First and foremost, Ireland´s capital is inextricably linked to early-20th-century novelist James Joyce, and few cities are as tightly mapped to a single work as Dublin is to his seminal novel Ulysses. Admirers can visit Sweny's, a pharmacy turned book and gift shop whose Victorian-era interior is preserved much as it appears in the novel, or stop at Davy Byrnes pub, another key location in protagonist Leopold Bloom’s journey. Perhaps the most atmospheric Joyce site of all is the 222-year-old coastal watchtower in the suburb of Sandycove, which was more recently renamed the James Joyce Tower because it´s here that Ulysses famously opens; today it houses a museum. For a broader view of his life and work, the James Joyce Centre organizes exhibitions, lectures, and walking tours that trace his Dublin. And each June 16, Bloomsday celebrations bring the city to life as readers retrace Bloom’s route in costume and spirit.

Dublin also celebrates its wider literary heritage in vivid, accessible ways. In Merrion Square, the colorful, louche reclining statue of Oscar Wilde faces the Georgian Oscar Wilde House, where he was born in 1854, creating one of the city’s most memorable literary pairings; inside are various exibits about his life, work, and literary legacy. Not far off, Trinity College, his alma mater (as well as that of Joyce, 18th-century satirist Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker of Dracula fame, 20th-century avant-garde playwright Samuel Beckett, and 18th-century poet and playwright Oliver Goldsmith) is home to the Trinity College Library, where visitors pass through a dedicated exhibition about the medieval literary-religious masterpiece the Book of Kells before emerging into the magnificent Long Room (pictured here), dramatically lined with centuries of literature and scholarship. Another must institution is the Abbey Theatre, founded in 1904 by W. B. Yeats and Lady Gregory; it´s Ireland’s national theatre and a cornerstone of its literary revival. 

Literary Dublin also lives in its social spaces: Bewley's Grafton Street Café, marking a century next year, has long been associated with writers and artists, And literary pubs besides Davy Byrne´s include The Duke, Neary´s, and Toner´s.

And while you´re here, stay at (or just visit) the 202-year-old grande dame Shelbourne, mentioned in Joyce´s Dubliners and its Horseshoe Bar a watering hole for lit (in both senses) luminaries such as  Brendan Behan, Brian Friel, and Seamus Heaney. All the above underscores the fact that this compact, very walkable city isn´t merely associated with literature in a big way but is, in a sense itelf a living literary text. 

Read more in my post 5 of Europe´s Top Destinations for Literary Travelers.

David Paul Appell