William Wilde and 1 Merrion Square

William Wilde spent the final third of his life, from 1855 to 1876, in 1 Merrion Square. During the first half of his occupancy of the house his career blossomed to its fullest; the second decade, on the other hand, was marked by scandal, personal tragedy, and an unhappy professional and social decline. This paper considers the background to the development of Merrion Square, the architectural history of 1 Merrion Square from its building in 1762 to the arrival of the Wildes in 1855, the attractions and possibilities which the house offered for William Wilde, the major architectural expansion of the building which he commissioned in 1859, and aspects of his and his family’s life in the house.