Merrion Square is a public park surrounded by Georgian
houses. Before the 1960s or 70s, only the Merrion Square residents could use
the park; it required a key.
It is a little smaller and not as renowned as St
Stephen’s Green Park.
In truth, when it comes to city parks, I have seen much
nicer; but I wanted to take some photos of some of the many sculptures in the
park.
At the north-west corner of Merrion Square West, is the
house where Oscar Wilde’s family moved to, when he was one year old. He was
educated at home until he was nine, when he was then sent to a boarding school
in Enniskillen. Oscar’s mother, Lady Wilde, entertained a lot and received
guests such as the Irish author Bram Stoker (“Dracula”).
It remained William
Wilde’s house until he died in the 1870s: Oscar’s father was a reputed ear and
eye surgeon and is also remembered by a plaque on the house.
The building is used by the American College, Dublin.
Stained glass installed by the Oscar Wilde Society in
1995, featuring a representation of his short story The Happy Prince >
The
character was probably inspired by the statue on top of the column called the Cole’s
Monument in Enniskillen.
“To define is to limit” – True and therefore I shall not
try to describe Wilde’s work, it is best to read it.
< From his childhood house, one can see his statue in the
fenced park. It does attract many visitors; it was erected in 1997 - 97 years
after Wilde’s death at the age of 46, so that erection was well overdue… The
first ever statue of the writer in Ireland and the whole of the British Isles,
so I assume, the world.
Oscar seems to be surveying the activity around his
house, while counting the curious tourists – or is he staring at the naked
bust?
As we approach the sculpture, we either see his smile first
or his dejection, depending which park entrance was used. That is because the Irish
sculptor Danny Osborne wished to express both aspects of Wilde’s life and
personality. It makes the subject’s face lopsided, which I find a bit strange,
although that smug suits Oscar Wilde as well…
From this angle he seems to be happy, looking down
towards his wife Constance, the statue on the granite pillar.
There are two, highly polished, plinths accompanying the
statue of Oscar Wilde; each topped with a small bronze sculpture.
This is the male torso of the Greek God Dionysus. Not too
many features to identify him, but he was the god of wine and theatre and it is
said that Wilde had a statue of Dionysus in his office in London.
The sculpture of Wilde is made of several types
of stone and some bronze detailing.
The incredibly realistic shoes are made of black granite
or charnockite (depending on sources), from India, with bronze shoelaces.
The artwork is perfectly fitting: it is unusual by its colours and the
cocky posture chosen.
The trousers have been carved in larvikite from near
Larvik Fjord in Norway - also called black moonstone or pearl blue granite, it
has many crystals in its composition.
Wilde is depicted wearing his wedding ring and a small signet
ring. This is supposed to be his likeness aged 40. I read that there are three
rings in total: two with a scarab, one for good luck, one for bad luck, but I
didn’t noticed a third ring. The rings are colourless now, because the hands
have been replaced, originally the wedding band was gold and the scarab was
blue. Hands and face were originally made of glazed porcelain.
The sculpture of Wilde is life-size but looks a little bigger
due to its position on the large grey rock, 35-tonne white quartz boulder from
the Wicklow Mountains (which can be seen south of Dublin).
The smoking jacket is a combination of Canadian nephrite
jade, for the green velvet or silk, and rare Norwegian thulite, for the pink quilted
satin shawl collar and the turn up cuffs. The frog braiding fastening made in
bronze is very impressive too.
The green carnation in the right hand is a bronze
element.
Wilde is wearing his tie from Trinity College, Dublin,
where he studied from 1871 to 1874, winning the Berkeley Gold Medal, the
university’s highest academic award in Greek. The four-coloured tie is made of
porcelain.
In 2010, the porcelain head and hands were replaced
because some cracks were noticed on the face and the sculptor felt the frost
would get in the cracks sooner or later… What frost? In Ireland? Never!
The current head is made of white jadeite from Guatemala.
I can see some marks on it but hopefully they are inherent to the stone itself.
That makes 4 continents represented in stone. What’s more, Oscar Wilde loved beautiful stones and so do I… This memorial definitely rocks!
The two pillars with the bronze sculptures are part of
the memorial and by the same sculptor.
They both measure 192 cm high (plinth + figure).
The pedestals are covered in quotes by Oscar Wilde.
They have been inscribed using the tracing of handwritten
versions made by famous Irish people such poet and current President Michael D.
Higgings and Nobel Prize in Literature recipient Seamus Heaney.
 |
Oscar Wilde & Dionysus
|
Pregnant Constance Wilde turns her back to her husband,
but although kneeling, she does turn her face towards him somehow reproachfully.
Oscar Wilde
(1854-1900)
Born in Dublin,
Ireland.
Schooling: Portora
Royal School, Enniskillen;
Trinity College,
Dublin; Magdalen College, Oxford, England.
Convicted to two
years hard labour and incarcerated in Pentonville Prison, Wandsworth Prison and
Reading Gaol.
Died and buried in
Paris, France.
Pardoned by the
British Government in 2017.
“To regret one's
own experiences is to arrest one's own development.
To deny one's own
experiences is to put a lie into the lips of one's own life.
It is no less than
a denial of the soul.”
Oscar Wilde in ‘De
Profundis’
There are about a dozen statues in the park on Merrion
Square and I did not photograph them all.
< Quite a stylised sculpture of Bernardo O’Higgins, made in
1995.
>
George Russell (1865-1935) who wrote and painted under
the pseudonym of AE, was born in County Armagh. He worked at 84 Merrion Square and
was a friend and supporters of many other Irish writers, such as James Joyce, Frank
O’Connor and William Butler Yeats.
WB Yeats lived at 82 Merrion Square.
< Michael Collins, Irish leader killed during the Irish
Civil War in 1922
(bust made in 1988).
Eire (the name for Ireland in Irish) by Irish American
artist Jerome Connor, installed in 1976, featuring a nicely carved harp.
^ Autumn can last a long time in Ireland… Photo taken in
June!
There is also a collection of 25 lamp standards in the
park; I like to take photos of street lights, but I managed to locate none of
them! Even after looking at the map on the notice board…
My mind was somewhere else, in fact, I was looking for
the tribute to actor Dermot Morgan who played Father Ted in the sitcom of the
same name. It is one of my favourite comedy programmes.
Oscar Wilde broke some rules, but so did Father Ted. Because
there is wit and there is silliness, and we need both.
<
The memorial to Dermot Morgan is called Throne on the
park noticeboard but is also known as the Joker’s Chair.
It has a jester look
about it and feels inviting despite being made of metal.
Anyone can sit on the
tall chair.
There is no ashtray.
At the back are inscribed some loving words by the people
who knew him best: his partner and his three sons.
Dermot died aged 45, at
least he got to kick a bishop up the arse...
Someone had to do it!
Other points of interest at Merrion Square include the
Rutland Memorial and the covered entrance to a WWII air raid shelter (under a
grassy hump) – Dublin was hit by German bombs in 1941 despite being neutral
during the war.
On Merrion Street Upper, one can also view Leinster House, the seat of the Irish Parliament, and right beside it, the Government Buildings. Next door is the National History Museum (free admission).
On Merrion Square West is an entrance to the National
Gallery, which is open free of charge (with also an entrance on Clare Street) I
recommend it.
