Swimming, flying, kicking and reading - it's lunchtime in Dublin's Herbert Park, and there's hardly time to catch your breath. Róisín Inglemeets the all-weather park-goers
Exactly one hundred years ago, Herbert Park in Dublin hosted the Irish International Exhibition, an extravaganza which was visited by three million people over a six-month period.
You won't find those numbers squeezed into the park these days, but on a sunny lunchtime during the week, this beautifully designed space is still a busy place. Men abandon their suit jackets to expertly toss frisbees.
People eat lunch on benches while talking into mobile phones. And, as usual, the ducks flapping about on the pond are being extremely well fed.
"We only have scones today, so I hope they don't mind," laughs Sine Quinn, who has come to the park with her twin three-year-old sons, Benjamin and Daniel Bradley.
She remembers, as does this writer, when "Johnston, Mooney and O'Brien" had their premises on the eastern side of the park. You'd see the bread going past on conveyor belts and shout up over the high wall asking the bakers to throw some over for the ducks. The air was filled with the smell of freshly baked bread and, if you were lucky, a whole loaf would be lobbed over the wall. "We'd end up eating half of it but the ducks would always get some too," says Quinn, smiling.
The bakery site has since been taken over by the Herbert Park Hotel and a new entrance links the hotel to the park close to the old bandstand. Benjamin and Daniel love feeding the ducks and enjoy the park life too.
"We play hide-and-seek and look for monsters," says Benjamin. "I like looking at the tulips and daisies and the leaves when they go orange," says Daniel.
On this side of the park there are dog walkers, people lying on the grass reading books, older people relaxing, and a mum kicking a ball with her toddler. It's divided by a road, also called Herbert Park, and on the other side is a well used state-of-the-art playground.
Beside the playground are the tennis courts, where stepbrothers Nico Bivona and Patrick Clancy-Geske and their friend Eli Liebman, all from Massachusetts, are in the middle of a game.
The teenagers are here because Patrick's father is in Ireland on a six-month sabbatical studying Irish tourism, and their friend Eli is visiting. Nico says the parks in Ireland are better than in the US.
"We have a park at home where there's no organised sports allowed, so I like that you can play all sorts of sports here," he says. Eli says there are "more trees" and that parks in Ireland seem very well kept.
Back on the other side of the park, Ibrahim Ramoul (10) from Madrid is attempting to launch an elastic-band-propelled model airplane. The plane soars and then nose-dives sharply, so his uncle José Luis lends a hand.
They are both spending the summer in Dublin as Ibrahim's mum works for the Spanish embassy.
With the park being located in the heart of embassy-land, it's a popular spot for those from the diplomatic world.
"We come to the park most days," says Ibrahim. "The people are nice and friendly, and I like the weather, even though it rains a lot. It is extremely hot in Spain during these months."
He launches the plane again and this time it goes further, forming an impressive arc high above the freshly mown grass.
