The weather was pleasant during my first full day in Dublin. And this was also the day when I was meeting up with an ex-colleague of sorts. So while I was waiting for her to show up, I took the opportunity to stroll around and check out outdoor areas of the city. I started by checking two open spaces right in the centre of town, Merrion Square Park and St. Stephen's Green.
Merrion Square is a Georgian garden square: there are buildings surrounding all sides of it. And inside this square, there are green spaces and lots of interesting statues and other monuments.
Since I started from the northwestern corner of the square, I immediately bumped into the Oscar Wilde Memorial, which was erected in 1997. This memorial actually consists of three pieces: of course there's Oscar Wilde reclining against a rock, but there's also the statue of Constance Lloyd, and the statue of Dionysus.
There are also several other statues in the square, including a bust of Bernardo O'Higgins. He is Chilean, and plays a huge role in Chilean history, but he does have Irish ancestry. Additionally, there are busts of other people, like Michael Collins.
Then there's also the Joker's Chair, built in memory of the comedian Dermot Morgan.
Then, I took a short stroll towards St. Stephen's Green, and the first thing I saw was the Famine Memorial, by Edward Delaney. I must say this was a very striking work.
There are several other interesting features of the park, with statues, busts, and many other landmarks. A few of those are seen above.
If you're in Dublin and the weather happens to be nice, then take some time to check out this area. It's a pretty place, and is worth exploring a little bit.
