National Botanic Gardens (Ireland)

2025-05-27T15:31:41Z

2A01:CB06:9036:681F:0:60:5BF9:2A01:

{{Short description|Botanical garden}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox park
| name = National Botanic Gardens
| alt_name = Garraithe Náisiúnta na Lus
| photo = Grdnlogoold.gif
| photo_width = 23000

| photo_caption =
|map = Dublin#Ireland
| map_label =National Botanic Gardens
| type = [[Botanical garden|Botanic Garden]]
| location = [[Glasnevin]], Dublin
| coords = {{coord|53|22|19.20|N|6|16|22.80|W|dim:600_scale:6000_region:IE-D_type:landmark_source:dewiki|display=inline}}
| area = {{convert|19.5|ha|abbr=on}}
| created = 1795
| operator = [[Office of Public Works]]
| visitation_num =
| status = Open all year
| website = [http://www.botanicgardens.ie/ www.botanicgardens.ie]
}}

The '''National Botanic Gardens''' (Irish: ''Garraithe Náisiúnta na Lus'') is a [[botanical garden]] in [[Glasnevin]], 5 km north-west of [[Dublin]] city centre, [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]].<ref name="opw">{{cite web|url=http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/Dublin/NationalBotanicGardens/|title=Heritage Ireland: National Botanic Gardens|publisher=[[Office of Public Works]]|access-date=2 November 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112185239/http://www.heritageireland.ie/en/Dublin/NationalBotanicGardens/|archive-date=12 November 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The 19.5 hectares<ref>{{cite news|last=Gartland|first=Fiona|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/valuable-lead-roofing-stolen-from-dublin-bandstands-1.485412|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180530022253/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/valuable-lead-roofing-stolen-from-dublin-bandstands-1.485412|url-status=live|archive-date=30 May 2018|title=Valuable lead roofing stolen from Dublin bandstands|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |access-date=29 May 2018}}</ref> are situated between [[Glasnevin Cemetery]] and the [[River Tolka]] where it forms part of the river's [[floodplain]].

The gardens were founded in 1795 by the [[Royal Dublin Society|Dublin Society]] (later the Royal Dublin Society) and are today in State ownership through the [[Office of Public Works]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Opening Hours {{!}} National Botanic Gardens of Ireland {{!}} The Office of Public Works|url=http://botanicgardens.ie/glasnevin/opening-hours/|access-date=2021-01-04|language=en-US|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108101241/http://botanicgardens.ie/glasnevin/opening-hours/|url-status=live}}</ref> They house approximately 20,000 living plants and many millions of dried plant specimens. There are several architecturally notable greenhouses. The Glasnevin site is the headquarters of the '''National Botanic Gardens of Ireland''' which has a satellite garden and [[arboretum]] at [[National Botanic Gardens Kilmacurragh|Kilmacurragh]] in [[County Wicklow]].

The gardens participate in national and international initiatives for [[biodiversity]] conservation and [[sustainable development]]. Director of the Gardens Dr. [[Matthew Jebb]], is also Chairman of PlantNetwork: The Plant Collections Network of Britain and Ireland. It is Ireland's seventh most visited attraction, and the second most visited free attraction.<ref>{{cite news|title=Guinness Storehouse tops list of most visited attractions|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/transport-and-tourism/guinness-storehouse-tops-list-of-most-visited-attractions-1.1476060|newspaper=Irish Times|date=26 July 2013|access-date=4 August 2013|archive-date=1 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801163628/http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/transport-and-tourism/guinness-storehouse-tops-list-of-most-visited-attractions-1.1476060|url-status=live}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Curvilinear range.jpg|150px|thumb|The Curvilinear Range of [[greenhouse|glasshouse]]s designed by [[Richard Turner (iron-founder)|Richard Turner]]]]
Poet [[Thomas Tickell]] owned a house and small estate in Glasnevin and, in 1795, they were sold to the [[Parliament of Ireland|Irish Parliament]] and given to the [[Royal Dublin Society]] for them to establish Ireland's first [[botanic gardens]]. A double line of [[taxus|yew]] trees, known as "Addison's Walk" survives from this period.<ref name= Ieye>{{cite web
| title = National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin
| publisher = Irelandseye.com
| date = 1999–2005
| url = http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/travel/attractions/gardens/glasnevn.shtm
| access-date = 14 September 2008
| archive-date = 11 May 2008
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080511171754/http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/travel/attractions/gardens/glasnevn.shtm
| url-status = live
}}</ref> The original function of the gardens was to advance knowledge of plants for agricultural, medicinal and [[dyes|dyeing]] purposes. The gardens were the first location in Ireland where the infection responsible for the 1845–1847 [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]] was identified. Throughout the famine, research to stop the infection was undertaken at the gardens.

