The park is situated on the site of Dublin's old Tholsel, an important building which combined the function of civic hall, guildhall, court and gaol from the time of the Norman invasion of Ireland until it was demolished around 1809.

[2] Activities carried on at the Tholsel included that of a merchants' exchange, and sittings of the City Recorder's Court where punishments for crimes less serious than murder were meted out.

These punishments included being whipped while being dragged behind a horse and cart from Skinner's Row (modern day Christchurch Place) to College Green some distance away.

Designed in the late 1980s[4] as a sunken garden, with an aim towards reducing the traffic noise from the busy junction at which it exists, the park was dedicated to Ireland's desire for peace in 1988 during the Troubles.

[1] Prior to redevelopment in 2019, the park's main features included a bronze 'Tree of Life' statue, a fountain, and quotes from Irish poets W. B. Yeats and Patrick Kavanagh engraved on surfaces.

[1] Dublin City Council said that the aim of the memorial was "to bring people together in reflection about war and peace, about sacrifice and suffering, about tolerance and hope, about forgiveness and reconciliation".