Everything
Oscar In The Park
19
Aug
Aug
Merrion Square Park, which is situated across the street from Oscar Wilde House, is a large public space and home to several State monuments. It is also the location of the Oscar Wilde statue and the Selfish Giant children’s playground, named after one of Oscar’s fairytales, which was published in 1888. It’s a beautiful and philosophical tale of a giant who does not allow children to enter his garden. As a consequence the place is in a state of perpetual winter. But once the giant allows a child within its walls the trees begin to blossom. In the 19th century only the well-heeled residents of Merrion Square and its environs were admitted to the park. The young Oscar spent many days of his childhood playing there with his older brother Willie and little sister Isola. The Wilde siblings were no doubt aware that the children from the nearby working-class tenements and slums were not permitted to enter the park. This we believe was the inspiration for The Selfish Giant. The Oscar Wilde statue is the most visited monument in Dublin. The park was originally meant to be the location for the 203 metre-high Wellington Testimonial but following objections from the residents of Merrion Square it was built in the Phoenix Park. The Duke of Wellington, who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, was born in Dublin in 1769 in a house on the site of the present day Merrion Hotel.
The park opens each day at 10am and closes at the following times throughout the year.
| December – January | 5.00pm |
| February | 5.30pm |
| March | 6.30pm/7.30pm (time change at start of daylight savings) |
| April | 8.30pm |
| May | 9.30pm |
| June – July | 10.00pm |
| August | 9.30pm |
| September | 8.30pm |
| October | 7.30pm/6.30pm (time change at end of daylight savings) |
| November | 5.30pm |