The 190-year-old gates will be put back in place over a two-day period next week, according to the Office of Public Works (OPW).
Last September, a city council lorry carrying construction material tried to exit the park through the Cabra Gate after entering through a different, wider entrance.
The lorry’s front cab made it through the gate, but the rest of the lorry got stuck, causing damage to the left-hand gate.
A spokesperson for the OPW said: “The Cabra Gate is due to be reinstated over a two-day period during the week of 13–17 January.
“The gates will remain closed during the works and will be fully restored upon completion.
“The cost of the repair works has been covered by Dublin City Council, and they will assist in traffic management for the onsite works,” they added.
The gates are one of several historic entrances to the park, all of which were included in a major conservation project that concluded in 2021, costing €800,000.
Back in 2018, several gates that serve as entrances to the iconic park were taken down to facilitate Pope Francis’ open-air Mass in the park.
It was found that the gates, which were first installed near the end of the 1800s, would require significant refurbishment before being reinstated.
All the historic gates in Phoenix Park were restored and rehung after a lengthy conservation process in 2021, costing more than €800,000.
Plans for a bus service connecting Heuston Station and Dublin Zoo via Phoenix Park, were put on hold in 2022 due to problems fitting vehicles through the park’s narrow gates.
The National Transport Authority (NTA) wanted to widen the historic Cabra gates to accommodate standard buses, but the OPW refused to alter the protected structures.
Trials with a standard bus showed the gates were too tight for safe passage.
A revised shuttle bus route, the number 99, was later launched in 2023, starting at Parkgate Street and stopping at several significant locations, including the People’s Gardens, Dublin Zoo, Áras an Uachtaráin, the Papal Cross, and ending at the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre.
