Phoenix Park

Phoenix Park is Europe's largest city park (about 5 times the size of Hyde Park in London) that has a 11km (7 mile) long brick wall perimeter. The park is named after the mythical bird the phoenix, to which there is a land mark called the Phoenix column that also lies in the park's grounds. Phoenix park is home to two other monuments, the Papal Cross, and the Wellington Testimonial obelisk. The Papal Cross standing 27 metres tall (90 feet) marks the spot where Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in the park for a million people. In 2 April 2005, when Pope John Paul II died people gathered around the cross to leave signs of remembrance of him. The Wellington Testimonial standing 63 metres high (204 feet) took 44 years to build and was completed in 18th June 1861 it has an inscription that reads:

Asia and Europe, saved by thee, proclaim Invincible in war thy deathless name, Now round thy brow the civic oak we twine That every earthly glory may be thine.

There was suppose to be a statue of Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington but shortage of funds prevent this from being created. In 1662, the Duke of Ormonde had turned a the big piece of land into a deer park, but later in 1745 Lord Chesterfield had it landscaped and made it publicly accessible. the Zoological gardens opened in 1830 is the third oldest zoo in the World and is known for it successes in breeding of lions, in fact the MGM lion (i.e. the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lion, Leo, that appears in before the opening credits to a movie) came from this zoo. You can find two 18th century buildings that are the official residence for the Irish President, Áras an Uachtaráin, and the home of the US ambassador (Deerfield)