Survey Data
Reg No
50100398
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Social
Original Use
Park
In Use As
Park
Date
1790 - 1795
Coordinates
316671, 233561
Date Recorded
31/07/2016
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Park, laid out in 1791, at centre of Merrion Square, comprising c.5 hectares (c. 12 acres), enclosed by replacement mild steel railings on moulded granite plinth and curved to corners and having pedestrian gates with granite steps to each side and vehicular gates to east side only. Interior set out as lawns, with informal planting and trees. Tarmac pathways, lined with stone setts, to centre and perimeter. Timber and concrete benches. Cast-iron lamp standards lining pathways. Modern sculptures, including memorials to Oscar Wilde by Danny Osborne (1997), Éire by Jerome O'Conner (1976); The Victims by Andrew O'Connor (1976). Parks depot to southeast corner, Rutland Fountain to west, and electricity substation at northwest corner.
Appraisal
Unlike Dublin city's other Georgian Squares, which were built around existing parks or greens, the central area of Merrion Square was undeveloped even as residential development on the enclosing streets was nearing completion. An Act of Parliament in 1791 authorized its enclosure and the nomination of commissioners to oversee the work. Work progressed rapidly, with planting complete by 1794 and the original railings in place. Views from the park are enclosed by the grand Georgian terraces of Merrion Square to the north, east and south, and by the garden front of Leinster House and the neighbouring Natural History Museum and National Gallery buildings to the west. The park remained in private hands for many years, being sold to the Catholic Church in 1930 as the site of a proposed cathedral. Dr Ryan, then Archbishop of Dublin, leased it to Dublin Corporation in 1974 for use as a public park. The interior is informally landscaped with a series of pathways allowing access to the centre and perimeter. All sculpture in the park has been installed since it was redeveloped in the 1970s. Of particular interest are the memorial to Oscar Wilde by Danny Osborne, added in 1997, and a bronze bust of Michael Collins by Dick Joynt, added in 1990. A collection of salvaged lamp standards charts the development of historic street lighting in the city, adding historic interest. The park provides recreational space in an area of dense office use.