The legendary Irish “gift of gab” has helped Ireland punch above its weight literarily for centuries now – and Dublin in particular has been a literary hotbed – in fact, officially designated a “Literary City” by UNESCO in 2010 in case anyone had any doubts. And what better day than June 16 (this Friday), Bloomsday, on which locals still celebrate the life and work of novelist James Joyce on the day in 1904 his most famous novel, Ulysses, is set. There are, of course, many, many other ink-stained icons for which the Oud Sod is famous. The dearly departed Samuel Beckett, Maeve Binchy, Oliver Goldsmith, Seamus Heaney, C.S. Lewis, George Bernard Shaw, Bram Stoker, Jonathan Swift, Oscar Wilde, and William Butler Yeats. And in still with us in our own day, the likes of Roddy Doyle, Anne Enright, Colum McCann, Frank McCourt, and William Trevor. Thus it almost goes without saying that fans of serious literature owe themselves at least one visit to Dublin, to bask in the places and themes that have given world culture some of its most powerful writing. And here are...  keep reading