Fitzwilliam Square

Fitzwilliam Square (Irish: Cearnóg Mhic Liam) is a Georgian garden square in the south of central Dublin, Ireland. It was the last of the five Georgian squares in Dublin to be built, and is the smallest.^[1]

Fitzwilliam Square

Georgian townhouses on Fitzwilliam Square
Native name	Cearnóg Mhic Liam (Irish)
Namesake	Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam
Area	1.5 hectares (3.7 acres)
Location	Dublin, Ireland
Postal code	D02
Coordinates	53.3354°N 6.2520°W / 53.3354; -6.2520

The middle of the square is composed of a private park, which for more than 200 years has been accessible only to keyholders, mostly the residents and owners of the 69 houses on the square, some of whom pay almost €1,000 a year for the privilege.^[2] Fitzwilliam Square East makes up part of Dublin's Georgian mile.

History

The square was developed by Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam, hence the name. It was designed from 1789 and laid out in 1792, on land belonging to the Pembroke estate,^[3] which encompassed much of the area to the south-east of the city. It was completed by 1830,^[4] with progress slowed by the Acts of Union,^[5] which led to a downturn in Dublin's prosperity due to an exodus of many wealthier residents to London.

Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin, Improvement Act 1813
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long title	An Act for inclosing, lighting and improving Fitzwilliam Square, in the County of the City of Dublin.
Citation	53 Geo. 3. c. clxxxv
Dates
Royal assent	2 July 1813
Text of statute as originally enacted

The centre of the square was enclosed in 1813 through an act of Parliament, the Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin, Improvement Act 1813 (53 Geo. 3. c. clxxxv). To the north is the much larger Merrion Square, with which Richard FitzWilliam was also involved. The square was a popular place for the Irish Social Season of aristocrats entertaining in Dublin between January and Saint Patrick's Day each year.^[6]

Shootings took place in the square during Bloody Sunday of 1920. As independence from the United Kingdom arrived and during a broader period of renaming prominent streets in the city, a proposal was considered in 1921 to rename the square after Oliver Plunkett. However, the residents, who included members of the peerage and officers of the British Army, objected to the change.^[7]

In 1975, Bord na Móna were granted permission to demolish five early 19th-century houses on the edge of the square, with plans to construct a modern office block on the site. The plans were later dropped.^[8]

Notable people

Former or current residents of the square have included:

• William Dargan (1799–1867), railway designer, lived at number 2^[9]
• Mainie Jellett (1897–1944), artist, lived at number 36^[9]
• Sir Thomas O'Shaughnessy (1850–1933), the last Recorder of Dublin, who also died there on 7 March 1933^[10]
• Jack Butler Yeats (1871–1957), painter, lived and had his studio at number 18 from 1930 onwards^[9][11][12]

See also

• List of streets and squares in Dublin

References

1. "Fitzwilliam Square | Dublin, Ireland Attractions". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
2. Kelly, Olivia (11 April 2021). "Fitzwilliam Square may become public park under council plans". Irish Times. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
3. Meenan, F. O. C. (1969). "The Georgian Squares of Dublin and the Professions". Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review. 58 (232): 405–414. ISSN 0039-3495.
4. Meenan, F. O. C. (1969). "The Georgian Squares of Dublin and the Professions". Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review. 58 (232): 405–414. ISSN 0039-3495.
5. Smyth, Des (2017). "The Fitzwilliams of Merrion – the last of the line". Dublin Historical Record. 70 (1): 108–119. ISSN 0012-6861.
6. Hughes, Andrew (14 March 2011). "Lives Less Ordinary: Dublin's Fitzwilliam Square, 1798–1922". Liffey Press – via Google Books.
7. Conboy, Séamus (2011). "Changing Dublin Street Names, 1880's to 1940's". Dublin Historical Record. 64 (2): 205–225. ISSN 0012-6861.
8. McDonald, Frank (1985). The destruction of Dublin. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. p. 209. ISBN 0-7171-1386-8. OCLC 60079186.
9. Dublin Tourism, p. 11.
10. "Home – No. 25 Fitzwilliam Place". No. 25 Fitzwilliam Place.
11. Plaques, Open. "Jack Butler Yeats brown plaque". openplaques.org. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
12. Bourke, Marie (2021). "Jack B. Yeats: Painting & Memory". History Ireland. 29 (6): 6–7. ISSN 0791-8224.

Sources

• Dublin Tourism, Office. Heritage Trails. Signposted Walking Tours of Dublin (PDF). Dublin Tourism. Retrieved 18 February 2025.

External links

• Irish architecture information (including photographs of doorways)
• DublinTourist.com information Archived 8 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine