Oscar Wilde, Marsh's Library and Dublin's Literary Monuments
Dublin, Ireland
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Wildean Wit
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225
XP
1 day
Oscar Wilde, Marsh's Library and Dublin's Literary Monuments
225 XP
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854 and grew up at 1 Merrion Square — the square's park now holds his reclining statue, built out of coloured stones from three continents. Two streets away, Marsh's Library has stood since 1707 as Ireland's oldest public library, with three wire reading cages in use since the 1770s to stop readers pocketing the books; Jonathan Swift, Dean of St Patrick's next door, was a reader here in its early years.
Required Activities
1
of 4
In Merrion Square Park, look closely at the Wilde statue — he reclines on a Wicklow quartz boulder, torso of green nephrite jade and pink thulite, legs of Norwegian blue pearl granite, shoes of black Indian charnockite
2
of 4
Walk to 21 Westland Row — a ten-minute walk from Merrion Square — where a plaque marks the house where Wilde was actually born on 16 October 1854; the building is now part of Trinity College Dublin's Oscar Wilde Centre
3
of 4
At Marsh's Library on St Patrick's Close, look into the three wire reading cages, in use since the 1770s to stop readers walking off with the books
4
of 4
Go inside St Patrick's Cathedral and find Swift's grave slab and the Latin epitaph he wrote for himself — W. B. Yeats put it into English and called it the greatest epitaph in history
In Merrion Square Park, look closely at the Wilde statue — he reclines on a Wicklow quartz boulder, torso of green nephrite jade and pink thulite, legs of Norwegian blue pearl granite, shoes of black Indian charnockite
Walk to 21 Westland Row — a ten-minute walk from Merrion Square — where a plaque marks the house where Wilde was actually born on 16 October 1854; the building is now part of Trinity College Dublin's Oscar Wilde Centre
At Marsh's Library on St Patrick's Close, look into the three wire reading cages, in use since the 1770s to stop readers walking off with the books
Go inside St Patrick's Cathedral and find Swift's grave slab and the Latin epitaph he wrote for himself — W. B. Yeats put it into English and called it the greatest epitaph in history
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XP Breakdown
Challenge XP
225 XP
Potential total
225 XP
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