Explore the legacy of Irish literature.

Dublin is a Unesco City Of Literature and the city is synonymous with writing and writers.

All four Irish Nobel Prize for Literature winners, George Bernard Shaw, W.B. Yeats, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney, have close connections with Dublin as have other other greats like Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde and James Joyce to name but a few.

Anyone who is interested in literature should certainly take a visit to the Dublin Writers Museum (01-8722077) at 18 Parnell Square.

Located in a restored Georgian house, Dublin’s literary celebrities from the past 300 years are brought to life through their books, letters, portraits and personal items.

At the James Joyce Centre (01-8788547) at 35 North Great George’s Street, you can tour this historic house where many rooms relate to a specific element of Joyce’s life.

There are regular exhibitions and events. The centre also runs walking tours of the city based on Joyce’s life and work (three times a week during spring/summer and once a week in autumn/winter).

Bloomsday (16th June) is a particularly lively event here and all over Dublin when Joyce’s magnum opus, Ulysses, is celebrated with events including reenacting episodes from the novel. 

The National Library of Ireland (01-603 0200) 'collects and preserves the documentary and intellectual record of the life of Ireland.’ It has several collections including the largest collection of W.B. Yeats manuscripts in the world, which numbers over 2,000 items.

It is open free of charge to anyone who wants to consult the collections or the genealogy advisory service and visit the exhibitions.

Current exhibitions include ‘Yeats: the Life and Works of William Butler Yeats,’ which The Irish Times called:

‘one of the most important literary exhibitions yet staged internationally.’

For a more immersive experience, the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl (01-6705602/087-2630270) gives visitors an insight into the lives of some of Ireland’s greatest writers through a mix of guided tour and performance.

This amble was once ranked in the Top 5 in the ‘50 Best Walks in the World’ by The Sunday
Times. The same company offers a ‘Lit Walk’ tour during the daytime too.

These are just a selection of sites that may interest readers and bibliophiles but there are many more around the city and County Dublin. For more information and suggestions, see dublincityofliterature.ie.

To explore more in the city centre click here.