Lonely_Planet_India_-_October_2019

EXPLORE

CITYTRAILS

BY ETAIN O’CARROLL, PHOTOGRAPHS: ANDREW MONTGOMERY

M

aybe it’s the oral tradition,

the penchant for alcohol or simply

the Irish gift of the gab, but Dublin

has exported a remarkable number of great

writers for its modest size. It’s the birthplace

of James Joyce, WB Yeats, Oscar Wilde, George

Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett. This legacy

is now acknowledged by UNESCO, which has

declared Dublin a City of Literature, and, as you

wander its Georgian squares, you’ll come across

numerous reminders of the city’s rich contribution

to literature andculture.Spendtimehereand

you’ll soon realiseit’sa placeof glibbartenders,

garrulous taxi driversandwittypintdrinkers

where friendly banter,epicconversationsand

drawn-out debatesarethedonething.

Literary

Dublin

2. JAMES JOYCE
   CENTRE

Once a fashionable Dublin

address, just around the

corner from where Joyce

went to school, North Great

George’s Street was facing

partial demolition when

this beautiful 18th-century

townhouse was saved by

a Joycean scholar and

turned into a pilgrimage

site for Joyce’s legions of

fans. Along with changing

exhibitions and a choice

of well-regarded walking

tours, the centre offers

a unique insight into the

life and work of this literary

giant (www.jamesjoyce.ie).

1. TRINITY COLLEGE
   DUBLIN

Suitably imposing,

Trinity College Dublin is

Ireland’s most prestigious

university. Samuel Beckett,

Bram Stoker and Oliver

Goldsmith all studied

here, and Seamus Heaney

was an honorary fellow.

Its Georgian buildings

surround tranquil lawns

and playing fields, but its

greatest treasures are in

the monumental Old

Library, home to the

glorious Book of Kells –

an ornate ninth-century

illuminated manuscript

containing the four gospels

of the New Testament.

Alongside it you’ll find

thousands of rare and

very early books in the

Long Room, the 65m-long

main chamber lined with

towering bookshelves

(www.tcd.ie).

ABBEY THEATRE

TRINITY COLLEGE

DUBLIN

JAMES JOYCE CENTRE

SWENY’S

THE GRAND CANAL

MERRION SQUARE

Trinity College Dublin

24 October 2019