‘It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious.’
That was the take on life of one of the most fascinating individuals to emerge from Dublin. Oscar Wilde was and remains internationally renowned for his razor-sharp wit, classic plays, and – let’s face it – raging homosexuality. His plays including ‘A Woman of No Importance’, ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’, ‘An Ideal Husband’, and ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ have been produced all over the world and he has left a rich legacy of witticisms and famous quotations.
Currently owned by the American College of Dublin, the house at Number 1, Merrion Square was Oscar Wilde’s residence between 1855 and 1878 and tours are available for those who wish to take a closer look at the place where this great playwright spent much of his early life.
Just across the street by the northwest gate of Merrion Square, a statue of Oscar Wilde is perched comfortably upon a rock in a typically nonchalant pose. His delightfully blasé facial expression is fun to imitate and a photo of yourself and Mr Wilde looking equally snobbish would doubtlessly amuse your family back home to no end – that is assuming that your relatives know who Oscar Wilde was.
If they don’t, then don’t worry, since in Oscar Wilde’s own words; ‘relations are simply a tedious pack of people, who haven’t got the remotest knowledge of how to live, nor the smallest instinct about when to die.’
