Literature
Writes of way... Lorna Hogg continues her literary-themed walks, tracing the rich heritage to be found in Dublin
St. George’s Church, better known as The Peppercanister, was the childhood parish church of Elizabeth Bowen who lived in nearby Herbert Place
We have one of the world’s greatest literary capitals- but how much of it have you explored? Whether your taste is for comedy, history, philosophy, social commentary or ground breaking literature, it’s easy to walk in your favourite writer’s footsteps, inspirations and memories. The city has so many famous and well loved authors, that your only problem is choice, best solved by dividing the city into north and south side. Added to the variety of choice is the fact that those authors’ haunts are largely unchanged. From red brick Ballsbridge, the formal Georgian houses of Merrion, Parnell and Fitzwilliam Squares, to Bohemian Dublin around the tree lined Grand Canal, much landscape and literary inspiration remains. Also, you’ll quickly find that while Paris may have its bistros, Dublin has its pubs, ideal for breaks whilst tracing literary his-tories. So, whether you want to simply stroll, or to absorb the atmosphere of these areas which inspired so many writers and dramatists, there is plenty to inspire, and enjoy. Southside saunters Take the DART to Pearse Street station, on Westland Row –where Oscar Wilde was born, at No. 21 in 1854. Kennedy’s pub is here, well known to Behan, Joyce and Beckett. Follow the road round the corner to Lincoln Place, where Ulysses fans can spot Sweeney’s Chemists. Clare Street was the site of Greene’s, one of the city’s iconic bookshops, complete with winding stair, dating from 1843. The building now holds Henry Jermyn tailoring, but the famous glass portico and wrought iron struts remain. Take the Lincoln Place entrance into Trinity College, much of which is 55 Senior Times l May - June 2020 l www.seniortimes.ie
Maeve Binchy taught at Miss Meredith’s School at No. 1 Pembroke Road in the 1960s
unchanged throughout the times of its impressive literary roll call. Goldsmith and Edmund Burke, Oliver St. John Gogarty, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Synge, Brendan Kennelly and Beckett studied here – and Trinity graduate and Irish American writer J.P. Donleavy set his famous novel The Ginger Man here. Leave Trinity by Front Gate, and walk across to Fleet St., for The Palace Bar, one of the city’s most famous writers’ pubs. Then walk up Dame Street to the Cork Hill entrance to Dublin Castle. Cross over to the Castle’s outside walls and walk up to the site of Hoey’s Court, birthplace of Swift, and marked by a plaque in Little Ship Street. Nearby lies St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which holds his death mask and grave. Next, walk down the atmospheric St. Patrick’s Close, to Marsh’s Library, Dublin’s first public library. Swift, as well as James Joyce, Charles Mangan, and George Moore were regulars. Swift’s home as Dean of St. Patrick’s, The Deanery, is also here. Don’t miss the nearby St. Patrick’s Park, containing plaques to a variety of writers ranging from Brendan Behan to Oscar Wilde. Just a short walk takes you back to St. Stephen’s Green, which has several literary statues, including Yeats and Joyce. Grafton Street is worth a detour for Bewley’s Café, where Kavanagh and Maeve Binchy and generations of students were regulars, Explore pub territory - The Bailey and Davy Byrne’s, famed for their Joycean connections, face each other in Duke St. In Chatham St., Neary’s, frequented by Brendan Behan and actor Jimmy O’Dea, and the Dawson Lounge were also popular, whilst Mc Daid’s attracted Behan, Kavanagh, Donleavy and also younger writers. The Shelbourne Hotel was another literary haunt, from Elizabeth Bowen and George Moore to Brian Friel. It also featured in George Moore’s novel, `A Drama in Muslin.’
