Last week was mid term break for Scottish schools – days to
fill, in February, when the weather tends
The Old Library
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| Trinity College, Long Room |
We began by exploring the popular tourist hotspots of Dublin
Castle and Kilmainham Gaol, both steeped in Irish political and social history
and well worth a visit. But I’d also made it my mission to learn more of Dublin’s
great literary tradition, starting at its most famous seat of learning, TrinityCollege. With an outstanding set of writing alumni that includes Jonathan Swift
(Gulliver’s Travels), Oscar Wilde (The Importance of Being Earnest) and Bram
Stoker (Dracula), Trinity College is
home to the Old Library
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| Trinity College, Old Library |
The Book of Kells
But my key reason for visiting Trinity College was to see its
main treasure, something I’d wished to view for a long time - the artistically
inscribed Book of Kells. Dating from around AD 800, the
Book of Kells is believed to have been completed by monks from the island of
Iona in Scotland. The precision of the scribes as they recorded the four Gospels of the Bible shows their immense skill and dedication to
their work. Following line after line of immaculate Latin script, I couldn’t
help but reflect that as I type more and write less, my handwriting has
deteriorated to a lazy scrawl. It’s time to up my game and start practicing
with the calligraphy set my sons gave me for Christmas. Seeing the Book of
Kells was more than worth the wait.
Dublin Writers Museum
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| Dublin Writers Museum Portrait Gallery |
From there, it was on to the Dublin Writers Museum, situated
in an 18th century townhouse refurbished by the Jameson family, of
Irish whiskey fame, which houses a wealth of artefacts, such as letters and
first editions, celebrating the lives and works of Irish writers, including
four Nobel laureates, over the past three hundred years. Visiting room after
room filled with memorabilia from the likes of Swift and Wilde, Yeats and
Joyce, was both awe-inspiring and, as a writer, more than a little daunting. If
you plan on visiting the Writers Museum make sure to take a trip upstairs to the stunning Writers Portrait Gallery, found in the ornate former drawing room with views
across Parnell Square.
Walking with Famous Irish Writers
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| Oscar Wilde Sculpture |
Dublin is a city that encourages walking and has even put together
a writing trail which includes a visit to Oscar Wilde’s House, the Oscar Wilde
Memorial Sculptures in the gardens opposite his childhood home off Merrion
Square, as well as the James Joyce Centre and more. My good friend and writer,
Rachelle Atalla, also recommended I visit Sweny’s Pharmacy, an oldie-world former
pharmacy that sells second hand books and appears in Joyce’s Ulysses and where volunteers read from
his work. When we visited, Ulysses was being read in French, and given my
knowledge of French has gone much the same way as my handwriting, we didn’t
linger long, but it was lovely to imagine we’d walked in Joyce’s footsteps, if
only for a little while.
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| Sweny's Pharmacy mentioned in Ulysses |
Contemporary Female Irish Writers
If you’re unable to sample the delights of Ireland for yourself then why not try the next best thing and read some of its brilliant fiction. I'd love if you'd join in the craic by sharing your
favourites below …
Happy reading,
Rae
