Oscar Wilde, Merrion Square

The Statue That Looks Like No Other

Introduction

In the northwest corner of Merrion Square, a man lounges on a boulder in a jade green jacket and Norwegian pink collar, one leg crossed over the other, chin resting on his hand, wearing an expression of languid amusement or perhaps profound sadness, depending on which side of his face you look at.

This is Oscar Wilde, and there is nothing else in Dublin remotely like him.

The Oscar Wilde Memorial Sculpture is a collection of three statues in Merrion Square in Dublin, commemorating the Irish poet and playwright. The sculptures were unveiled in 1997 and were designed and made by Danny Osborne . Osborne was commissioned by the Guinness Ireland Group, and the sculpture was unveiled by Wilde's grandson Merlin Holland.

The Statue

Most public statues are bronze or stone, dark and monochromatic. Oscar Wilde is neither. His smoking jacket is carved from green nephrite jade from the Yukon, with a rare pink stone called thulite from Norway for his collar and cuffs. The trousers are blue pearl granite, his shoes and socks from black Indian granite. There is a belief that jade can give a person the power to live forever , something which Oscar has certainly achieved through his work and life.

If you look at Oscar's head you will see that the left side of the face is happy while the right side is sad. Walk around the statue and watch his expression shift, from wry amusement to something heavier and more private. The sculptor's intention was to capture the essential duality of Wilde's nature: the comedian and the tragic figure, the public wit and the private man.

The boulder he reclines on is a 35-tonne block of white quartz brought from the Wicklow Mountains. Two flanking pillars complete the memorial, one topped with a bronze of his pregnant wife Constance, the other with a torso of Dionysus, god of theatre and wine. The plinths are inscribed with Wilde quotes in the handwriting of figures including Seamus Heaney, Bono and President Michael D. Higgins.

The Man

Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in 1854 at Westland Row, Dublin, a short walk from Merrion Square. His father was the renowned surgeon Sir William Wilde; his mother Lady Jane Wilde was a celebrated poet and Irish nationalist. As a young boy Oscar would have played at the very spot where the monument now stands.

He went on to become one of the most dazzling literary figures of the 19th century, playwright, poet, novelist, conversationalist, and professional wit. The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray, An Ideal Husband , works that have never left the stage. He was also a man whose private life brought him ruin. Convicted of gross indecency in 1895, he served two years' hard labour in Reading Gaol. He never recovered. He died in Paris in 1900, aged 46, in a cheap hotel room.

When the statue was unveiled in 1997, it was the first statue commemorating Wilde, who had died 97 years earlier. Wikipedia Ireland was slow to claim him back.

Where to Find It

The northwest corner of Merrion Square Park, Dublin 2, directly opposite number 1 Merrion Square, Wilde's childhood home, now the American College Dublin. The statue faces the house across the road.

Did You Know?

Wilde's grandson Merlin Holland was the model used for the sculpture's head. Danny Osborne His Trinity College Old Boys tie is recreated on the statue in glazed porcelain. He also wears two scarab rings, one for good luck, one for bad.

Nearby Statues

Merrion Square is rich with public art. The harp figure stands nearby in the park. George Russell (AE) has his own memorial in the square. We have pages for Birdy and Memories of Mount Street nearby.