Oscar Wilde House, Dublin — Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Oscar Wilde's childhood home at 1 Merrion Square is where one of literature's greatest wits spent his formative years. Born at 21 Westland Row in 1854, his family moved to this prestigious address the following year, and for two decades it was the cultural epicenter of Dublin.

The driving force of the household was Oscar's mother, Lady Jane Wilde, a poet, writer, and translator who ran a wildly popular weekly salon on the first floor. Artists, musicians, poets, politicians, and philosophers packed the drawing room to share ideas and entertain each other. Young Oscar grew up surrounded by the kind of wit, intellect, and creative energy that would define his own career.

The building now houses American College Dublin, which offers courses in performing arts and creative writing. Tours are available with expert guides who share details about Wilde's remarkable life, from his Dublin childhood through his Oxford education and on to the triumphs and tragedies of his London years.

On the northwest corner of Merrion Square, just across from the house, a colorful statue of Oscar Wilde sprawls on a quartz boulder. His long legs stretch down the side of the rock, and his face wears the knowing, slightly amused expression that defined his public persona. The statue is made from three different types of stone, each a different color, creating a visual effect as flamboyant as its subject.

A Questo quest through literary Dublin connects Wilde's house to other landmarks of Irish writing, turning the city into a living anthology.