on the West side is the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland , is a Dublin-based medical institution, situated on St. Stephen's Green. The college is one of the five Recognised Colleges of the National University of Ireland...
(number 123), home to the oldest of the Republic of Ireland's six medical schools.
On the West side, at the top of Grafton Street, is the Stephen's Green Shopping Centre
Stephen's Green Shopping Centre
Stephen's Green Shopping Centre is a large indoor shopping centre located at the top of Grafton Street in the Southside of Dublin City. It is named after St...
, built in October 1988. It was, at the time, Ireland's largest shopping centre. Its style was intended to represent a conservatory on the side facing the Green and to mirror the brickwork design of the opposing Gaiety Theatre on South King Street.
Opposite the shopping centre, forming an entrance to the park, is the Fusilier
Fusilier
Fusilier was originally the name of a soldier armed with a light flintlock musket called the fusil. The word was first used around 1680, and has later developed into a regimental designation.-History:...
's Arch, erected in 1907. This commemorates members of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers
The Royal Dublin Fusiliers
The Royal Dublin Fusiliers was an Irish infantry Regiment of the British Army created in 1881, one of eight Irish regiments raised and garrisoned in Ireland, with its home depot in Naas...
killed in the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
.
On the North side of St Stephen's Green, there were four but are now two clubs (originally gentlemen's club
Gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...
s): the Hibernian United Services Club (number 8, closed in 2002), the Stephen's Green Hibernian Club (number 9, originally the Stephen's Green Club, prior to its merger with the Hibernian United Services Club), the "Friendly Brothers of St Patrick" (number 22, now closed) and the Kildare Street and University Club (number 17). This side of the Green also has the historic Shelbourne Hotel.
Loreto College, St Stephen's Green, one of Ireland's best-known fee-paying schools for girls, is located at number 53, on the East side of the Green.
St Vincent's Hospital, now located in a suburb on the south side of Dublin, was formerly located in buildings on the East side of St Stephen's Green and on Leeson Street.
Transport
The Green line of the LuasLuas
Luas , also promoted in the development stage as the Dublin Light Rail System, is a tram or light rail system serving Dublin, the first such system in the decades since the closure of the last of the Dublin tramways. In 2007, the system carried 28.4 million passengers, a growth of 10% since...
tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
system terminates on the western side of the park.
Plans for the proposed DART Underground projected a station below St Stephen's Green. Similarly, the proposed Dublin Metro
Dublin Metro
The Dublin Metro is a proposed metro system for the city of Dublin. The first two lines were set out in the Irish Government's 2005 Transport 21 transport plan: they are known as Metro North and Metro West...
assumed a terminus at the Green. These plans (revealed in 2008) assume long term works in the northern corner of the park and temporarily moving the Fusiliers' Arch for a number of years, as well as temporary disturbance to the Grand Canal flow to the lakes. No schedule for these works however has been confirmed.