[[Walter Wade (botanist)|Walter Wade]] and John Underwood, the first Director and Superintendent respectively, executed the layout of the gardens, but, when Wade died in 1825, they declined for some years. From 1834, Director Ninian Nivan brought new life into the gardens, performing some redesign. This programme of change and development continued with the following Directors into the late 1960s.<ref name= Ieye />

[[File:Wittgenstein plaque in the Palm House, National Botanic Gardens, Dublin, Ireland.jpg|150px|thumb|[[Ludwig Wittgenstein|Wittgenstein]] plaque in the Palm House.]]

The gardens were placed into government care in 1877 and then became known as the Royal Botanic Gardens (until the founding of the Irish Free State in 1922).<ref>{{cite book |last=De Breffny |first=Brian |author-link= |date=1983 |title=Ireland: A Cultural Encyclopedia |url= |location=London |publisher=Thames and Hudson |page=46 |isbn=}}</ref> That same year, [[Pedro II of Brazil|Dom Pedro II]], [[Emperor of Brazil]], visited the gardens as part of a largely unpublicised visit to Ireland.<ref name = DPII>{{cite web |title=Dom Pedro II in Ireland |url=https://assets.ireland.ie/documents/1._English_Catalogue_for_Website.pdf|publisher = Consulate General of Ireland - São Paulo |website=assets.ireland.ie |date=2023-05-21|access-date=2024-07-05}}</ref>

In the winter of 1948/9 [[Ludwig Wittgenstein]] lived and worked in Ireland. He frequently came to the Palm House to sit and write. There is a plaque commemorating him on the steps he sat on.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-05-22|title=Ludwig Wittgenstein's Dublin memorials.|url=https://comeheretome.com/2013/05/22/ludwig-wittgensteins-dublin-memorials/|access-date=2020-12-15|website=Come Here To Me!|language=en|archive-date=27 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127202129/https://comeheretome.com/2013/05/22/ludwig-wittgensteins-dublin-memorials/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Facilities ==
As well as being a [[tourist destination]] and an amenity for nearby residents, the gardens – offering free entry – serve as a centre for horticultural research and training, including the breeding of many prized [[orchids]].
[[File:National Botanic Gardens, Dublin (7018829443).jpg|150px|thumb|Orchid in the Botanic Gardens collection]]

The soil at Glasnevin is strongly [[Alkali soils|alkaline]] (in horticultural terms) and this restricts the cultivation of [[calcifuge]] plants such as rhododendrons to specially prepared areas. Nonetheless, the gardens display a range of outdoor "habitats" such as a [[rockery]], [[herbaceous border]], [[rose garden]], [[bog]] garden and arboretum. A vegetable garden has also been established.

The National Herbarium is also housed at the National Botanic Gardens. The museum collection contains some 20,000 samples of plant products, including fruits, seeds, wood, fibres, plant extracts and artefacts, collected over the garden's two-hundred-year history. The gardens contain noted and historically important collections of orchids. The newly restored Palm House houses many tropical and subtropical plants. In 2002, a new multistorey complex was built; it includes a cafe and a large lecture theatre. The gardens are also responsible for the [[arboretum]] at Kilmacurragh, County Wicklow, a centre noted for its conifers and calcifuges. This is located some {{convert|50|km|mi|abbr=off}} south of Dublin.

A gateway into [[Glasnevin Cemetery]] adjacent to the gardens was reopened in recent years.

== Architecture ==
[[File:Palm House Dublin.jpg|thumb|The Palm House]]

The gardens include some glasshouses of architectural importance, such as the Palm House and the Curvilinear Range.

The Great Palm House is situated in the southern parts of the gardens, and is connected to the cactus house on its west side, and the orchid house on its east side. The main building measures 65 feet in height, 100 feet in length and 80 feet in width.

