Dublin, 2026

It's been nearly a decade since I last visited Dublin. This time I stayed in the Temple Bar area, round the corner from a night club that's popular, by the sound of it.

I happened to be there on Joyce's birthday, Feb 2nd. Next to his statue there is now a portal showing a live webcam view of elsewhere, and v.v.. He has a bridge named after him, and quotes embedded in the pavement. I wouldn't bother with his poems. "Dubliners" feels heavy on the symbolism nowadays though well worth reading. "A Portrait of the artist as a young man" holds up well - I think it's the best place to start if you're new to him. "Ulysses" is required reading for any budding literary writer, though companion notes are necessary. It's easier to be impressed by the book than to love it. Parts of "Finnegan's wake" are worth listening to, but I wouldn't suggest reading it.

Other Dublin writers get mentions too around the city. Beckett has a bridge named after him. Bram Stoker has a presence George Bernard Shaw's reputation has sunk fast though. I keep forgetting that he won a Nobel Prize.

Oscar Wilde features, and his house can be visited. Sean O'Casey has a theatre named after him. Yeats' Abbey Theatre is still going. Brendan Behan has a statue.

There's an Irish Writers' Centre. I visited the "Museum of Irish Literature" (MOLI) which opened in 2019 (the Writers' Museum has closed). There's a room on Romance and the crossover with LitFic - Sally Rooney. Maeve Binchy was born in Dalkey and lived in Dublin. Women's writing is getting more coverage. The word "pregnancy" was banned in literature until 1960 - "happy event" was used instead.

The jigsaw puzzle used recently in a jigsaw competition shows Ha'penny Bridge, which is close to the "Winding Stair" book shop. I also visited "The Last Bookshop", "Books Upstairs", and "Chapters". The older 2nd hand bookshops have shelves up to the ceiling and waist-high piles of books. I ended up buying "The Stinging Fly" (45.2), "The Granta Book of the Irish Short Story", "Arrows in Flight" (Irish Short Story anthology), "Pulse" (Irish Short Story anthology), and "The Machine Stops", an SF story by E.M. Forster - all 2nd hand or free.

I didn't meet any writers. Next time I'll try to, though the idea of a BYOB open-mic isn't tempting. Dublin seems a welcoming place for story writers.

We visited Bray (Joyce lived there), climbed Bray Head, and walked through Dalkey. We went to EPIC (The Irish Emigration Museum) where I found out that cheese and onion crisps were invented in Ireland), and drank in pubs with live Irish music. I'd forgotten about the Viking influence and the immensity of the famine effects.