Illustrated Map Of Merrion Square Park Dublin
I was commissioned by, and had the pleasure of working with the International Literature Festival Dublin (ILDF) to create an illustrated map. The map is a treasure trail for the literary event taking place over two weeks in Merrion Square Park.
The idea was to design a fun, family-friendly activity trail that takes kids on a journey around the park, discovering different landmarks and points of interest. The concept and text for the trail was written by author Henrietta McKervey
Seahorses as the Central Motif
The central motif I used for the trail characters is the seahorse (or hippocampus). Why seahorses? Because the hippocampus is the icon in the logo for the literature festival. I created 10 individual baby seahorse characters, each representing a different stop along the trail.
Click on the seahorse pairs below to see a larger view of each.
The Trail Concept: The Giant’s Garden Mystery
The overall concept is called “The Giant’s Garden Mystery” – a fun trail for families to enjoy. The idea was that 10 baby sea monsters are playing hide-and-seek in Merrion Square Park, and participants needed to find them all.
Bringing the Characters to Life Through Illustration
For each of the 10 stops, I designed an illustrated baby seahorse character related to that specific location. The characters came to life through colour, accessories, poses and storytelling details.
If the young Trailfinders correctly find all ten seahorses, they get a sticker! And who doesn’t love a sticker? – I definitely do. I designed and hand-lettered the sticker, inspired by the ILDF logo.
The Treasure Trail Stops Explained
The trail in Merrion Square begins at The Joker’s Chair, a memorial to Irish comedy genius Dermot Morgan. Here the seahorse character is wearing a jester’s hat. Other landmarks and places of interest include:
- A fork in the path with a view of the Bernardo O’Higgins memorial ( first president of Chile who was born in Sligo) – represented on the map by a seahorse with a magnifying glass
- The playground entrance icon features a seahorse on a swing.
- The Oscar Wilde statue is represented by a dandy seahorse in a fancy jacket holding a flower.
- A bench near the former home of writer Sheridan Le Fanu – an Irish writer of Gothic tales, mystery novels, and horror fiction. He is represented by a ghostly seahorse on the map.
- Tree branch close to the corner of The Victims memorial, with a view of the National Gallery across the road. An artistic seahorse gazes across to the gallery.
- The bust of George AE Russel –
- George Russell who wrote with the pseudonym Æ was an Irish writer, editor, critic, poet and painter. Now, forevermore immortalised as a little seahorse with a beard and glasses.
- A seahorse reading a newspaper symbolising curiosity and knowledge.
- The World War 2 air raid shelter marked on the map by a seahorse in a hula skirt.
- The Eire Memorial with a hippocampus playing a harp.
The Illustrated Map Brings it All Together
To assist hikers on the trail, I designed an illustrated map indicating each stop with a number. The map text written by Henrietta gives kids brief clues about what to look for at each location. Visitors to the festival use the map to navigate the park treasure trail, finding the stop where each illustrated character card marks the spot.
This was a really fun project to work on and I really enjoyed drawing the whimsical undersea beasties. Illustrated Maps are one of my favourite types of projects to work on and this one was a pleasure.I loved working on this imaginative concept with the ILDF team. The trail gives glimpses into the rich history and landmarks of Merrion Square, that I’ve walked past many times without even thinking about them. So it was nice to find out more about them while researching for this map. Thank you so much to Aimee at ILDF and to Henrietta for the lovely words.
