Lord Mayor launches ‘Christmas at the Mansion House & Garden’

The Lord Mayor of Dublin Caroline Conroy recently launched Christmas at the Mansion House & Garden.

This year Christmas at the Mansion & Garden is part of the Dublin Winter Lights Festival.

The annual Dublin Winter Lights Festival has become a highlight in Dublin City Centre Christmas events calendar.

The forecourt of the Mansion House & the Garden will be transformed into a spectacle of illuminations and will herald in Christmas and create a magical atmosphere to visit the traditional Crib.

For the first time, the Christmas experience has been extended to include the Garden and the Oak Room.

Caroline Conroy, The Lord Mayor of Dublin with Tieran Nic an Gearr and Tadhg O Mhaolaigh, from Scoil an tSeachtar Laoch in Ballymun pictured before the “Blessings on the Crib” outside the Mansion House in Dublin City. Picture credit; Damien Eagers Photography.

The Crib was blessed by Fr. Enda Cunningham and Rev. Canon Paul Arbuthnot last Thursday and Christmas carols were performed on the steps of the Mansion House by the Little Angels Christmas Choir from St. Joseph’s ECD’s School, Maryland, Dublin 8 and from Gaelscoil an tSeachtar Laoch, Ballymun Road, Dublin 11.

Speaking about the launch the Lord Mayor of Dublin Caroline Conroy said, “At the beginning of my term as Lord Mayor of Dublin, I set out my hopes and vision for my year through the themes of Youth, Biodiversity and the Circular Economy.

“I invite everyone to come into the City and experience all the city has to offer and to pop along to Dawson Street and see the Crib, the spectacle of illuminations and experience the magical atmosphere we have created here in the Mansion House & Garden with their families.”

In keeping with the Lord Mayor’s themes, the illuminated arches welcoming you to the Mansion House & Garden, the canopy of lights, the reindeer and the Wishing Tree are operated by Low Wattage light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

This year all the squirrels, nutcracker statues and decorative tree props were custom-made by artists in ReCreate, using only reuse materials.

ReCreate’s warehouse is filled with tons of reuse materials that have been collected from local and national businesses, diverting this waste from landfill, to use instead in creative projects of all kinds.

Inspired by Rua the Squirrel and her journey along the Dublin Winter Lights trail, the squirrels were made using underfloor insulation.

When the Christmas season has passed, these props will be exhibited in ReCreate’s warehouse and reimagined into a springtime forest animal scene.

On the decorative trees, baubles will be temporarily removed from the trees and stored away until next Christmas and the trees will be dismantled and reimagined for reuse.

There is plenty to get you into the spirit of Christmas at the Mansion House this year including:

• The Wishing Tree: This tree will be adorned with the wishes and dreams of the Christmas Mansion House visitor.
• A Traditional Crib: Built by two Dublin City Council apprentice female carpenters the traditional crib.
• Pot Grown Christmas Trees: To incorporate the theme of Biodiversity, grown in pots, these young trees will survive the Christmas period to be collected, returned to the Wicklow Mountains and planted for another year. These Christmas Trees are powered by solar charged batteries.
• Oakroom ReCreate Workshops: New for 2022, taking place on Saturday 3rd of December, these workshops will inspire tomorrow’s inventors, designers, engineers, and entrepreneurs. Participants will learn how to funk up their wear into Christmas jumpers or create a fabulous Christmas Table centrepiece. We have reached out to local community groups to offer opportunities to young people, who traditionally might not have come into the city, to take part in the workshops.
• Pedal Power Workshop: Visitors can get on a bike and create E-leg-tricity and light up a Christmas Tree through pedal energy. Their peak pedal power is converted into energy that powers the fairy lights on the Christmas Tree. Have fun, keep fit and earn about sustainable energy.

Entertainment will also be provided up to Christmas by a variety of community and school choirs from throughout Dublin, musicians and performers and Christmas character animations.