Merrion Square

Merrion Square is one of the most intact Georgian Squares located in the heart of Dublin city. Originally laid out in 1762, it is surrounded on three sides by Georgian redbrick houses, with the fourth side containing Government Buildings, the Natural History Museum, Leinster House and the National Gallery of Ireland. The square and its surrounding area is home to a series of national cultural institutions, including the National Art Gallery of Ireland, the Archaeological and Natural History sections of the National Museum of Ireland.. Merrion Square is also home to a range of other significant cultural organisations such as the Irish Traditional Music Archive, the Irish Architectural Archive, The Arts Council, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Foras na Gaeilge, as well as design studios, media companies and other creative businesses located in buildings which where once the grandest townhouses and homes in the city. Merrion Square also has many associations with significant figures in Ireland’s political and cultural history and among the many famous residents who have lived on Merrion Square are Daniel O’Connell, Oscar Wilde and William Butler Yeats. The centre of Merrion Square is a public park, owned by Dublin City Council – a wonderful resource that has seen several major improvements in recent years to to re-instate the Georgian features of the park. Merrion Square, the heart of Georgian Dublin, has a year round cultural and events programme to promote the area as a “go-to” place for national and international culture seekers. Merrion Square is significant to James Joyce. Number 1 Merrion Square, the first house on your left as you turn into the square, was where Joyce arranged to meet Nora Barnacle for their first date. That house on the corner of Merrion Square belonged to Sir William Wilde, father of Oscar Wilde - the famous Irish author, playwright and poet. He was born there in 1854. Inside the gate of the park opposite that house is a statue of Oscar Wilde laying over a rock in a nonchalant position. This sculpture was designed and created by Danny Osborne, an Irish sculptor, and commissioned by the Guinness Ireland group. It was erected here in 1997.