Tymon Park is one of the premier parks in the South Dublin County Council administrative area.  It has been managed by South Dublin County Council since 1994.  It forms a greenbelt of over 300 acres between the established residential areas of Tallaght and Templeogue / Walkinstown.

Opened to the public in June 1986 by Councillor Ray Burke, T.D., it was later divided into two large parks when the M50 motorway was constructed through the centre.  The eastern and western sections, thus created, were linked with a pedestrian footbridge near the Greenhills Road and another further south near the Tallaght / Templeogue Road.

The exact origina of the name Tymon, or Tigh Motháin (the officail Irish name) remains unknown although over forty variants of the name have been recorded for the area.  A possible explanation is that the lands at Tymon may have been in the ownership of an Irish clan by the name of O'Motháin.

Development of the Concept

The Planning Act 1963 required Local Authorities to prepare a Development Plan in which lands would be developed for various purposes, including parks.  The proposed Tymon Regional Park for Talllaght was included in Draft Development Plans in 1967, 1971 and finally approved in 1972.  most of the regional parks such as Marlay Park were developed from former estate lands or areas alongside rivers and so were bought as one lot.  However, Tymon Park was the exception, being bought piece by piece in a long drawn-out process, and built up from several holdings of former agricultural land.

Implementation of the Plan

As land acquisition proceeded, the prearation of a layout for the new park was underway.  The objective was to provide a greenbelt with active and passive recreational facilities while retaining the unique landscape character.  The first priority was to enclose as much of the land as possible for protection and definition purposes.  this was achieved by the erection of a low stone wall and railing and the design conceptincluded a similar style of entrance gates on the entire boundary of the park.  For main entrances, this is an imposing design with large piers of 'Forticrete' blocks and steel gates.  The first such entrance was provided in the early 1980s on the Tymon North Road and soon afterwards at the Greenhills Road Junction. 

In 1981 the car park at Limekiln road was built but the grand entrance was not built until 1996.  When the third car park was provided in 1989 at Willington Lane, it too was designed with the impressive entrance.

Since the M50 was going through the middle of Tymon Park, the park became two large parks, Tymon Park (West) and Tymon Park (East).  The original plan for the park envisaged three pedestrian bridges over the Western Parkway connecting both eastern and western sections.  In December 1990 the first of these took the form of a temporary bailey bridge, installed by the army.  While the Governement approved funding for one bridge, there was considerable controversy over securing approval for a second bridge.  However, this was finally approved and erected in 1991.  One bridge is located near the Greenhills Road and another near the Tallaght Bypass at Balrothery.

Aerial View of Tymon Park & M50

With the establishment of South Dublin County Council in 1994, a re-examination of the development and management of Tymon Park was undertaken.  The western section was generally regarded as being developed to a higher standard witha greater emphasis on passive usage compared with the eastern section where there was a concentration of playing pitches.  The response was the initiation of a programme of works with the following objectives:

• To create visual interest and landmark features within the park including high level viewing points to enhance views of the surrounding landscape, especially the Dublin Mountains.
  
  
• To rationalise the provision of recreational facilities and provide for accessibility throughout the park for all user groups.
  
  
• To eliminate the areas of dereliction and provide greater habitat (flora and fauna) diversity.

These objectives were facilitated to a large extent by the construction of new lakes in 1997 to provide a focus for the east side of the park and by the completion in 1999 - 2001 of the M50 motorway at Balrothery (Southern Cross Route), where some derelict land for road construction existed within the park.  After the construction of the motorway, the park boundary was redefined with a low stone wall and railing.  In addition, the park topography was changed significantly adjacent to the pedestrian bridges, to create viewing pointsover the park and across the city and as landscape features in their own right.

Trees, Hedgerows & Woodlands

Tymon Park is one of the best examples of the retention of hedgerows within the new landscape.

Water Features

An essential feature in all parks is water, and Tymon Park is fortunate to have a supply from the River Poddle which rises in Fettercairn, Tallaght, flows northwards through Tymon and towards the city where it enters the River Liffey near Wood Quay.