Merrion Square is one of the most intact Georgian Squares in Dublin city. It is surrounded on three sides by Georgian redbrick houses, with the fourth side containing Government Buildings, Leinster House, the Natural History Museum and the National Gallery of Ireland.

Construction of Georgian houses at Merrion Square began in 1762. A fashionable address for the aristocracy the park was purchased in 1930 as a site for a cathedral. The project never materialized and in 1974 it was transferred to the city for public use.

Oscar Wilde author, playright and poet was born in 1854 at no. 1 Merrion Square. A sculpture was designed by Danny Osborne and erected in Merrion Square in 1997. It is a fitting memorial to Wilde and is colourful and flamboyant like he was. The park includes many more sculptures; the Rutland Memorial; a collection of old Dublin lamp posts; a floral garden; heather garden, playground and coffee stand.