Called to Care Living Mission Every day - Karen - Flipbook - Page 20
A place to Pause
Few people realise that the Four Masters Park was created to
safeguard fresh air, preserve history and support healing—a
mission it still fulfils today, Archivist Helen Madden
discovers
T
he small park opposite the
Mater Hospital is often
noticed but its history is not
well known. Its official name is the
8Four Masters Park9 which takes its
name from the stone cross situated in
it. The cross is dedicated to the 8Four
Masters of Ireland9, four Franciscan
monks headed by Brother Michael
O9Cleary who copied and reworked
many ancient Irish texts during the
17th century thereby ensuring their
preservation for the future. In the
18709s Sir William Wilde - father of
novelist Oscar Wilde; well-known
Ophthalmologist; and an Irish history,
archaeology and folklore scholar started a campaign to erect a
monument to the Four Masters, which
eventually became the cross. Wilde
died in April 1876 without seeing his
idea realised; however the cross was
erected in the park quietly in
September 1876.
The park itself was formed from leftover ground from the building of
Berkeley Road and Eccles Street, the
Mater, and St Joseph9s Church. The
land was purchased by the Mercy
order in 1874 to ensure a continual
flow of fresh air for the patients in the
wards. The park as we know it now
was probably never intended to be a
public space. It was bought with the
sole intention as a guarantee to stop
any further building work on the site
which, as the Sisters and staff saw it at
the time, would severely impact
patient care in the hospital.
The park was re-developed during
1874 with a mud wall surrounding it
taken down and the current railings
and stone work erected. In 1963 when
John F. Kennedy (J.F.K.), then
President of the United States of
America, visited Ireland, Dublin
County Council offered the Sisters to
take over maintenance of the park as
the President would be driving by it.
The 8Healing Hands9 sculpture by
Tony O9Malley, commissioned by Sr.
Margherita Rock was placed in the
park in 2000. It is a hollow bronze
sphere containing an eternal flame
and set on a tree-trunk style pedestal.
It is intended to symbolise the healing
ministry of Christ which continues
through the care of the staff of the
Mater Hospital. The sets of
handprints that make up the sphere
itself belong to a former staff member
and their children which furthers the
connection with the hospital. The
proposed new MetroLink rail line will
again bring a new chapter in the
park9s history.
Mater Piece: Erected in 1876, the park's cross is dedicated to the 8Four Masters of Ireland,9 who were four Franciscan monks.
Open to the public 8am-6pm
Page 20
