New Bridgefoot Street Park Finally Opens! – Craig O Reilly and Stephen Davis bring us the news from the opening
After facing uncertainty and setbacks during the pandemic, Bridgefoot Park finally opened to the public this week. Plans were put in motion four years ago to create an amenity for residents and visitors to enjoy. Dermot Foley Landscape Architects led the design. As Part of The Liberties Greening Strategy, it is the second of two flagship amenities projects, the other being Weaver Park which was completed in 2018.
Embracing an ethos of ‘recycle and reuse’ with paths made from old paving slabs, bricks, and sections of old concrete paths.
There’s plenty to enjoy. The park has a café, along with play areas for kids, a community Garden and trees galore. There are shrubs, herbaceous plants and bulbs all adding to the biodiversity of the Liberties as a whole. Wildflowers have been planted to encourage pollinating insects and Bridgefoot Street Park is supposed to support the growing Inner City Bee Project which has seen beehives placed across Dublin 8. Finally, there are four different entrances, linking Bridgefoot Street and Bonham Street together.
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The path to this week’s opening has been a long one. Originally the community Garden at Bridgefoot Street was put together using ceramics, wire and other materials found on sight and this has informed the new parks design.
It looks like it has been worth the wait; with terrazzo paths stretch round structured mounds, bringing the place to life with a sense of reclaiming it from the wild. People can enjoy a space that uses recycled materials.
At least one part of the delay was apparently due to wanting to get this aspect right. Since the park uses some materials that would ordinarily be cast aside to create its playgrounds, paths and features.
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The site of the park (about 2 acres) grew out of a community Garden set up by Richard Taplin and others. They set up a space using the reclaimed derelict land and provided a creative outlet for many people nearby.
It is all part of a major 10-year strategy to regenerate the surrounding area with Oliver Bond works underway and a new housing scheme opening later this year on Bonham Street consisting of 57 new housing units.
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It’s good to see that the Bridgefoot Park is open and ready to visit. It should provide a fun place for all to come down and enjoy.
Photos by Stephen Davis
