It was a lovely late Autumn day. The miracle that is the splendour of falling autumn leaves, crimson and gold was evident, the autumn pageant was approaching its best as I walked towards the Northside of this lovely old town of the Hurdles.

My destination– Dublin’s most secret garden– the Basin at Blessington Street, located in the heart of Dublin’s North inner city.

As I walked up O’Connell Street, I was very conscious of the role the Gardiner family played in the development of this North City area. I was aware also of how this great city was loved by men such as Pearse, Tone, Grattan and Swift, to name but a few.

I was privileged to be walking the same streets as men like these and that day as I walked past the Spire I remembered that in 1872 the first tramline went from Nelson’s pillar to Rathmines.

But back to Blessington Street and Dublin’s secret garden. As it is within minutes of O’Connell Street, I was soon entering the side gate to this lovely park. It is small, measuring 0.75 hectares, yet it has a long and varied history.

Nearby, the bells of St Joseph’s church, which opened in 1880 and is now under the care of the Discalced Carmelites, called out the Angelus through the evening air and the sound echoed around the park as I savoured this small but beautiful space.

This is a beautiful park– local and calm in spite of its proximity to the city centre. The basin itself is 125 metres long and 58 metres wide with an average depth of 3 metres. It has the capacity for about 5 millon gallons of water.

Construction work began in 1803 when the builders of Royal Canal proposed to the then-Corporation that the new Canal could provide a water supply to parts of the city. Scottish engineer John Rennie was asked to evaluate the proposal and for his help he received the freedom of the city in October 1803.

Four years later, work began. It was completed in 1810. A small cabin in cottage style was erected inside the beautiful gate entrance for the keeper of the Basin at a cost of £63 and until recently a member of the park staff lived there.

The Basin remained a reservoir for the North City until approximately 1868 when the corporation established a new source from the Vartry reservoir system in Roundwood. That continues to be the main water supply for the city to this day.

The Basin continued to supply water on a specially-constructed pipeline to Jameson’s Distillery in Bow Lane until 1970 and to John Power’s in John’s Lane until 1976 and indeed water still flows there through the pipe to cisterns in Bow Street. These famous brands are now distilled in Cork.

From the early 1970s, the Basin became a public park under Dublin Corporation and after many years it gradually deteriorated, the embankment subsiding, the perimeter railing leaning over, seats broken and no available funds to repair it.

However, to commemorate Dublin’s Year as European City of Culture, the Goethe Institute was sponsoring a German urban specialist, Dieter Magnus to draw up a new design for the Basin and several months later the display model appeared at Dublin’s Ilac Centre Library.

It was then that the trouble began. The basin concept was to open up the Basin to more people and make it a tourist attraction. It became clear after several public meetings that serious conflict existed between the local residents and Mr Magnus and on 21 June 1991 at a meeting with local representatives, the Goethe Institute and Dublin Corporation the plan was withdrawn.

Eventually working together, the community and the Parks Department came up with an agreed plan. In January 1992, a detailed fully-costed plan to repair and upgrade the Basin at a cost of £215,000 was reached. The park was closed to the public on April 14th 1993 and work commenced.

At the age of 183 years, the Basin was drained of approximately 5 million gallons of water and 6,000 tons of debris and sludge carted off. Only then was the full extent of the damage realised.

The fish, including 1,700 rudd, were rehoused in the Royal Canal by the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board, the wildlife flew away and work continued. New waterside railings, reconstruction of the reservoir wall, redevelopment of the footpaths, repair of cast iron pipe work and chambers and lots more improvements took place. There was also comprehensive planting of trees and shrubs and the installation of a five-foot fountain to help aerate the water.

Overall responsibility for the Basin lay with Dublin Corporation Parks Department and the FÁS Community Youth Training Project made a big contribution to the work. Both teams worked together and all concerned focussed on completing the project successfully and ensuring the work was of the highest standard.

The job completed, the Basin filled, new fish at home, wildlife returning, plants and shrubs planted– the Basin reopened on November 4th 1994. It was officially opened by President Mary Robinson and Lord Mayor of Dublin John Gormley and everybody agreed that the unique character of the Basin had been retained. Indeed, the tranquillity and charm of this special place is still there for all visitors to see.

So on that lovely Autumn day with the church bells calling us to prayer I left the Basin through an old entrance and as an added bonus I entered Broadstone Park, a linear park that is really a filled-in section of the Canal. Broadstone Park beckons from the Basin– two jewels in the city’s crown.