Merrion Square Park, Georgian square and park in central Dublin, Ireland
Merrion Square Park is a public green space in central Dublin, Ireland. The three-sided enclosure consists of Georgian red-brick houses, while the fourth side opens to the garden area with flower beds and tall trees.
Viscount FitzWilliam laid out the square in 1762 and set up the gardens exclusively for wealthy residents. The city of Dublin later purchased the site and opened it to all visitors in 1974.
The park takes its name from an old word meaning light and joy. Artists hang paintings and prints on the railings at weekends and sell them directly to people walking past.
The park gates open daily from morning to evening and stand within walking distance of the National Gallery. Several city bus lines stop right at the corners of the square.
Beneath the southeast section lie chambers of an old air raid shelter from World War Two. The underground bunker was designed to hold over a thousand people in an emergency.
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