Dublin’s Literati: a Walking Tour

Ireland is famed for its rolling landscapes and tranquility, so it is no surprise that many famous literary figures grew up in Ireland, and based their novels of such settings.

 - Visit the famed Trinity College Library where notable Dubliners, like Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker, studied
 - Wander Merrion Square, where dozens of famous Dubliners called home, including Yeats and Wilde
 - Stop by St. Patrick's Cathedral where Jonathan Swift is buried
 - Stop for a pint in Davy Byrne's pub, famous for its appearance in James Joyce's Ulysses

Dublin: City of Literature
 
UNESCO recognises Dublin as a City of Literature, reflecting the city’s rich and varied history of writers and writing. During your tour, you will meander through the streets, libraries and book stores woven into the stories and lives of Ireland's most celebrated Irish thinkers. From Nobel Literature Prize winners WB Yeats, GB Shaw and Samuel Beckett to its beloved James Joyce, Dublin is brimming with stories of its favourite authors waiting to be heard

One of your tour's highlights includes a visit to the famed Trinity College campus, Ireland's first and most acclaimed university. Here you will learn about the college’s numerous treasures, as well as lesser known tales of some of its most renowned alumni, like Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde. Your campus tour culminates with a special visit to the Old Library where an ancient Irish masterpiece, the Book of Kells, can be seen.
 
Ireland’s Literary Greats
  
In Merrion Square, where many houses have plaques detailing the rich and famous who once lived in the area, you will learn more about the life of Dublin’s most famous son, the writer and dramatist Oscar Wilde. At St Patrick’s Cathedral, you will hear about the illustrious writer and satirist Jonathan Swift, who had a lifelong connection to the cathedral's Dean. Whilst pausing at his tombstone, you will hear about some of Swift's triumphs and greatest controversies.

Next, find yourself stepping back into the 18th century with a visit to Marsh’s Library. Unchanged for three centuries, this perfectly preserved library of the early Enlightenment—with its original oak bookcases— houses more than 25,000 rare and obscure books.

Lastly, your literary tour of Dublin would not be complete without a visit to Sweny’s Pharmacy and a literary pub such as Davy Byrne’s. Both made appearances in James Joyce’s Ulysses and are bursting with interesting tidbits about the famous novelist and poet.

We built this tour because Dublin played an influential role in the writings of many renowned literary figures.