Bushy Park, Dublin
Encyclopedia
Bushy Park is a large, 20.5 hectares (50.7 acre), suburban public park
Urban park
An urban park, is also known as a municipal park or a public park, public open space or municipal gardens , is a park in cities and other incorporated places to offer recreation and green space to residents of, and visitors to, the municipality...

 in Terenure
Terenure
Terenure is a mainly residential suburb of Dublin, Ireland, largely in the administrative area of Dublin City Council but with parts in the administrative county of South Dublin County .-Location and transport:...

, Dublin, Ireland
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...

.

Location

Although situated mainly in Terenure, and listed by the city council with that address, it stretches to the borders of Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham or Rathfarnam is a Southside suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and 16. It is within the administrative areas of both Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown and South Dublin County Councils.The area of Rathfarnham...

 and Templeogue
Templeogue
Templeogue is a suburb of southwest Dublin, Ireland. The original Irish name Teach Mealóg refers to a chapel named after Saint Mel that was built there in about 1273....

. It is across the road from Terenure College
Terenure College
Terenure College is a Carmelites-run secondary school located in the Terenure area of Dublin, Ireland. The College was founded in 1860 and comprises a primary and secondary school. The school is part of the popular culture "Rugby Belt" or Leinster Schools Rugby playing institutions, having a strong...

 boys' school and has several entrances. The River Dodder
River Dodder
The River Dodder is one of the three main rivers of the Dublin region in Ireland, the others being the Liffey, of which the Dodder is the largest tributary, and the Tolka.-Course and system:...

 passes alongside it, within the Dodder Valley Linear Park, and the high wall of Bushy Park has several access points to the riverside.

Attractions and activities

There is a children's playground, an extensive wooded area, with walks to the banks of the Dodder (with access over a footbridge to the Rathfarnham area), a woodland pond, a duck pond, and a recently reopened kiosk. In front of the duck pond is a high hill, and east of the pond is a starting point for the woodland walk, beside a small cascade. The park is a good place for birdwatching - among the species which may be seen are sparrow hawk, treecreeper and kingfisher.

The park has football fields, a skateboarding
Skateboarding
Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...

 area and 11 tennis court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...

s. Many sporting clubs and schools in the area use the park for recreational activities such as the Football Association of Ireland
Football Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...

, Terenure Football Club (with schoolgirls, schoolboys, adult male and female teams), and Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

 club Templeogue Synge Street.

History

Bushy Park House was originally owned by Arthur Bushe of Dangan
Dangan
Dang'an is a Chinese word meaning "record". Used in the political and administrative context, it means an archival system that records the "performance and attitudes" of citizens of mainland China. Together with the hukou, it has been an important part of the government's efforts to maintain...

, County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. The territory of the county was the core part of the ancient Irish Kingdom of Osraige which in turn was the core of the Diocese of...

, Secretary to the Revenue Commissioners who built the house, originally known as "Bushe's House" in 1700 on a site of four hectares. John Hobson became the owner in 1772 and changed the name of the house to Bushy Park, possibly after Bushy Park
Bushy Park
- External links :***...

 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. The third owner was Abraham Wilkinson who in 1791 added almost 40 extra hectares to this estate when his only daughter Maria married Robert Shaw
Robert Shaw (politician)
Sir Robert Shaw, 1st Baronet was a Tory UK Member of Parliament representing Dublin City 1804-1826.Sir Robert's great great grandfather, William Shaw, went to Ireland and fought for King William at the Battle of the Boyne in 1689, and was rewarded by the grant of land there...

 who was first baronet, Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 and Lord Mayor
Lord Mayor
The Lord Mayor is the title of the Mayor of a major city, with special recognition.-Commonwealth of Nations:* In Australia it is a political position. Australian cities with Lord Mayors: Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Parramatta, Perth, Sydney, and Wollongong...

 of Dublin. In 1796 he gave the house and estate as a dowry to the couple. Bushy Park House became the seat of Sir Robert Shaw when he left nearby Terenure House.

The Shaw family was connected with Bushy Park until they sold the house and grounds to Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council
Dublin City Council is the local authority for the city of Dublin in Ireland. It has 52 members and is the largest local authority in Ireland. Until 2001, it was known as Dublin Corporation.-Legal status:...

 (formerly Dublin Corporation) in 1953. The house and eight hectares of the grounds were then sold in 1955 by Dublin City Council to the Religious of Christian Education
Religious of Christian Education
The religious congregation of Religious Sisters of Christian Education is a Roman Catholic institute founded for the education of girls by the Abbé Louis Lafosse and four women on 21 November 1817 in Échauffour, Normandy.-Bibliography:...

 (an order of teaching Sisters
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...

founded in Normandy in 1817), where they established Our Lady's School for girls. Dublin City Council re-acquired 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) of woodland in 1992.

As of early 2008 there are plans to refurbish Bushy Park House.

External links

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