Page 169 - WDT MAGAZINE IRELAND ISSUE WINTER 2018

We next stopped at O’Neill’s Pub and Kitchen,
The Dublin Literary Pub Crawl paper articles and the Internet--the Dublin Literary Pub which has been on the same site for over 300 years.
Crawl has been a popular, award-winning, year-round
tourist draw, accommodating up to 60 on a tour. We filed into the crowded, warm pub, glad to be out of
And they’re not all literary scholars: “Sixty-five to the cold, and headed for a bar stool or seat. Each stop
70% wouldn’t know about Irish writers at all or what gave us a chance to chat with others in the group.
they’re getting into,” Smith explained of the partici- As the evening wore on, it was fun to learn tidbits
pants. “They’ve come from Mexico, New Zealand, of these colorful authors, how Dublin influenced their
Australia—all over Europe.” work--and about the history of the city and its pubs.
During the evening we would visit three other With our Irish literary appetite whetted, Carl and I
pubs, spending about 20 minutes in each to grab planned to do a follow up to the pub crawl by visiting
a bite (“pub grub”) and/or another drink. We would The Writers Museum and James Joyce Centre the
stroll about a half-mile through the narrow, cobble- next day.
stone streets, and it would take just over two hours— A short walk away was The Old Stand, also in
“depending on how slowly you walk—or how quickly its same location for over 300 years, where Michael
you drink!” chuckled Morrissey. Collins, the leader of the Irish War of Independence,
“We won’t be too drunk--but not too sober,” Smith gathered information about the British Secret Service.
said with a smile. “We’re literary enthusiasts.” We ended the tour at Davy Byrnes--described in
And so our enthusiastic literary group—this even- “Ulysses” as a “moral pub” and where fictional protago-
ing ranging from ages 20-70, with several retirees from nist Leopold Bloom ordered a Gorgonzola sandwich
England and a couple from Wisconsin—set down our and a glass of burgundy—something that Joyce fans
glasses, gathered our coats, and headed out into the continue to do today.
cool, brisk air for the next stop: Trinity College, Ire- It was here where Beckett lived upstairs while a
land’s oldest university, founded in 1592. student at Trinity College—and where playwright and
“A culture stop with no drink!” chuckled Smith, novelist Brendan Behan, who had started drinking at
who pointed out that Joyce had described the fortress- age 8 and died at 41, gave his famous quote: “I’m a
like buildings as “the grey block of Trinity set heavily in drinker with a writing problem.”
the city’s ignorance.” As Quilligan summed up: “You can take the writer
As we gathered in a circle in the courtyard in the out of Dublin but you cannot take Dublin out of the
dark evening, students with backpacks walking quickly writer.”
past us, Smith told us a bit about Wilde, who was I’ll drink to that!
born nearby, a student here before he graduated from
Oxford’s Magdalen College. Wilde had referred to his IF YOU GO
fellow Trinity students as “a dreadful lot.” For more information on the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl tours (it’s a good idea
“He never got along with them,” explained Smith. to book ahead): www.dublinpubcrawl.com
Wilde later visited over 20 U.S. cities on a lecture The Duke: www.thedukedublin.com
series and, in 1882, was invited to the small silver O’Neill’s Pub & Kitchen: www.oneillsbar.com
mining town of Leadville, Colo., where he lectured on The Old Stand Pub and Restaurant: www.theoldstandpub.com
Davy Byrnes: www.davybyrnes.com
two of his favorite topics, art and aesthetics. As you Dublin Writers Museum: www.writersmuseum.com
can imagine, his talk didn’t set too well with the miners, James Joyce Centre: http://jamesjoyce.ie/
who quickly grew bored. Guinness Storehouse: www.guinness-storehouse.com
But flamboyant Wilde prevailed: “He drank them We’ve stayed at these hotels on our Dublin visits:
under the table!” proudly exclaimed Smith, who then Fitzwilliam Hotel: www.fitzwilliamhoteldublin.com/
dramatically recited a humorous anecdote that Wilde The Shelbourne Dublin: www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/dubbr-the-shel-
wrote describing the experience--which included the bourne-dublin-a-renaissance-hotel/
mention of a sign that Wilde had noticed over the Ashling Hotel: www.ashlinghotel.ie/
piano: “Please do not shoot the pianist, he’s doing his For more general information about Dublin and Ireland: www.visitdublin.
best.” We laughed again. com and www.discoverireland.com/us
“And now we’re off to a drink stop with no culture,”
said Smith, “with quality drinking time—20 minutes!”

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