The Palm House was originally built in 1862 to accommodate the ever-increasing collection of plants from tropical areas that demanded more and more protected growing conditions. The construction was overseen by David Moore, the curator of the gardens at the time. The original structure was built of wood, and was unstable, leading to it being blown down by heavy gales in 1883, twenty-one years later. [[Richard Turner (iron-founder)|Richard Turner]], the great Dublin ironmaster, had already supplied an iron house to Belfast Gardens and he persuaded the Royal Dublin Society that such a house would be a better investment than a wooden house, and by 1883 construction had begun on a stronger iron structure. Fabrication of the structure took place in [[Paisley, Renfrewshire|Paisley]], [[Scotland]], and shipped to Ireland in sections. By the early 2000s, the Palm House had fallen into a state of disrepair. After more than 100 years, the wrought iron, cast iron and timber construction had seriously deteriorated. Prior to its restoration, a large number of panes of glass were breaking each year due to the corrosion and instability of the structure. As part of the restoration, the house was completely dismantled into more than 7,000 parts, and tagged for repair and restoration off-site. 20-metre-tall cast iron columns within the Great Palm House had seriously degraded and were replaced by new cast iron columns created in moulds of the originals. To protect the structure from further corrosion, new modern paint technology was used to develop long-term protection for the Palm House, providing protection from the perpetually tropical internal climate. For Health and Safety reasons, overhead glass was laminated and vertical panes toughened, and a specialised form of mastic was used to fix the panes, replacing the original linseed oil putty that had contributed to the decay of the building over the century. The Palm House was reopened in 2004 after a lengthy replanting programme following the restoration process.

The Curvilinear Range was completed in 1848 by [[Richard Turner (iron-founder)|Richard Turner]], and was extended in the late 1860s. This structure, has also been restored (using some surplus contemporary structural ironwork from [[Kew Gardens]]) and this work attracted the [[Europa Nostra]] award for excellence in conservation architecture.<ref name="opw" />

[[File:Socrates Botanic Gardens 1.jpg|thumb|Statue of [[Socrates]], the philosopher.]]

There is also a third range of glasshouses: the Aquatic House, the Fern House and the original Cactus House. These structures were closed off in the early 2000s, and are currently undergoing restoration. As these glasshouses were specialised in the plants they housed, many specimens such as the [[Victoria amazonica|Giant Amazonian Water Lily]] have not been grown in the gardens since the closure of the structures.

==College of Amenity Horticulture (Teagasc)==
Building on the training and education legacy of the gardens, the [[Teagasc]] College of Amenity Horticulture is located in the gardens. It runs full- and part-time courses training students for the amenity horticulture industry. Training is run in association with the Office of Public Works (OPW), Dublin local authority parks departments, and the [[Golfing Union of Ireland]].<ref>[https://www.teagasc.ie/education/teagasc-colleges/botanic-gardens/ College of Amenity Horticulture - Botanic Gardens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606172512/https://www.teagasc.ie/education/teagasc-colleges/botanic-gardens/ |date=6 June 2017 }} www.teagasc.ie</ref>

== Directors ==
[[File:BCwillow.jpg|thumbnail|A willow at the gardens]]
[[File:Lithops sculpture.jpg|thumb|Sculpture of lithops]]
The Director is the chief officer of the Gardens, with a residence provided on site. Directors have included:<ref name= Ieye />
*Dr [[Walter Wade (botanist)|Walter Wade]], Professor of Botany to the Dublin Society (until 1825)
*Samuel Litton (1825–1834)
*[[Ninian Niven]] (1834–1838)
*Dr [[David Moore (botanist born 1808)|David Moore]] (1838–79)
*Sir [[Frederick William Moore]] (1879–1922)
*J. W. Besant (1922–44)
*Dr T. J. Walsh (1944–68)
*[[Aidan Brady (Gaelic footballer)|Aidan Brady]] (1968–1993)
*Donal M. Synnott (1994–2004)
*Dr [[Peter Wyse Jackson]] (2005–2010)
*Dr [[Matthew Jebb]] (2010– )

==See also==

* [[National Botanic Gardens Kilmacurragh]]
* [[List of Irish botanical illustrators]]
* [[List of Irish plant collectors]]
* [[Griffith Park, Dublin]]
* [[The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Irish National Botanic Gardens}}
* [http://www.botanicgardens.ie/ Official Website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140219071357/http://overseasattractions.com/europe/ireland/dublin/national-botanic-gardens/ National Botanic Gardens Guide]
* [http://ingeniousireland.ie/podcast-audio-tours/national-botanic-gardens-glasnevin/ Ingenious Ireland: three podcast audio tours of the National Botanic Gardens]

{{Dublin Parks}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Botanical gardens in the Republic of Ireland|Botanical gardens in Ireland]]
[[Category:Glasnevin]]
[[Category:Science and technology in the Republic of Ireland|Science and technology in Ireland]]
[[Category:Scientific organisations based in the Republic of Ireland|Science and technology in Ireland]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:Botanical research institutes]]

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National Botanic Gardens (Ireland)