My two year old son has just discovered this place and he loves it - it is more important than…read morelife, it is more important than lollypops, it is more important than Peppa Pig... I don't mind it myself either though I reckon that it is aimed at slightly older kids. Never the less there is enough for the toddler to keep him going including a sprung see-saw (which will even hold me) a couple of small slides and a reasonable harmless climbing frame (still needs supervision though!). For me the big plus is the fact that the ground is covered with a mix of chippings and very soft tar/sponge/rubber stuff (to use the technical term. he couldn't hurt himself if he tried... well, he could, but he'd have to try really really hard.

Visited the play area for the first time with my Grandson last week. He loved it, and so did I!!…read more Nice soft spongy ground, plenty of woodchips, lots of play items and even stuff for the toddlers. Everything was in good repair and it was very clean and well kept. After visitng some other playgrounds in town last week, trust me, this place is gold! Even if you or your child are not wearing head to to Armani, give it a go! (Seriously, there was a (maybe 3 yr old) child there completely kitted out in Armani.. to each their own, but M&S or Penny's probably works better in the dirt! :p)

A really nice little park and playground for the kids to play as well as an big grassy area for a…read morepicnic for families. Parking can be difficult on a sunny day but accessible ok most day. Good paved pathways if your kids want to ride bikes...

Lovely grounds for a dog walk. Lots of open spaces and wooded areas for dogs to explore. Never had…read morean issue with my dog being off the lead here either which is great.

St Stephens Green playground is a well maintained large playground with equipment for both smaller…read morekids and a separate playground equipment setup for the older kids. I think this is probably the 2nd best playground in central Dublin behind Herbert park. The ground is padded with the newly standard rubber playground material to keep the playground safe. There are multiple swing areas, again one for the younger kids and a separate set for older kids at the other side of the park. There are multiple sides and plenty of rope areas to climb up. This playground does get quite crowded and unfortunately at times, way too crowded. I think the reason may be the lack of other well maintained play areas around the city. Herbert park is great, but a little bit far from my location in central Dublin. Merrion Square has a playground and I generally will spend most of my time here, however it is definitely not as well maintained and could use a decent refurbishment. It may reduce some of the crowding here to have a few more well maintained play areas around central Dublin.

Great playground in a lovely park. It is totally enclosed, the parents are all attentive to their…read morechildren, and there are structures appropriate from age 1 to age 10. It is great to find a park that is safe yet challenging for kids in different age sets.

Very big park, nice walk. The playground is very unsafe; my daughter went flying down the slide and…read morehit her finger off the metal. She broke her finger! I know despicable! I would rate this a zero if I could. Do not recommend very unsafe. Watch your little ones.

A kids' paradise! If I'd grown up in Dublin, this would have been my absolute favourite place in…read morethe whole wide world! Malahide Demesne Playground has the best in swings, flying foxes, slippery slides - the lot, basically! It even has some crazy sand digging machine! One of my friends is a nanny and often brings her kids here for a picnic. It's a great place for the family to hang out for a day. Surrounding the playground are grassy knolls, so you can easily set up a great picnic spot from which you can supervise your kids on that awful ride that goes around and around and makes you really dizzy (and is one that kids always want you to go on with them). Beyond the playgrounds there are acres and acres of green park just waiting for you to run around on them! Bring a ball or a kite, make a day of it. Gorgeous gorgeous spot! Accessible by DART as well, just fyi...

Big open park without much by way of features. Parks really are a mood thing. If you want a nice…read morewalk, stroll, or search for inner peace then, by all means, piss off up to Stephens Green or Merrion Square. But if you just want to kick a ball about then come here. It's big, open and mostly flat.

Very open. Playground not much the pond is a good place to go and see the ducks and the kids live…read moreto feed them. It is not really a day out but amazing for a picnic in summer with a great location everybody's a winner

What a lovely spot. Walking past on a clear winter's morning, it's a strange sight to see: a…read morechildren's playground surrounding the remains of a deconsecrated church. The tower is all that is left but there's a plaque outlining its history. The playground is divided into three areas for children of different ages and seems very well maintained. What a great use of historical land in an inner city neighbourhood.

A bright sunny and hot Sunday afternoon was in the offering, so, family plus dog was packed up and…read morewith the intention of picking up picnic goods on the way, we left for Marley park. Now, being nearly 40 and increasingly removed from popular culture I miss the odd fact, like this weekend Marley Park was playing host to 30,000 music fans, which makes things like a picnic on the main stage a bit of a challenge. "What's that?" my wife asked as I drove on, wondering where the hell to go and 'I wonder if the people in that house would mind if we just set up camp on their front lawn?' It would probably be fine (picture worried looking people peeping out the sitting room curtains as the family Q picnic on their lawn)... till we start nipping behind the shrubbery for a pee... "What?" I reply and then see the sign for the Padraig Pearse Museum & St Enda's Park... I had never heard of it but having nowhere better in mind we decide to give it a bash. It's days like this where I should have done the lotto - we struck lucky with a spectacular park and grounds, full Brambles café (for those without picnic) and the weather to match. There is also an old castle ruin (a folly I'm pretty sure) which kept junior amused for ages. Well worth a visit, we didn't go into the museum, will save that for a more inclement day.

Really gorgeous well kept park. I mainly go to Marlay Park with my toddler because the playground…read moreis so good but decided to stop here for a change earlier this week. We had a nice little adventure. Would love to stop into the Pearse Museum but my two year old's attention span and noise levels wouldn't allow for a museum visit at the moment, another day perhaps! Not sure it's the most dog-friendly of places, spotted a very strict sign about dogs!! I could be wrong though. Regardless it's very peaceful and lovely spot for a picnic.

