Fitzwilliam Square
Encyclopedia
Fitzwilliam Square is a small but historic Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...

 square in the south of central Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. It was the last of the five Georgian squares in Dublin to be built.

The square was developed by Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam
Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam
Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam was an Irish Viscount in the FitzWilliam family who was a benefactor and musical antiquarian. He founded the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England, with a bequest of his library and art collection on his death in 1816...

, hence the name. It was designed from 1789 and laid out in 1792. The center of the square was enclosed in 1813 through an Act of parliament
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. In its early mediaeval period during the Lordship of Ireland it consisted of either two or three chambers: the House of Commons, elected by a very restricted suffrage, the House of Lords in which the lords...

. To the north is the much larger Merrion Square
Merrion Square
Merrion Square is a Georgian square on the southside of Dublin city centre. It was laid out after 1762 and was largely complete by the beginning of the 19th century. It is considered one of the city's finest surviving squares...

, with which Richard FitzWilliam was also involved. The square was a popular place for the Irish Social Season
Irish Social Season
The Irish Social Season was a period of aristocratic entertainment and social functions that stretched from January to St. Patrick's Day of a given year. During this period, the major and minor nobility left their country residences and lived in Georgian mansions in places like Rutland Square ,...

 of aristocrats entertaining in Dublin between January and Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...

 each year.

Shootings took place in the square during Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday (1920)
Bloody Sunday was a day of violence in Dublin on 21 November 1920, during the Irish War of Independence. In total, 31 people were killed – fourteen British, fourteen Irish civilians and three republican prisoners....

 of 1920.
Sir Thomas O'Shaughnessy
Thomas O'Shaughnessy
Sir Thomas Lopdell O'Shaughnessy was the last Recorder of Dublin in Ireland.-Early life:O'Shaughnessy was born on December 22, 1850 in Dublin and died at his home in Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin on March 7, 1933...

 (1850–1933), the last Recorder of Dublin
Recorder of Dublin
The Recorder of Dublin was a judicial position in Dublin, Ireland. The first to hold the position was James Stanihurst, speaker of the Irish parliament, in 1564 and the last was Sir Thomas O'Shaughnessy. The Recordership was abolished in 1924....

, lived in Fitzwilliam Square and died there on 7 March 1933.

The N11 road passes through the northwest side of the square on its way into central Dublin.

External links

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