Cache Description The cache is a container hidden within view of one of the main features in the gardens.
NB The Gardens are open at the following times: 9am to 5pm Mon to Fri and 11am to 5pm Sat and Sun.
Admission to the gardens is free (but you are encouraged to leave a donation towards the upkeep of the gardens). There is ample car parking available on site (including designated Disabled and Family spaces) (N53 12.661 W006 07.844) and the pathways are suitable for wheelchairs and buggies/strollers. It's original contents are: Notepad, a pen, Festina Lente Travelling Terrapin TB, Easter chick toys, FTF prize.
Access This cache is not easily accessed by public transport, being approx. a 15 minute walk from the nearest bus routes (145, 45, 45A and 84 at the junction of Dublin Road and Old Connaught Avenue). However, by taxi or car, it is easily accessed on the road to Rathmichael/ Enniskerry, just outside Bray town (the DART station in Bray has buses stopping right outside it which will take you to the end of the Avenue).
Background History Festina Lente Foundation was established in 1988 by Mary Brophy to provide training to people with a variety of special needs in Kilternan, Co. Dublin. The Foundation moved to Old Connaught Avenue in 1995 and adopted the Plunket Family motto: Festina Lente, the Latin for Hasten Slowly. The Foundation provides a variety of training, occupational, learning and employment opportunities for people whose needs are not being met by mainstream services; inspired through the use of horses and horticulture. Their services have expanded over the years to include a garden shop, allotments, a riding school, a rehabilitative training programme for young adults, a day service for adults and more recently, equine-assisted learning and therapeutic riding. The gardens are an example of Victorian and Georgian heritage with the original walls being built in 1780. The Plunket family, a very prominent family in Irish political and religious life for 130 years owned the gardens. Hon. William Conyngham Plunket (Lord Chancellor for Ireland 1830-1841) was a neighbour and political ally of Henry Grattan and fought the Act of Union in the Irish Parliament. The medieval castle at Old Connaught was inhabited by the Walsh family, from at least as early as 1460. In the late 18th century the Walsh property was sold and a mansion house was built, now, in a heavily-extended form, represented by Old Connaught House. This house was not built on the same site as the castle which remained in existence for about twenty years after the house was built.
The Gardens as they are today From the early 19th century, Old Connaught House was the seat of the successive Lords Plunket, beginning with William Conyngham, first Baron Plunket and it was in his time that this first Ordnance Survey map was published. His grandson, the Rev. William Conyngham, fourth Baron Plunket, ultimately became the Anglican Archbishop of Dublin and his statue may be seen in Kildare Street. He married Anne Lee Guinness, only daughter of Benjamin Lee Guinness, and sister of Lord Iveagh Lord Ardilaun. This marriage brought a considerable sum of money with it and on inheriting the title and estate the fourth baron used a great deal of it to enlarge and improve the grounds of Old Connaught House, including extensive works to the gardens. The Plunket family sold the property following the death of the sixth Lord Plunket and his wife in an air crash in the 1930s. The new owners were the Christian Brothers who subsequently sold the property on. In recent years a great deal of restoration work has been done to the planting in the gardens, remaining generally in keeping with the scheme of planting that had been there at the end of the 19th century.
Terrapin Sanctuary The ponds in Festina Lente are home to many Terrapins that have been rescued by the Irish Association of Tortoise and Turtle keepers. In the wild they can be found in rivers and lakes in the southern part of the United States. Here in Ireland they are sold as pets but very quickly they outgrow their tanks.
Logging Etiquette: Geocache hiders sometimes go through a great deal of planning to place their caches. As a result, they'd like to hear your feedback on whether you liked or disliked any aspect of the hide, or if you feel that some cache maintenance is required. Single word, acronym, or emoticon logs may be easier when you have a lot of caches to log, but it doesn't tell the hider or other finders anything about your adventure (or lack thereof) in finding the cache. Please keep this in mind when entering your log. Thank you!! 