Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Just inside the southeastern corner of the square is a flamboyant
statue of Oscar Wilde
, who
grew up across the street at
No 1
. This was the first residence built on the square (1762)
and during the Wilde tenancy was renowned for the literary salon hosted by his mother,
Lady 'Speranza' Wilde. Alas, you can't visit the restored house (used exclusively by stu-
dents of the American College Dublin) so you'll have to make do with the statue of
Wilde, wearing his customary smoking jacket and reclining on a rock. Wilde may well be
sneering at Dublin and his old home, although the expression may have more to do with
the artist's attempt to depict the deeply divided nature of the man: from one side he looks
to be smiling and happy; from the other, gloomy and preoccupied. Atop one of the plinths,
daubed with witty one-liners and Wildean throwaways, is a small green statue of Oscar's
pregnant mother.
Troubled Times
Despite the air of affluent calm, life around here hasn't always been a well-pruned bed of
roses. During the Famine, the lawns of the square teemed with destitute rural refugees
who lived off the soup kitchen organised here. The British Embassy was at 39 Merrion Sq
East until 1972, when it was burnt out in protest against the killing of 13 civilians on
Bloody Sunday in Derry.
Damage to fine Dublin buildings hasn't always been the prerogative of vandals, terror-
ists or protesters. East Merrion Sq once continued into Lower Fitzwilliam St in the longest
unbroken series of Georgian houses in Europe. Despite this, in 1961 the Electricity Supply
Board (ESB) knocked down 26 of them to build an office block - just another in a long
list of crimes against architectural aesthetics that plagued the city in the latter half of the
20th century. The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland is rather more respectful of
its Georgian address and hosts regular exhibitions.
Sunday Open Art Gallery
At weekends, the wrought-iron fences of Merrion Sq convert to gallery wall for the tradi-
you'll find the work of 150 artists, mostly Sunday-painter types with a penchant for land-
scapes and still lifes, some of whom are very talented indeed.
