If you’re a literary enthusiast and a name like Oscar Wilde creates a unique feeling in you, then don’t hesitate to visit “The Oscar Wilde House”, the home of Oscar Wilde, one of the greatest writers Ireland has ever produced. Located in the heart of Dublin, on Merrion Square, this is where the Irish writer is said to have spent some of the pivotal years of his life. A fascinating place, entirely dedicated to the writer’s work!
If you love Irish literature, don’t hesitate to visit Oscar Wilde’s house! Located at number one Merrion Square, the Georgian building has been converted into a university: no less than the prestigious American College Dublin!
The university offers a range of courses, including performing arts and creative writing.
But rest assured, it’s not just a university. The house has also been converted into a museum dedicated to Oscar Wilde and his works. A unique opportunity to return to the place where the writer lived, to understand his childhood, who his parents were… and to better understand the whimsical character of Oscar Wilde!
You’ll learn a wealth of fascinating information. Among them, you’ll discover that long before Oscar made his mark on the world, this house was one of Dublin’s most famous!
And with good reason: Oscar Wilde’s parents, William and Jane, were already particularly famous in Dublin! So much so, that the house quickly became the city’s cultural epicenter!
Oscar’s mother, Lady Jane Wilde, was a poet, writer and translator. For almost two decades, she held a very successful weekly salon on the second floor of the house. Artists, musicians, poets, politicians and philosophers gathered here to share ideas and enjoy themselves. Thanks to her revolutionary verse and editorials for the radical newspaper The Nation, under the pen name Speranza, Jane became a heroine for the Irish people during the Great Famine and for decades afterwards.
As for Sir William Wilde, Oscar’s father, he was a famous eye and ear surgeon, renowned throughout Europe. A Victorian polymath, he was interested not only in medicine, but also in archaeology, Irish and European folk tales, statistics, topography and travel writing.
Among his friends was the great Bram Stoker, the Irish writer who gave birth to Count Dracula.
It’s no surprise, then, that this truly astonishing couple gave birth to a genius like Oscar Wilde!
Oscar Wilde – Public Domain
The Wilde children, Willie, Oscar and Isola, enjoyed an idyllic childhood here. They were home-schooled by two governesses and, unusually for the Victorian era, attended many of their parents’ dinners and social events over the years. It’s the perfect way to stimulate their intellect and forge the Irish writer’s extraordinary personality!
Oscar Wilde spent 10 years there, then left… only to return for his first year at Trinity College Dublin.
There’s no doubt about it: this house had a profound effect on the writer!
There are two ways to visit the site:
Whatever you choose, you’ll have an unforgettable time. It has to be said that the house shines through its history and the people who have frequented it. This place of culture is a must for all lovers of literature and history.
A must-do!
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