Donal Hickey: People are seeing the value of urban parks, particularly in Cork

Parks are sometimes overlooked in Ireland but green spaces can boost our physical and mental health

Fionn Hegarty from Cork city pictured cycling through Fitzgerald Park, Cork during the Covid 19 pandemic. Picture: Daragh Mc Sweeney/Provision

For those of us reared in the country, the fields, bogs and moorlands were our parks where we were free to roam and connect with the natural world. Our city cousins, who visited during the summer holidays, must have envied us.

The late essayist and rural philosopher, Con Houlihan, who loved the bog, comes to mind. He wrote with some sympathy for people who only associated the word turf with betting shops and racehorses. Con understood the bog which, he noted, “brought people back to their primal selves’’.

These days, people tend to the drift to parks. Last year, more Green Flag awards (103) were won by Irish parks and gardens, including Fitzgerald’s Park and Shalom Park, in Cork, than any other country, apart from the UK.

And now, with spring in the air, buds and flowers appearing, and birds in full melody, people are seeing the value of urban parks which have helped them get through the travails of Covid-19.

The EPA and the European environmental groups are highlighting the potential for green spaces to boost our physical and mental health. Green areas are important for children, the elderly and people with on lower incomes who may not otherwise have contact with nature.

As well as the value of exercise and meeting people, the benefits also include less obesity in children, better heart health and lower rates of depression in adults.

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In some cases, new parks have really become town parks. This is the case in the Kerry tourist haven, Killarney, where the well-maintained gardens around Killarney House have become just that and are enjoyed by many locals.

Some of the lasting legacies of colonial occupation of Ireland include standout buildings, roads and bridges. Parks are sometimes overlooked. Like many other capital cities, Dublin has been fortunate in that regard, with the Phoenix Park, St Stephen’s Green and many smaller parks.

Yet, Dublin is about halfway down the league table of European cities in relation to green and blue (water) spaces and tree planting. The Norwegian capital, Oslo, tops the list.

Notable advances are being made in Cork city. On a recent visit, I walked around the Marina Park area and on towards Blackrock. The opening up of spaces around Páirc Uí Chaoimh is clearly welcomed by Cork folk, given the large numbers of people of all ages availing of the facility.

The Marina Park has many qualities of a good environmental project, with green spaces, venerable old woodland, water and walkways. A wonderful amenity and, from appearances, city folk are appreciating it.

Similarly, in a rural setting, cutaway bogs could be turned into visitor parks, educational centres and nature reserves, such as in the Bog of Allen, Co Kildare.