A California redwood has been growing on Irish presidential land since a queen put it there. During her 1861 visit to Dublin, Queen Victoria planted a young giant sequoia in the grounds of what was then the Viceregal Lodge, now Áras an Uachtaráin, home to the President of Ireland. The tree is still alive. Seed of the species had only reached Britain from California in 1853, which makes this one of the earliest giant sequoias planted anywhere in Europe. It started a habit rather than a one-off gesture: visiting heads of state since, including Charles de Gaulle, John F Kennedy, Pope John Paul II, Queen Elizabeth II and Barack Obama, have each planted their own tree in the grounds, so Victoria's sequoia now stands among a small forest of political arrivals rather than alone. In its native Sierra Nevada the species can live three thousand years. At around a hundred and sixty five, hers has barely started. The gardens run free guided tours from June to October, and the house itself on Saturdays year round, tickets issued on the day from the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre.
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Getting there
Áras an Uachtaráin, Phoenix Park, Dublin
You can recognise it as the oldest of the grounds' commemorative trees, a giant sequoia planted by Queen Victoria in 1861 among later ones set in by visiting heads of state.
Free, but by guided tour only: house tours Saturdays year round, garden tours June to October, tickets on the day from Phoenix Park Visitor Centre
5 min walk from Ashtown rail station, then a walk through the park; also bus routes 37, 38, 39
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Where the facts on this page come from. The story was written with AI from these sources, and readers who know the tree correct it.
