Street Tree Planting in 19th and early 20th century Dublin

Street trees have been part of the urban fabric of cities for centuries, from the streets of ancient Athens, the boulevards of Paris in the seventeenth century to the Thames Embankment in 1870s London. Mark Johnston, in his recent book Street Trees, has recorded the development of street tree planting in urban and suburban Victorian and Edwardian Britain (Johnson 2017). However, what of Ireland - Dublin in particular? The Dublin City Tree Strategy 2016 – 2020, published by Dublin City Council (2016), states that “In the historical development of the city, tree planting has been carried out to great effect and to the continued appreciation of its citizens and visitors. A review of older city maps and records indicates the use of tree planting in parks, streets and private lands”. However, little information from these maps and records has been published. Drawing on minutes of the Municipal Council of the City of Dublin and Pembroke Urban District Council, Irish newspaper reports, English horticultural journals and archival records, this paper examines street tree planting in late 19th and early 20th century Dublin city and suburbs.