St Stephen's Green (Irish: Faiche Stiabhna)[2] is a garden square and public park located in the city centre of Dublin, Ireland.

In that year Dublin Corporation, seeing an opportunity to raise much-needed revenue, decided to enclose the centre of the common and to sell land around the perimeter for building.

In 1814 control of St Stephen's Green passed to commissioners for the local householders, who redesigned its layout and replaced the walls with railings.

He later paid for the laying out of the Green in approximately its current form, which took place in 1880, and gave it to the Corporation, as representatives of the people.

It proved to have been unwise when elements of the British Army took up positions in the Shelbourne Hotel, at the northeastern corner of St Stephen's Green, overlooking the park, from which they could shoot down into the entrenchments.

[11] Finding themselves in a weak position, the Volunteers withdrew to the Royal College of Surgeons on the west side of the Green.

[13] A statue of Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton by Patrick MacDowell was erected on the North side of the green in 1866.

[3] While the central park of St Stephen's Green is one of three ancient commons in the city, its current layout owes much to the restorations of the 19th century.

Architectural history professor Christine Casey states that this restoration obscures what would have been its most impressive feature to 18th-century visitors, its large size.

[17] One of the more unusual aspects of the park lies on the northwest corner of this central area, a garden for the blind with scented plants, which can withstand handling, and are labelled in Braille.

Home to ducks and other water fowl, the lake is fed by an artificial waterfall, spanned by O'Connell bridge, and fronted by an ornamental gazebo.

To the south side of the main garden circle is more open heath surrounding a bandstand, and often frequented by lunching students, workers and shoppers on Dublin's sunnier days.

Later buildings on the east side show a dramatic change in scale, with much larger and grander houses, many by Gustavus Hume.

It was donated to the Irish State by the Guinness family in 1939, and now houses the main offices of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The Unitarian Church, Dublin, built in the Gothic revival style, is located on the West side of St Stephen's Green.

Its style was intended to represent a conservatory on the side facing the Green and to mirror the brickwork design of the opposing Gaiety Theatre on South King Street.

[23] Also on the north side, Heritage House at 23 St Stephen's Green, was the location of a tearoom which hosted the first public Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Ireland, on 25 November 1946.

During the mid 20th century, a number of the Georgian buildings on the Green were demolished in favour of modern office blocks.