Literary location: Dublin as a UNESCO City of Literature

Home to countless authors over time, and setting for many books, Dublin’s literary connections are ubiquitous. Dublin was designed as a UNESCO City of Literature in 2010.

If you’re visiting Dublin and want to find a tangible connection to its literary vibe then read on!

Libraries and bookshops

Books Upstairs, Dublin

The famous snapshot of Dublin’s library scene is the Long Room in the Old Library at Trinity College, Dublin, which houses the ancient Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript containing the four Gospels. Members of the public can only access this via an interactive Book of Kells Tour.

If you’re searching for something less touristy and free (depending on your capacity to resist buying books), you can wander around Dublin’s numerous bookshops. My favourite two are:

• Books Upstairs – the books are in fact downstairs but there’s a lovely café upstairs where you’ll find people sitting reading or having a quiet chat with a cup of fresh looseleaf tea. Bonus recommendation: have a brownie in the café here. It’s one of the fudgiest brownies I’ve ever eaten.

• The Winding Stair – painted in a soft green, The Winding Stair not only has an impressive range of books for sale but also an excellent Irish restaurant up the winding stairs.

Other options include Eason, Chapters Bookstore, Connolly Books and Dubray Books.

Literary bridges

Samuel Beckett Bridge, Dublin

Dublin is intersected by the River Liffey. Three of its bridges are named after Irish authors: James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Seán O’Casey. James Joyce’s famous book, Dubliners, was published in 1914 and contains 15 short stories of ordinary Dublin residents, acting as a snapshot of Irish middle class life.

Read books set in Dublin (and Ireland more widely)

Many of Dublin’s bookshops have specific sections for fiction written by Irish authors, as well as sections for books on Ireland.

Ireland has produced countless stellar authors over the centuries, including Jonathan Swift (who is buried in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin), Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, James Joyce and, in more modern times, Sally Rooney, Naoise Dolan, John Boyne and Claire Keegan, as well as many others.

Check out my Ireland page for books set in Ireland.