George Bernard Shaw - St Patrick's Park Literary Parade
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60 plays. Nearly all his writings address prevailing social problems, but have a vein of comedy which makes their stark themes more palatable. Shaw examined education, marriage, religion, government, health care, and class privilege.
He was most angered by what he perceived as the exploitation of the working class. An ardent socialist, Shaw wrote many brochures and speeches for the Fabian Society. He became an accomplished orator in the furtherance of its causes, which included gaining equal rights for men and women, alleviating abuses of the working class, rescinding private ownership of productive land, and promoting healthy lifestyles. For a short time he was active in local politics, serving on the London County Council.
The Irish Tourist Board will not like me saying this, but anti-social behavior has become a problem in Dublin and works of public art now need protection from vandals and metal thieves.
In St. Patrick's park there is the Literary Parade of Irish Writers which was crafted by Colm Brennan and John Coll and commissioned in 1988 by Irish Distillers to commemorate the Dublin Millennium in 1988. The plaques featuring sculptured heads are set into the arched alcoves of the red-bricked east wall of the park. Unfortunately, it is not easy to photographs them as they are now protected by metal railings.
The twelve oval plaques feature Samuel Beckett, Brendan Behan, James Joyce, Sean O’Casey, George Bernard Shaw, Jonathan Swift, John Millington Synge, Oscar Wilde, William Butler Yeats, Eilish Dillon, James Clarence Mangan and Austin Clarke.