See Ireland’s literary side
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, May 29, 2004
Many renowned writers have been shaped by Ireland’s history and landscape. Use the Web to explore places associated with James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, W.B. Yeats, Samuel Beckett and J.M. Synge, then plan a trip in their footsteps. Begin your literary pilgrimage in Dublin.
At www.visitdublin.com/attractions, click on the highlighted phrase “Shaw Birthplace” for information on the Victorian home at 33 Synge St. where the Nobel Prize-winning playwright grew up.
You’ll also find a link there to the James Joyce Museum, housed in a Martello tower – a round fort built to ward off a Napoleonic invasion that never came. The building on the south coast outside the city – Joyce’s home only briefly – was immortalized in “Ulysses.” Take Dublin Area Rapid Transit to get there: www.irishrail.ie/dart/customer_service/visitors.asp.
For the Dublin Writers Museum, located in a restored Georgian mansion on Parnell Square, go to www.writersmuseum.com. The Web site reveals that Wilde was a promising pugilist during his days at Trinity College, while Samuel Beckett – a son of Ireland despite having penned “Waiting for Godot” in French – excelled at cricket.
Wilde’s childhood home at No. 1 Merrion Square in Dublin now hosts art exhibits. Details at www.amcd.edu/oscar.
Guided tours with a literary theme include the popular Dublin Literary Pub Crawl (www.dublinpubcrawl.com) in which a pair of actors takes you to famous pubs and performs the works of Joyce, Beckett and others who frequented the bars.
Northwest of Dublin, in Sligo, the Yeats Memorial Building celebrates the poet’s roots in the region through photos, artifacts, films, genealogical exhibits and other displays. Go to www.yeats-sligo.com/html/visit.html.
The “Calendar of Events” at West Ireland Tourist, www.westireland.travel.ie/whats_on/, lists the J.M. Synge Literary Festival, in Geesala, for July 2-4. The event celebrates Synge’s association with the area and include tributes to other County Mayo writers.
If you’ve seen or read “The Playboy of the Western World” or Synge’s other plays, you know a little about rural Celtic culture and the Aran Islands fishing villages where his best works were set. These rustic islands off Ireland’s western coast – Inishmor, Inishmaan and Inisheer – were recommended to Synge by Yeats as a place to seek inspiration. But they have not commercialized their literary connections, so you’ll need to research your itinerary.
Start with www.literarytraveler.com/europe/synge.htm, a travelogue by a Synge fan who visited the islands. A description of a museum about Synge – in Teach Synge, the house where he lived – can be found at www.inismeainaccommodation.com/visit.htm.
Beth J. Harpaz, Associated Press
