A hush fell over the Pilgrims as they entered the Garden of Remembrance. A solemn but beautiful place, it was one of quiet reflection. Her eye was immediately drawn to the large sculpture at the top of the stairs. A nod to the Irish Legend, "The Children of Lir".
The pool guides your eye upward toward the sculpture.
"The Children of Lir" (Clann Lir / Leani Lir), who were the victims of their stepmother's jealously and as a result, were cursed to live as swans for 900 years.
The park is a memorial to all those who fought and died in the hopes of attaining Irish Freedom.
Inscribed on one of the walls is the poem "We Saw a Vision", written by Liam Mac Uistin in 1976. This would not be the last time she wished she had learned Irish.
"In the darkness of despair we saw a vision,
We lit the light of hope and it was not extinguished.
In the desert of discouragement we saw a vision.
We planted the tree of valour and it blossomed.
In the winter of bondage we saw a vision
We melted the snow of lethargy and the river of resurrection flowed from it.
We sent our vision aswim like a swan on the river. The vision became a reality.
Winter became summer. Bondage became freedom and this we left to you as your inheritance.
O generations of freedom remember us, the generations of the vision."