Survey Data
Reg No
50100234
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Artistic, Historical
Original Use
Statue
In Use As
Statue
Date
1860 - 1865
Coordinates
316500, 233655
Date Recorded
30/08/2016
Date Updated
--/--/--
Description
Freestanding memorial, unveiled 1864, in honour of William Dargan (1799-1867). Comprises bronze figure looking south-eastwards and standing on bronze base, with left arm resting on block of polished granite. Statue stands atop cut granite plinth with tapering faces over stepped base with moulded top. Sited to front of National Gallery of Ireland on Merrion Square West.
Appraisal
Memorial to William Dargan by Thomas Farrell, unveiled 30th January 1864, in acknowledgement of his contribution to the establishment of the National Gallery of Ireland. A fine bronze statue on a granite plinth, it is an artistic statement that is particularly aptly sited. Dargan is perhaps best known as 'father of Irish railways', having been intimately involved in the earliest of the railways. He was also a member of the Royal Dublin Society and bankrolled the Great Dublin Exhibition of 1853. He died from injuries sustained in a fall from his horse in 1863 and his funeral was of prodigious size.