Phoenix Park is the green lung of Dublin – a vast oasis of trees and grassland, which grateful Dubliners use of walking, bicycling, and playing games in the fresh air.

Surprisingly few visitors to Dublin get out to Phoenix Park, although it lies only just over 1,5 kilometres upriver of the city centre and conveniently close to the national monument of Kilmainham Gaol. The park never feels crowded.

Displays in the visitor centre near the northern edge trace the history of the park through various monastic and aristocratic owners to its eighteenth century landscaping and opening to the public. The President of Ireland lives in the park in a mansion called Aras an Uachtarain; the residence of the US ambassador is here, too, and there is a zoo and a hospital.

By far the best thing to do in Phoenix Park is to bring a picnic and wander through woods and over grassland, watching for fallow deer and stopping to enjoy the spectacle of Gaelic sports such as hurling and Gaelic football that re played on weekends.