I lived in Donabate for about 10 months, and one thing I really loved was Newbridge House and…read moreDemesne, or The Newbridge Estate as it might also be called. This is a historic site in Donabate, and if you're coming in from Dublin by train it's only a 10 minute walk from the station to one of the side gates. The Dublin Buss 33B (from Portrane to Sword) stops by the main gate here. And if you have a car there is lots of parking. There is over 400 acres of parkland and trails and I loved coming here and going for a walk. Of all the things I miss about living in Donabate this is at the top of the list. I'd see people walking and running on the trails here. There were often families, and some people would bring their dogs (must be on leash of course). The Newbridge House is a Georgian style home and it's one that you can visit. They have guided tours of the house where you'll learn of of the Cobbe family that built the house and lived here until the 1980's. Apparently there was a portrait of William Shakespeare discovered at the house, but when I was visiting it wasn't on display. Along with the house there is a working farm that is run like it would have been in the 1800's. A ticket to the farm and house is €10. The farm has several breeds of different farm animals, including some Irish specific breeds like Connemara Ponies and Kerry Cows. If you are here after the house and farm has closed for the day (but while the park is still open) walk the trail behind the house toward the farm and you'll be able to see some of the animals. If you have kids a visit to the farm only is €5.50. And there is a playground by the house for kids too There are also Irish Red Deer in a pen on the path close to the entrance on the east side of the property. Sometimes the deer will come up close to the fence, but often they stay back. There are ten does and a buck in the pen. Don't feed the deer and be careful because they are animals and not Disney cartoon characters who will be your friends. There's often goats in this pen too. Beside the Newbridge House is the Coach Cafe. It has coffees, teas, juices, minerals, and a variety of pastries and sandwiches to enjoy. The cafe is nice, but can get quite busy especially on weekends. I didn't have lunch here, but did enjoy a coffee and a muffin. Anyway I loved all of my visits to the Newbridge House. I think the only downside is that it isn't open 24 hours a day (hours vary season to season), and that I'm back in Canada and can't just walk here in 10 minutes like I used to. I know one day I'll come back to Donabate and this will best the first place I visit.

this is a great little gem of a place. it has lovely wide open spaces to sit, relax and picnic…read more it has a playground in which you can lose the children for about an hour and it also has a farm and coffee shop. the farm is rather cool, when i went in it had lots of poultry, pigs and piglets, goats, cows and an interesting little hatchery. i even seen the eggs moving around as if ready to hatch! pity i did'nt stay long enough because i'd have loved to see if them break out of their shells. there is lots of ye auld farm machinery to see, makes you see how far technology has moved on from the plough and thrashing machines. its a great place to go if you want a bit of peace and quiet from the city and it only takes about 25 minutes to get there from the city center on the M1.

Great fun for our two year old and for adults as well. Our little one enjoyed the junior section,…read moreand the section for older kids and adults looked wonderful. We will definitely go back!

I brought my niece and nephew (five year old twins!) here a few weeks ago. I was not too sure what…read moreto expect but I had heard good things about the place and it seemed like a good idea for occupying two energetic children for two hours on a rainy day! The building looks amazing from the outside, very impressive architecture and its distinctiveness is reflected inside the building once you enter. It cost us €34 for two five year olds and two adults which I thought was a bit much, I didn't expect the adult and child price to be the same. Adults are encouraged to go in and play with their children which is great but there are attendants walking around keeping an eye on the children also (for when you want a rest!). The "museum" is laid out in different areas, there is a kitchen, a construction area, a TV studio, an art room and lots more... running through the centre of the building is a climbing frame which was the biggest attraction for my niece and nephew, it certainly provided exercise for the parents that were running up and down the stairs trying to keep track of their climbing kids! The boy and girl I brought also loved dressing up in the TV studio area, they even got their faces painted after a bit of a wait. Although there were lots of children in the building I never felt that any one area was too crowded which was good, although there were queues for things such as the face painting. There is an area that is provided for babies but in my opinion the section is very sparse and did not have anything that would entertain a very young child for very long. I only saw one baby there during my visit and he didn't look too happy! I don't think that Imaginosity would hold the interest of older children either, I think a child over the age of eight or so would get bored fairly quickly because these days children I know above the age of eight are not as interested in "playing house" or "make believe" and that is what Imaginosity is all about. There is a restaurant where you can get some refreshments but I found it to be very expensive, if I were to go again I would definitely bring my own drinks and snacks for the children. All in all it is an entertaining place for children (it even disguises a bit of education in fun), it is unique and I do not know of any other place like it in Dublin. In my opinion it is suitable for children between the ages of three and eight but outside of these ages you are wasting your money. Also I would maximise the value for my money by only having one adult for a group of children rather than an adult per child like we did. Oh, and don't wear heels!

Carrying on from Ellen O's lunch theme in the talk threads, I was inspired to write this review…read more Ellen is looking for healthy packed lunch suggestions and I am looking for cheaper dining suggestions! I don't know about you lads but the cost of living in this country coupled with additional salary taxes makes budgeting a monthly juggling act. To counter it instead of buying my lunch, I make my lunch and I try to go here to eat it if the weather is permitting. I love the safe atmosphere of the spot. Nestled behind the fruit and flower markets. A modern playground very well maintained with benches scattered around. I get a kick out of seeing the diverse nationalities with their kids and the range of languages. Dublin 7 can be fairly dodgy in areas in no small park to the junkies but this is a safe oasis. You ever see a Mammy turn into a tiger if her kid is in danger? Yeah so I always feel safe here and it has a lovely innocent, happy colourful vibe in an area that always seems grey.