Merrion Square is a delicious little park right in the heart of Dublin that manages to slip under the radar of most visitors to the city. Similar to the nearby and more well-known St. Stephen’s Green, it is a Georgian square that once jealously guarded its gates, only allowing access to the residents of the grand houses surrounding the square. In 1930 it was purchased by the Roman Catholic Church as a site to build a cathedral, but the project never came to fruition and in 1974 the church transferred the land to Dublin Corporation for use as a public park. While I am sure the planned cathedral would have looked very grand indeed, I couldn’t imagine Dublin without this gem of a park.
One of the many things I love about the square is the eclectic mix of old Dublin lamp-posts scattered randomly through the park. Today Dublin sports shiny new lamp posts like this…
…but a wander through Merrion Square transports you to the streets of Dublin’s past. Here are a few of the old Dublin lamp-posts that caught my eye last time I wandered through the park, all beautiful in their own way, perfectly imperfect with their clouded glass and broken bulbs.
xxx Ailsa
Where's my backpack? 