The site of the gardens was shown in 1756 as Leeson's Fields after
Joseph Leeson, 1st Earl of Milltown.
Clonmell Lawns In the late 18th century
Lord Milltown leased the land to John Hatch, the principal developer of Harcourt and Hatch Streets. Hatch sold it to
The 1st Earl of Clonmell (also known as "Copper-Faced Jack")
Coburg Gardens When the 1st Earl died in 1798, his son the 2nd Earl (then aged 14 years old) inherited the estate including Clonmell Gardens. The estate was sold in 1810 and the gardens were opened for public use around 1817 and renamed "Coburg Gardens" after the royal family of
Saxe-Coburg. Entrance to the park was from the south side of St Stephen's Green, the "Royal Horse Bazaar". The Coburg Gardens provided the setting for a major riot in August 1835, during which several Orangemen were badly injured. By 1860 the gardens had fallen into disrepair being used as a site for grazing sheep and dumping waste. The site was selected as the location for the Dublin Exhibition Palace and Winter Garden, which was officially opened by
H.R.H. Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, on 9 May 1865. In 1883, Edward Cecil Guinness sold the exhibition buildings to the Commissioners of Public Works to be adapted to house the new
Royal University, and the gardens remained the property of the Guinness family. The buildings were further adapted after the creation of
University College Dublin (UCD), in 1908 and in 1918, the present façade to Earlsfort Terrace was erected to the designs of Rudolph Maximilian Butler.
Gift to the Irish nation Éamon de Valera, who was then both
Taoiseach and also chancellor of
University College Dublin, initiated inquiries with
The 2nd Earl of Iveagh as to whether he would sell
Iveagh House and the gardens complex to the Irish state. On 8 June 1937, this request was declined. However, on 4 May 1939
Lord Iveagh wrote to Éamon de Valera offering the Iveagh complex by way of gift to the nation. Lord Iveagh had been concerned as to the future use of the site, and specified in his letter of offer to Éamon de Valera that the Iveagh Gardens remain "unbuilt on", as a "lung" for Dublin. On 17 May 1939 this gift was accepted by the Government and Éamon de Valera wrote to Rupert, Lord Iveagh. In 1941, the Gardens were re-united with the college buildings of Earlsfort Terrace.
Management by the Office of Public Works In 1991 the gardens were placed under the management of
The Office of Public Works. The OPW brief was under six distinct headings: In 2003, a new entrance was added to the Gardens from Upper Hatch Street. On 9 December 2020, the
Memorial to Human Rights Defenders was inaugurated by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney T.D. ==Design==